Amputation Lawyer

While amputations can occur in a number of ways, the most common causes of amputation injuries are listed below.

Physical Injury

Physical injury is among the most common causes of traumatic amputations. This type of injury may be caused by crushing, or shear injuries of human tissue. Common causes include auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, a truck crash, or construction site accidents.

The majority of amputations occur from traumatic accidents. In some cases the amputation occurs in the injury itself and doctors don't have a chance to save the limb.  In other serious injury cases - the most serious of which is called a "mangled" arm or leg, doctors can treat the patient. When faced with a "mangled" limb or other severe physical injury, hospitals and teams of doctors work to salvage the arm or leg. In some cases limb salvage is successful.  In other cases despite the doctors' best efforts it may require surgical amputation of the affected digit or limb.  

The Oregon amputation attorneys at DeShaw Law are full-service personal injury lawyers ready to take your amputation injury case. We handle the following types of amputation accidents:

• Car Accidents

• Truck Accidents

• Pedestrian Accidents

• Bicycle Accidents

Loss of Blood Flow

Improper blood flow, whether due to a medical condition or traumatic event, can result in a condition that eventually requires amputation. Sepsis, gangrene and necrosis are common late-stage conditions that result in surgical amputation to save the patient. Loss of blood flow may also arise in crushing injuries.

Infection

Your body’s immune system protects the delicate ecosystem of your bloodstream. Infectious diseases caused by pathogens—a bacterium, virus, or similar—can disrupt the body’s natural stasis and spread rapidly throughout the body, and even to other people. Contaminated food and water, dog and insect bites, and even plant spores, including fungi and parasites, can cause pathogenic infection that necessitate life-saving surgical amputation. 

Consumer-Related Accidents

Defective products and services are another common cause of amputations. These products and services can result in a plane crash, catastrophic falls, collisions, and even explosions. Dangerous products are a common cause of amputation lawsuits.

Medical Malpractice

Your doctors took an oath when they graduated medical school: First, do no harm. When a doctor commits an act of medical negligence—delaying diagnosis, failing to catch a serious condition, and/or improperly triaging a patient suffering from a critical wound—they have failed to uphold this sacred oath. In doing so, they are putting their patients at risk for amputation or worse. 

If you suffered an amputation from a physical injury, product defect, or an act of medical negligence, you may be entitled to compensation under Oregon law. Contact us at (503) 227-1233 to speak with an experienced amputation attorney today.

Financial Losses Caused by an Amputation

Amputation cases involve significant losses, both personally and financially. In terms of economic losses, oftentimes, the person will not be able to return to their prior employment, and as a result, they will sustain substantial future wage loss. We frequently hire an economist as an expert witness to determine the amount of future wage loss.

Another important aspect of amputation cases, is the substantial medical bills that will be required over time. We've handled amputation cases where the medical bills before trial are $3,000,000 or more.  But, as experienced amputation lawyers we need to also document a client's future medical costs.

Oftentimes with an amputation, an infection will set in, and people will have to get a second amputation. That has to be built into the legal case and estimated in terms of cost and future medical care, both in terms of the potential for infection, the necessary medical care, and a potential future surgery.

The much larger financial issue in amputation cases is the costs of prosthetics and the need to replace those prosthetics multiple times over the course of someone's life. One prosthetic is generally not to be enough because as an example the advanced technology used in a prosthetic leg cannot be taken in a shower, or used safely on certain surfaces. More than that, every 2-4 years those have to be replaced due to wear. As a result, a prosthetic life care plan can be a very substantial amount of financial loss. We hire the nation's leading prosthetists to create an appropriate life care plan to determine the future prosthetic needs of a person with an amputation.

While leg amputations are the most common cases, we also have experience handling arm amputation cases.  These may require a special prosthetics expert as expertise in arm prosthetics is a more specialized area of practice.  Given our experience in handling arm amputation cases, we have experts with extensive expertise in handling arm prosthetic life care plans that use specialized parts that allow the best fit and function possible.  The prosthetic will never replace your arm, but our goal is to give our clients the best quality of life possible after an amputation.

Personal Losses Caused by an Amputation

The most important part of an amputation case, of course, is the loss of quality of life associated with the loss of an arm or leg, which is devastating. They can't go out and do the activities they used to do before.  The personal losses are life changing and permanent.  Jurors consider these personal losses as part of what the legal profession calls noneconomic damages.  We have created a number of ways to discuss these life changing personal losses with jurors.

Do you need an amputation injury lawyer? Contact our amputation lawyers online, or call us today at (503) 227-1233 for your free consultation.

Recovery after an amputation takes years. Your amputation injury may physically heal within a matter of months, but the mental and emotional changes may be permanent. Learning how to use your body with a missing limb or extremity can affect your career, your personal life, and your sense of identity.  Given our experience handling amputation cases through trial, we understand how to discuss these losses with the jury and provide the judge and jury with the evidence necessary to provide compensation for your loss.

When your amputation was the result of someone else’s negligence, all of these expenses, or “damages,” can be recovered through an amputation injury settlement or lawsuit. If you would like to learn more, contact the amputation injury lawyers at Dr. Aaron DeShaw, Esq., P.C. at (503) 227-1233.

Both traumatic and surgical amputations have profound psychological implications for the amputation survivor. After a catastrophic injury, people often report an increase in body image issues, anxiety, and severe depression as they learn to adjust to the permanence of their condition; traumatic amputations often carry an additional burden of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or anxiety related to their physical trauma. 

Phantom limb sensations (in which an amputee feels sensations in the area of the amputated limb) and phantom pain, are common experiences for amputees. While this usually improves with time, it can be present for life.

Recovering from an amputation can be a long and difficult road. Medical treatment plans will vary depending on the severity of the injury but generally include some combination of wound care, pain management, physical and/or occupational therapy, and counseling to support the person’s psychological and emotional adjustment to the loss of a limb. Survivors may work with a network of caregivers, specialists, and medical professionals to aid in recovery.

Prosthetics, or artificial body parts, may also help people regain mobility after they lose a limb. Mobility devices not only improve ambulation and assist with activities of daily living, but can be an enormous benefit to a person’s psychological and emotional health after an amputation.

We remain in contact with our amputation clients long after their case is done.  We are committed to going to trial for any amputee client if the offer is insufficient. Despite the horrible loss, we have incredible respect for our clients who have sustained amputations and have moved forward with their lives in the most positive way possible.  We view our role as amputation lawyers as a part of our law firm's role; helping our clients obtain the best physical recovery possible with the best health care providers and then helping obtain compensation for the losses and damage that cannot be improved.

Amputations can affect any of the body’s extremities. Our Portland amputation law firm has experience handling arm amputation and leg amputation cases. The severity of the injury is considered a function of how much of the body part is affected and the degree to which activities of daily living are compromised. We will explore some of the most common types of amputation in the following section:

Upper Limb Amputation

This category includes any amputations that affect the arms, hands and/or fingers. This includes:

• Shoulder disarticulation* (entire arm at the shoulder)

• Elbow disarticulation (elbow joint)

• Wrist disarticulation (wrist joint)

• Metacarpal amputation (part of the hand below the wrist)

• Forequarter amputation (entire arm, shoulder, collarbone, and shoulder blade)

• Transhumeral amputation (upper arm between the elbow and the shoulder)

*“Disarticulation” is the removal of a body part through a joint space, whereas “amputation” refers to the removal of a body part through one or more bones.  Our firm has handled cases where multiple surgeries and limb salvage had gone on for more than a year before it became clear the arm would not recover.  This case resulted in an amputation of the arm at the shoulder due to a brachial plexus injury where all of the nerves into the arm were nonfunctional.

Lower Limb Amputation

This category includes any amputations that affect the legs, feet and/or toes. This includes:

• Pelvic amputation/hemipelvectomy (half of the pelvis and leg)

• Hip disarticulation (leg at the hip joint)

• Transfemoral amputation (thighbone)

• Above-the-Knee Amputation (AKA) (mid-femur)

• Below-Knee Amputation or Below-the-Knee (BKA) (tibia - fibula)

• Ankle disarticulation (ankle joint)

• Digit amputation (toe or tip of toe)

We have handled a number of leg amputation cases.  Doctors will attempt to keep the knee joint if possible due to the unique mechanics of that joint.  This means most leg amputees will start with a below knee amputation.  In some of our cases this has gone on to another amputation in the knee joint, and then an above the knee amputation.  We have extensive experience in counseling amputees, obtaining the experts necessary and trying amputation cases.

Do you need an amputation injury lawyer? Call our amputation lawyers today at (503) 227-1233 for your free consultation.

What is an “amputation injury?”

An amputation injury is the result of an accident or surgical procedure that removes any part of a limb or extremity. Amputations can happen as the result of a car accident, truck crash, construction accident, or other catastrophic event; they may also be performed as emergency surgery to prevent the spread of infection to your bones and muscles. The most common amputation occurs in the lower body, above or below the knee.

Many amputees opt for reconstructive surgeries to help alter the appearance of the amputation; others may require prosthetic limbs to approximate the function of their missing limb or extremity. Both paths are fraught with large medical costs—and, sometimes, lifelong medical complications, even in the best of circumstances.

There are two types of amputations: traumatic and surgical. 

Traumatic Amputation

Traumatic amputations—amputations resulting from the loss of a body part during an unexpected event—can affect any body part. This includes limbs (arms or legs), digits (fingers or toes), or even cartilaginous body parts (ear, nose, etc). Causes of traumatic amputations include blunt force trauma, accidents involving sharp objects, and crushing injuries. In one of the amputatiosn we handled, a commercial truck sideswiped a motorcycle just close enough to traumatically amputate our client's leg and seriously damaging his arm, despite the motorcycle sustaining very little damage beyond the metal foot peg.

In the moments after a traumatic amputation, the victim will experience substantial bleeding and go into shock. Infection is a significant risk in these cases due to the internal section of a limb coming into direct contact with bacteria or debris such as the surface of a road that may contain mold, moss, chemicals and other road debris.  Lasting numbness and deformity to the surrounding tissues are common due to nerve damage in the area of injury.

Surgical Amputation

Surgical amputations are planned procedures performed after a severe injury in which a limb or digit cannot be salvaged and poses a threat of infection to the accident survivor. They are considered as a last resort after all other options have been explored to keep the digit or extremity. They can eliminate pain, prevent infection, and generally improve the patient's overall quality of life. 

Unlike traumatic amputations, blood loss and infection are rare during surgical amputations. However, the long-term mental and emotional effects are similar to traumatic amputations; surgical amputations can require a lifetime of adjustment, compromise, and disability.

How do I get compensation for my amputation injury?

Seeking compensation in an amputation injury claim starts with hiring the best amputation lawyer. Never settle an amputation case on your own as you may not realize there are additional legal or insurance claims that can be made.  Please consult with an experienced amputation lawyer first.

The second critical element is proving negligence, which begins with an exhaustive investigation of traumatic amputation accidents and any potential responsible parties. The longer you wait to file your amputation claim with a lawyer, the harder it can be to prove liability. If you believe your amputation was the result of another party’s negligence, speak to an amputation attorney as soon as possible. 

The amputation injury lawyers at DeShaw Law are here to help. Call us today for your free consultation.

Read More: Oregon’s Largest Personal Injury Verdict Obtained in an amputation case by Aaron DeShaw

Read More: Ohio’s Largest Personal Injury Verdict Obtained in an amputation case by Aaron DeShaw

How do I file an Oregon amputation injury claim?

To bring a successful amputation legal claim, it is critical to prove negligence, whether on the part of an individual or company. This process begins with a full and prompt investigation of the circumstances surrounding the traumatic amputation accident. This is why it is important that you contact an Oregon amputation lawyer at DeShaw Law right away.

What expenses will my Oregon amputation injury claim cover?

Medical costs related to your amputation

Amputation injuries can result in tremendous medical expenses: hospital and surgery bills, diagnostic tests, prescriptions, physical/occupational therapy, prosthetics, and mental health counseling are common costs. We've handled amputation cases with medical bills that exceed $3,000,000.  Ongoing medical costs, including long-term care, always occur in amputation cases and these must all be proven by an amputation lawyer as part of your settlement or trial. The cost of prosthetics and future prosthetics alone can be over $10,000,000 depending upon the person's age at the time of amputation and the number of amputations. (We've handled cases in which a client lost both an arm and leg in a crash.) The amputation lawyer must know the best qualified prosthetics expert witnesses to create a prosthetic life care plan for a person who sustains an amputation. As the result of ongoing infections, it is also important to have a full life care plan created to help the insurance company and jurors understand the future costs of medical care for an injured person who has an amputation.

Wage loss and loss of income

After an amputation, it is rare to go back to “business as usual.” Not only will the amputation affect the person’s ability to work, but even if they can go back to work, they often require a fair amount of time off from work to recover and get treatment. An amputation permanently and significantly affects a person’s wages and earning capacity over time. Oregon state law allows people living with amputations to receive compensation, both for their lost wages and their future diminished earning capacity resulting from their amputation injury.

As hard as this is to believe, insurance companies will hire expert witnesses to testify that a person who has experienced an amputation will have no wage loss in the future.  It isn't true, but even with an amputation insurers will try to say that a person will have no loss.  Our office is known for standing up for amputees and taking amputation cases to trial to get full and fair compenstion for their injuries.

Pain and suffering

Pain and suffering is a legal term that roughly captures the multitude of ways a person may struggle to adjust after an amputation injury. This may include compensation for an injured person's inability to feel connected to their community, being able to care for oneself, body image, and having things to look forward to in life. This category of compensation includes mental anguish, or feelings of distress and despair that result from a permanent injury like an amputation.

How long do I have to file an amputation injury lawsuit?

According to Oregon’s Statute of Limitations, the statute of limitations for amputation cases is two (2) years from the date of injury. Failing to file within this time frame will result in your case being dismissed without compensation. Always file your case as soon as possible to avoid legal complications.  

Speak to an Oregon Amputation Injury Lawyer now at (503) 227-1233.

Do I need an Oregon amputation attorney?

If you have suffered an amputation due to an accident, and believe it was the result of someone else’s negligence or recklessness, always take the time to speak with an experienced amputation attorney.

Given the complexity of amputation cases, you should always make sure your amputation injury lawyer has experience with amputation cases. You should also make certain that if the event that caused your injury occurred in Oregon, that you hire a lawyer with trial experience in Oregon.  While there are many large "settlement mill" law firms now opening Oregon offices, the trial procedure in Oregon is very unique and you will want to hire an Oregon lawyer with substantial experience in Oregon courts.  While the differences are less problematic in Washington, your goal is to find a highly experienced amputation law firm with amputation trial experience.  We are one of approximately five law firms in the United States with three or more amputation trial verdicts.  In our case, two of those trial verdicts are amongst the top three amputation verdicts in US history.  This does not guarantee success in any case, or suggest a likely trial verdict amount in your amputation case because every case outcome is based upon its individual merits. But our history of verdicts does support our skills in successfully trying amputation cases.

Your amputation attorney will carefully review your case, investigate every element, and formulate a request to the insurer or company that includes every type of compensation available in the law for your loss. Our job is to handle your case so you can focus on recovery.

DeShaw Law is known for thorough case evaluation, case handling and trial outcomes. We take pride in getting to know every case, and every client, personally. We work with crash reconstructionists, medical professionals,  economists, and other legal professionals to make sure we represent your amputation case based upon our experience and new cutting-edge trial methods. We are responsible for all communications with your insurance provider, as well as the opposing party’s insurance company and legal representatives.

If we cannot reach a full, fair settlement arrangement, we are prepared to take your case to court.

Our experience in handling amputation cases includes multiple amputation trials - a level of amputation trial experience shared by very few personal injury law firms in the United States. Our outcomes speak for themselves - the highest compensatory damage verdict in Oregon history, obtained in a leg amputation trial.  That outcome also represents what we believe to be the largest below knee leg amputation verdict in the United States.  The highest amputee verdict in US history obtained in rural Ohio on behalf of a man who had an arm and leg amputation caused by a commercial truck.  And those are only two of our amputation trials.  Given this level of success representing people who have sustained amputations, we are hired by out of state lawyers to handle their amputation cases.

We want to be able to assist people who have sustained a traumatic amputation to be able to get their medical care paid for, their future medical care paid for, their wage loss taken care of, and to get fair compensation for the change in quality of life that they've sustained as a result of their loss.

If you need a Portland amputation lawyer to handle your case please contact us on this web site, please call our office at (503) 227-1233 for a free consultation.

• Call us locally (503) 227-1233
• Toll-Free (866) 843-3476
• Schedule online