Personal Injury and Wrongful Death

Traumatic Amputation Lawsuit

The following information on a below-the-knee amputation (transtibial) lawsuit is provided by Pritzker Olsen law firm. Our attorneys have recovered millions for amputation victims and have appeared on CBS News, Fox News and local television stations. For a free consultation regarding an amputation lawsuit, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our online form for review by an amputation lawyer.

Traumatic amputation is the loss of a body part (finger, toe, arm or leg) caused by a serious injury. Causes of traumatic amputation include car accidents, ATV accidents, construction accidents, farm accidents, factory accidents, other work-related accidents or defective products.

What is My Traumatic Amputation Case Worth?

Our attorneys will look at several factors to determine how much your case is worth:

Medical Expenses: Medical expenses include bills from hospitals, doctors, physical therapists and any other medical professionals. They also include all expenses related to a prosthetic device and any medical equipment that our client needs. We hire medical experts to estimate future medical expenses, which are also recoverable. Medical expenses related to amputation complications are also recoverable. Recovery is different for every amputee.
Lost Income: We look at how you made money before the amputation and how the amputation is going to affect your ability to continue to make money. Some of the factors 1) your job and income before the amputation, 2) how long you have been unable to work and how long before you are able to work again and 3) if you have to get a different job and how much that job pays. If you were a dancer, that will greatly increase the amount of money we would seek to recover for you.
Pain and Suffering: Pain and suffering includes amounts for physical pain, emotional distress, permanent disability, disfigurement and loss of quality of life. With traumatic amputation cases, pain and suffering is often a large part of a settlement or jury verdict. We hire experts to build our case for past and future pain and suffering. These experts can testify as to phantom pain in addition to other pain issues.

Traumatic Amputation First Aid

The following information is from MedlinePlus, a service of the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health:

Check the person's airway open if necessary; check breathing and circulation. If necessary, begin rescue breathing, CPR or bleeding control.
Try to calm and reassure the person as much as possible. Amputation is painful and extremely frightening.
Control bleeding by applying direct pressure to the wound, by elevating the injured area and, if necessary, by using pressure point bleeding control. If the bleeding continues, recheck the source of the bleeding and reapply direct pressure, with help from someone who is not fatigued. If the person is suffering from life-threatening bleeding, a constriction bandage or tourniquet will be easier to use than compression of pressure points.
Save any severed body parts and ensure that they stay with the patient. Remove contaminating material if possible, and gently rinse the body part if the cut end is contaminated with dirt. Wrap the severed part in a clean, damp cloth, place it in a sealed plastic bag and immerse the bag in cold water (ice water if available). Do not directly immerse the part in water and don't put the severed part directly on ice. Do not use dry ice as this will cause frostbite and injury to the part. If cold water is not available, keep the part away from heat as much as possible. Save it for the medical team, or take it to the hospital. Cooling the severed part will keep it viable for about 18 hours. Without cooling, it will only remain useable for about 4 to 6 hours.
Take steps to prevent shock. Lay the person flat, raise the feet about 12 inches and cover the person with a coat or blanket. DO NOT place the person in this position if a head, neck, back or leg injury is suspected or if it makes the victim uncomfortable.
Once the bleeding at the site of the amputation is under control, examine the person for other signs of injury that require emergency treatment. Treat fractures, additional cuts and other injuries appropriately.
Stay with the person until medical help arrives.

DO NOT forget that saving the victim's life is more important than saving a body part.
DO NOT overlook other, less obvious, injuries.
DO NOT attempt to push any part back into place.
DO NOT decide that a body part is too small to save.
DO NOT place a tourniquet, unless the bleeding is life threatening, as the entire limb may be placed in jeopardy.
DO NOT raise false hopes of reattachment.

Free Consultation with a Tramatic Amputation Lawyer

For a free consultation with an attorney about a traumatic amputation lawsuit, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our online form. You will have no up-front costs, and we are not paid unless you win.

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Fred Pritzker is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for his work in personal injury and wrongful death litigation.

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In recognition of their achievements, Fred Pritzker, Elliot Olsen and Eric Hageman were named Super Lawyers in the August 2009 edition of Law & Politics magazine. Fred Pritzker was also named a Top 100 Minnesota Super Lawyer and a Top 40 Minnesota Personal Injury Lawyer in same issue.

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