Catastrophic injuries, including amputations, may form the basis for a personal injury claim. An accident lawsuit can involve either traumatic amputations or surgical amputations. A traumatic amputation occurs during the course of the accident. For example, a car crash might result in the violent loss of an arm or leg. A surgical amputation is performed by a surgeon. These intentional amputations are done for the purpose of saving the life of the patient when a hand, foot, or limb has been compromised by a serious medical problem, such as an infection.
It is still possible to file a catastrophic injury lawsuit with the help of an accident lawyer after undergoing a surgical amputation, as long as the surgery directly resulted from someone else’s negligent or reckless actions. For instance, a car accident lawsuit might claim that the crash crushed the victim’s leg, which later needed to be amputated. In addition to motor vehicle accidents, other possible causes of amputation injuries include medical malpractice and defective products. Defective power tools or home exercise equipment, for instance, might cause a traumatic amputation.
