Amputations Caused by Medical Malpractice

When a medical provider assigned to a patient’s treatment is negligent in their care of the patient, resulting in a condition that requires or otherwise leads to an amputation, that medical provider may be considered liable in a medical malpractice claim. In some cases, amputation may be necessary for acceptable medical reasons; in these cases, the amputation is considered a poor outcome, and not medical malpractice.

Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional such as a doctor, nurse, surgeon, or medical facility, such as a clinic, hospital, or emergency room, does not exercise a proper standard of care, which results in the serious injury or death of a patient. Essentially, if a medical professional of the same training and experience, in the same situation, would not have acted in the way that the patient’s care provider did, the provider has committed malpractice. If you or a loved one have suffered an amputation due to medical malpractice, seek legal counsel to learn more about your options for physical and financial recovery.

Situations in which medical malpractice may lead to amputation include but are not limited to the following:

• A cast or brace is applied improperly, leading to damage to the limb.
• An infection is not treated or detected in time to stop irreparable damage to the limb.
• An infection is worsened by lack of proper care, causing irreparable damage to the limb that otherwise could have been prevented.
• Surgery is conducted on the wrong part of the body, leading to unnecessary damage to a wrong-site limb.
• Failing to prevent clots during surgery, leading to further damage.
• Failing to treat or detect injuries in diabetic patients.

Any situation in which the amputation could have been avoided with proper medical care may be considered malpractice, and the injured party is likely eligible to seek compensation for their damages in a medical malpractice claim.

Damages in a wrongful amputation lawsuit can be far-reaching and unique.

Due to the severity of an operation like amputation on a patient’s health and future, the damages which may be compensable in one of these cases are unique. In addition to seeking compensation for past, present, and future medical bills, the injured party may also be able to seek compensation for damages such as pain and suffering, loss of chosen profession, loss of enjoyment of life, and more. It takes an expert to sit down with the injured party to calculate not only the economic damages which have a tangible monetary value, but the equally important damages that affect a person’s ability to return to their daily life and engage with loved ones as they did before.

Medical malpractice can be hard to identify.

The difficulty with cases of medical malpractice is that it can be difficult to identify if medical malpractice played a part in the amputation. Due to the complexity of the human body and the medical field, a patient may not be able to detect medical malpractice on their own. Often, one of the best indicators of malpractice is simply the feeling that something was off in your treatment plan. Of course, more obvious indicators of medical malpractice may include your medical team being unwilling to discuss your treatment with you, or even something as extreme as a doctor refusing to release your medical records.

If you suspect an amputation was the result of medical malpractice, contact a medical malpractice attorney right away for an evaluation of your case.