By Joanne Jeffries. Last Updated 16th November 2021. Welcome to this case study surrounding personal injury claims payouts for an amputation below the elbow.
This case study demonstrates how an accident at work can have dramatic and permanent life-changing consequences for claimants. We are using this case involving an amputation below the elbow as it is a good example of how using the right personal injury solicitor can ensure you get the right level of compensation for your injuries and the impact on your life.
We are available now if you want to begin a claim, so please call 0800 073 8801 to speak with one our fully trained specialists, or if you want to know more then please keep reading.
The claimant in this case study was a 29 year old man who was a supervisor at a recycling plant in Scotland. On the day of the accident he was called to an incident on the conveyor (that transported rubbish for sorting) by a colleague. They had identified that a sweet tin had got stuck behind the conveyor belt and a roller causing problems with the operation of the belt.
The claimant tried to free the tin from behind the belt but in doing so his glove became caught in the roller and his arm was pulled from the body causing an amputation below the elbow. He was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment and over many months was subjected to further treatment to try to reduce the impact of the accident as much as possible.
This case caused the claimant a lot of trauma and following a legal negotiation he was awarded £900,000 compensation for the amputation below the elbow claim to cover pain, loss of earnings, stress and depression.
What Is A Traumatic Limb Amputation?
A traumatic limb amputation below the elbow is when the arm is severed from body in an accident. It is an unplanned amputation of course, whereas a planned arm amputation surgery would be scheduled, and the patient would usually know it is going to happen. A traumatic limb amputation means the victim would have no knowledge that it was about to happen.
It is, perhaps, the worst way to have an amputation below the elbow as the accident victim would not have time to prepare themselves for dealing with life without the limb. Very often, because the victim has passed out at the scene of an accident, the first they will know about their amputation below the elbow is when they wake up.
Traumatic limb amputations are common in war survivors and they are quite common in industrial accidents but the most common isn’t usually an amputation below the elbow – it is more common for a finger or thumb to be amputated in accidents. For a whole limb to be removed in an accident is thankfully rare because the horrific impact of losing a limb, after the initial pain, is huge and quite devastating for a young healthy man, in this case, to absorb and to live with for the rest of his life.
Consequences Of The Amputation Below The Elbow
The consequences of the traumatic amputation below the elbow for the claimant in this case were huge as one might imagine. Not only was there the massive initial pain and suffering there was the subsequent personal, family and work-related consequences.
Amputation below elbow compensation
At home he now requires help with day to day tasks like cooking and cleaning and he can’t do some of the fun things with his children that he used to enjoy. Professionally he is unable to work because of the amputation below the elbow and furthermore because he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as well as chronic adjustment disorder.
When all of these things are considered together the impact of the amputation has been huge on the claimant and will continue to be so for a very long time. Further complications occurred, medically, following the amputation which required further surgery later on after the accident and the claimant suffers severe pain and itching on the stump where the amputation below the elbow occurred.
Another big consequence of the injury has had on the claimant, mainly because he is so young, is that his pension options for later life are vastly reduced as he’s unable to work. These are the sort of consequences that a personal injury lawyer must take into account when putting together an amputation claim. It’s not just the compensation for the pain and suffering the amputation below the elbow caused that’s needed, every aspect of future life that’s affected by the accident needs to be fully considered.
What Settlement Was Pursued In This Case?
Because of the amputation below the elbow the claimant employed a personal injury solicitor to claim back the cost of amputation treatment and the ongoing amputation recovery, pain & suffering, loss of earnings and the costs involved with obtaining a function prosthetic limb to replace the limb that was missing.
The employer did admit liability in the case, but they argued that the claimant could suffice with just a cosmetic (non-functioning) prosthetic limb on the site of the amputation below the elbow.
The two sides of the argument had significant differences of opinion regarding the settlement amount where the personal injury solicitor was claiming £1.2 million whereas the defendant’s suggested amount was just over £330,000. The cost of the functioning prosthetic limb was a vast part of the claim which is why there was such a difference in amounts being considered.
The solicitor for the claimant demonstrated that the proposed function prosthetic limb, to be used where the amputation below the elbow had happened, could work and help the claimant improve their day to day life and after successfully doing so they accepted an offer of £900,000 which was 3 times the initial offer made by the defendant’s legal team.
This shows that a dedicated personal injury solicitor is essential if you’re claiming for an amputation below the elbow or any other similar amputation as it is common for defendant’s insurers to offer unrealistic amounts. This case was settled out of court, which from our own experience, is the case in by far the vast majority of personal injury claims.
No Win No Fee Traumatic Accident At Work Claims
Something that puts claimants off when considering making a claim for an amputation injury is the perceived massive legal fees that can mount up. When a solicitor is billing by the hour and the case is as complex as this one the bill for the solicitor’s work can run to many thousands of pounds before any offer of compensation is even reached.
In some cases, the compensation offer doesn’t happen at all, meaning that the client would end up paying thousands of pounds in fees without actually being compensated for their amputation below the elbow injury.
At Accident Claims UK, we don’t think that is right. We operate on a strictly no win, no fee basis. If we take your claim on then we won’t charge anything up front, nor will we make an hourly charge for our time and we’ll only ever charge for our service if we are successful in winning you the compensation you deserve.
The best part is that, when we have our initial free consultation with you and you want to proceed with a claim, we’ll tell you what our charges will be right from the outset so there will be no shocks or surprises and once we agree the figure, it won’t change.
Speak To Our Team Today About Personal Injury Claims Payouts for an Amputation Below The Elbow
We hope you can see the importance of using an expert personal injury solicitor in a case as complex as an amputation below the elbow and how they can get the right amount of compensation for you rather than the amount the defendant’s insurers want to pay. Also, hopefully you’ll agree, that our no win, no fee service is the fairest and most transparent way for a solicitor to operate in personal injury claims.
If so, and you are thinking of claiming, then please get in touch using any of these methods:
- Telephone: 0800 073 8801
- Email: office@accidentclaims.co.uk
- Live chat: on any page of the website
- Contact us via the call back form
What damages could be involved in personal injury claims payouts for an amputation below the elbow?
There are lots of different experiences that claimants may have if they lose a limb. They may need significant levels of medical treatment, and may need adaptations to their home. They may also suffer significant levels of pain, and suffering may not just be physical either. When claiming compensation with the help of one of our specialist solicitors who are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, we will ensure we fight for the maximum amount of compensation possible for your claim. Your compensation payout could include:
- General damages, which are designed to compensate personal injury claims victims for their pain and suffering as well as any loss of amenity that their injuries caused them.
- Special damages, which are designed to compensate personal injury claims victims for any financial expense or losses caused by their injuries or the accident. These could include the likes of travel expenses, medical expenses, adaptations to the home and care costs, for example it could also include a loss of earnings claim.
Could I receive psychological injury compensation in personal injury claims payouts for an amputation below the elbow?
There is no doubt that losing a limb could be somewhat traumatic. Not only could sufferers us have to cope with the short-term pain of the injury itself, but also the idea that they would never regain the use of a hand or arm that they have lost. While prosthetics could be useful in some cases, there is still a certain level of psychological harm that could be caused to victims of an amputation that was someone else’s fault. Our specialist solicitors know only too well how traumatic this could be, and we could help you fight for personal injury compensation payouts for not only your physical injuries but any psychological injuries too. Please contact us, to find out how much you could claim for such injuries.
Should I use a compensation calculator to find out personal injury claims payouts for an amputation below the elbow?
We would not advise you to use a compensation calculator to get an idea of your payout in cases full touch stop an online tool such as a compensation calculator would not be able to completely assess your case for you, and would not take into account any of the complexities and specific circumstances of your case. Instead, why not call our personal injury claims experts, who could give you a rough estimate how much your claim could be worth.
How serious could accidents at work be?
If we look to the Health and Safety Executives figures for 2020- 2021, we can see that 142 people suffered fatal injuries related to their work. This is in a year where there were working from home instructions from the government due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the graphic below, taken from the HSE website, you can see the most common causes for fatal accidents at work.
Useful Links Relating To Personal Injury Claims Payouts for an Amputation Below The Elbow
If you are considering claiming for an amputation below the elbow, then you may find these articles useful for further research:
Compensation for Amputations – Our guide to general amputations not just amputation below the elbow and not just traumatic amputations.
NHS Amputation guide – NHS advice on how to recover and rehabilitate from amputation surgery.
Health & Safety Executive – A list of all injury types that have to reported to HSE under RIDDOR requirements including amputations at work.
Thank you for reading this case study on personal injury claims payouts for an amputation below the elbow. We are a law firm that could help you with medical negligence or road traffic accident claims relating to any body part and type of amputation, whether you’ve suffered because a limb was negligently surgically amputation, or because it was traumatically amputated in an accident. We could provide free legal advice to help you with your claim.
