By Lewis Hendrix. Last Updated 8th August 2023. Welcome to this guide, which explains how those who’ve lost a limb could be eligible for compensation. If you’ve suffered a traumatic amputation from an accident that wasn’t your fault, you may be able to claim compensation for losing a limb in this way. Limb loss can have a devastating impact on the quality of your life, which is why you may be wanting to see if you can claim. Depending on how the injury occurred, you might be able to make a successful personal injury claim for loss of limb compensation. However, you may be unsure about how much compensation you could get for the loss of a limb.
Loss of Limb Compensation – What You Need To Know
The guide will help you gain clarity and also answer the questions:
- Does my claim need to be settled before I could get prosthetics or aids?
- Who will settle my claim?
- How long will it take to settle my claim?
- Will my case have to go to court?
- How do you establish liability?
- What is the personal injury claims time limit?
- What are the benefits of using a No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor’s services?
Loss of a limb
Our advisors offer free legal advice and are available 24/7 so, if you have any questions, such as wanting to know if you’re eligible to claim, please get in touch with us at a time that works for you.
- Call us using 0800 073 8801
- Write to us with injury details at office@accidentclaims.co.uk.
- Use the Live Chat window that’s on your screen now.
- Contact us via our website.
Read on to learn more about how you can establish liability in an accident and see how much you could receive for an amputation.
Select A Section
- A Guide On How To Calculate Compensation For The Loss Of A Limb
- What Is Amputation And Limb Loss?
- What Are The Types Of Amputation Or Limb Loss?
- Accidents And Injuries Which Could Lead To Limb Loss
- What Could You Claim For Losing A Limb At Work?
- How Do People Lose Limbs In Car Accidents?
- Amputations And Medical Negligence
- Compensation Claims For Phantom Limb Pain
- Loss Of Limb Compensation
- How Much Other Compensation Could I Claim?
- Claiming For The Loss Of A Limb With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Contact Us To Claim Compensation For The Loss Of A Limb
- Read More
A Guide On How To Calculate Compensation For The Loss Of A Limb
Some parties have a duty of care towards us and if they breach this, leading to an injury, you could receive compensation because of their negligence. Therefore, the below three factors need to have occurred for you to be able to claim:
- Someone must have a duty of care towards you.
- This duty of care must have been breached in some way.
- This must have resulted in your injury.
Proving all three is how to show the liability for your injury is with the other party. You can also claim for the psychological issues caused by the accident. For example, adjusting to using a prosthetic limb can lead to anxiety and stress that can seriously affect the quality of your life.
To learn more, such as wanting to know the potential compensation for the loss of a foot, for instance, please contact our advisors using the details above. They are helpful, friendly and will be more than willing to answer any of your questions. Alternatively, read on for a list of compensation payouts to make you more aware of what you could receive.
What Is Amputation And Limb Loss?
The amputation of a limb is when part of your body is completely severed. This most likely leads to its permanent loss as only in certain circumstances can limbs be reattached. An injury of this nature could lead to you asking, “how much compensation for the loss of a limb?”
This can happen to parts of your body like your:
- Feet
- Toes
- Hands
- Fingers
- Arms
- Legs
You can review an amputation compensation table to give you a better idea of your potential compensation.
Regarding the types of incidents you may be able to claim for, you could suffer a surgical amputation caused by medical negligence or suffer limb loss due to a road traffic accident or an accident at work that wasn’t your fault. We will describe why you could claim for these types of incidents below.
What Are The Types Of Amputation Or Limb Loss?
How much compensation for the loss of a limb can depend on the extent and severity of your injury. If your claim is successful, the compensation wouldn’t just cover the limb loss but any decline to your quality of life and any psychiatric or psychological effects as a result too.
There are two main types of amputation. Traumatic limb loss can be a result of (for example):
- An accident at work
- A road traffic accident such as a car accident
However, surgical limb loss can be caused by a medical condition worsening due to an accident or medical negligence. This could involve:
- Having to have an arm removed due to diabetes.
- An infection due to your condition getting worse due to misdiagnosis.
- Suffering from cancer which, in rare instances, could lead to an amputation.
To learn if you’re able to claim, call our advisors today for free legal advice. We can tell you in just a few minutes, can provide you with a compensation estimate on the phone and can even put you through to a personal injury lawyer who could help you claim.
Accidents And Injuries Which Could Lead To Limb Loss
Many factors can cause traumatic amputation or surgical amputation. It can be a single incident or a series of substandard care incidents by doctors and medical professionals that could eventually lead to you needing a prosthetic limb. This could also lead to you suffering phantom limb pain.
How do I show who was at fault?
You may be asking, “How do you establish liability?” You can establish liability if you’re able to show that the other party’s negligence led to your injury. By highlighting the duty of care and showing how the third party breached this, causing the injury, you can show they’re liable because their actions went against their legal obligations.
Regarding personal injury claims, other evidence you can use to prove liability includes:
- CCTV footage
- Witness statements
- Medical reports
The next few sections will provide scenarios of incidents that could cause limb loss. It will highlight third party negligence in greater detail and give you a better understanding of how much compensation for the loss of a limb you could receive.
What Could You Claim For Losing A Limb At Work?
You can suffer many injuries from an accident at work, such as a back injury or a forearm fracture. Amputation could occur while working with machinery or highly dangerous equipment due to the risks involved. However, if the incident wasn’t your fault and was caused by employer negligence, you could receive compensation.
Employers have a duty of care to their employees under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Within reason, they are legally obliged to provide a safe and secure environment for employees to use. Therefore, employer negligence that could lead to this type of injury includes:
- Malfunctioning machinery due to a lack of maintenance, causing you to lose several of your fingers.
- Falling from a ladder due to it being faulty, but you’re asked to use it anyway.
- Ineffective safety procedures, resulting in a machine being used incorrectly or improperly.
Working in industries like construction, forestry and farming as well as laboratories could cause serious injuries of this nature. How much compensation you get for the loss of a limb could factor in whether you’re able to continue working the same role afterwards. In some instances, you may be unable to do this.
How Do People Lose Limbs In Car Accidents?
You may be looking into claiming due to suffering an injury in a car accident. Every road user in Great Britain has a duty of care to one another under The Highway Code.
This set of rules illustrates how you need to conduct yourself on the road: with standard care and skill. Therefore, negligent road conduct could be seen as any action that goes against the Code, partly because it could lead to serious injury.
Incidents, where you may be able to claim due to suffering an amputation, include:
- A lorry driver not checking their mirrors, causing them to slam into you when they change lanes and causing you injury.
- Another motorcyclist driving into a roundabout at the wrong time, causing them to slam into your vehicle, causing you injury.
- Another driver controlling a vehicle while under the influence of drugs could lead to a multi-car pile-up. This could result in you looking into compensation for the loss of your foot.
Severe crush injuries caused by these incidents could result in a traumatic amputation.
If you’re partially at fault for your injuries, you may still be able to claim. However, the amount of compensation you could receive depends on how much the incident is deemed to be your fault. For example, if the incident is deemed to be 30% your fault, you would receive 30% less compensation should your claim be successful.
You can also claim for these types of incidents if they happened abroad, in places like France and Portugal. Our advisors will be more than willing to help. Call them at a time that works for you to see if you can claim or to see how much compensation you could receive.
Amputations And Medical Negligence
Successful personal injury claims can also arise from medical negligence. Medical professionals have a duty of care to make sure their actions don’t deviate from the required standard of their profession. This is because, if they do, it can lead to life-threatening and severe health issues for their patients.
They can occur due to many different instances. For example, you could be negligently misdiagnosed, worsening your condition or leading to you being discharged prematurely from the hospital. Without the medical assistance required, conditions like cancer or gangrene could worsen, leading to potential amputations.
You may also experience a never event. A never event is, effectively, a medical event that is considered completely avoidable and so, theoretically, should never happen. Incidents like this include:
- Removal of the wrong limb.
- Wrong implant/prosthesis.
- Retained foreign object following a surgical procedure.
When could you claim for diabetes-related amputations and limb loss?
Type I and Type II diabetes can lead to potential limb loss caused by blood circulation issues. Infections and ulcers can start to develop due to this.
If you have diabetes, you should be informed of the potential health risks upon being diagnosed with the condition. However, you’d be able to claim for negligence if substandard medical professional treatment has led to the worsening of your condition.
Not all forms of medical negligence will lead to you receiving compensation. If you do claim for medical negligence, a panel of the medical professional’s peers will review their actions to determine if they were negligent. This is called the Bolam Test. It’s designed to see if the medical professional’s actions were within the acceptable level of care.
View this page to learn more about the different types of medical negligence. If you’re unsure if you can claim, you can always speak to our advisors, who offer free legal advice at a time that’s best for you. Call us using the details at the top of the page.
Compensation Claims For Phantom Limb Pain
You can experience phantom limb pain after suffering an amputation. It consists of feeling irritation or pain in the limb that has been removed. It can develop immediately after surgery or potentially years later. This can be very distressing to deal with, as there isn’t a set period of time that the sensations can last for. Theoretically, you may experience them permanently.
You may, however, be able to claim compensation for this because of how it’s intrinsically linked to the amputation. As stated previously, how much compensation for the loss of a limb depends on the extent of the injury and its consequences.
Does My Claim Need To Be Settled Before I Could Get Prosthetics Or Aids?
You should always listen to a medical professional’s advice when seeking treatment. If it’s recommended that you wear prosthetics or aids, you could recover the cost of these in a successful personal injury claim.
Claim Time Limits
The personal injury claims time limit is generally three years or three years from the date you became aware of the injury being caused or worsened by negligence. Therefore, you could have three years to claim for phantom limb pain, as well as any other physical and psychological issues caused by the injury. This is clarified in the Limitation Act 1980.
However, there are exceptions to these time limits, so get in touch to ensure you have enough time to claim.
Loss Of Limb Compensation
If you’ve lost a limb due to an accident caused by negligence, you could potentially be eligible to claim loss of limb compensation.
Losing a limb can affect people in different ways. This is why compensation is calculated on a case by case basis. In a successful claim, you could receive general damages and special damages.
General damages is compensation for your pain and suffering, as well as your loss of amenity (enjoyment of life). Legal professionals in England and Wales could look at the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to get a rough idea of how much compensation could be appropriate for losing a limb.
The JCG is a publication that includes guideline compensation brackets for a range of injuries. We have created a table below illustrating some figures from the April 2022 release of this publication.
| Area of Injury | Amount of Compensation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Arms | £240,790 to £300,000 | Loss of both arms |
| Arm | Not less than £137,160 | This bracket is for an arm amputated at the shoulder. |
| Arm | £109,650 to £130,930 | This bracket is for an above-elbow amputation. Top end of the compensation bracket will be for injuries that result in you remaining with a shorter stump, due to how it can lead to difficulties in the use of a prosthesis. |
| Arm | £96,160 to £109,650 | Injuries in this bracket lead to a below-elbow amputation. An amputation through the forearm causing residual severe organic and phantom pains would lead to an award at the top end of the compensation bracket. |
| Hand | £61,910 to £90,750 | This bracket is for amputations to the index and middle and/or ring fingers. This will cause issues such as weakened grip. |
| Hand | Up to £36,740 | Injuries in this bracket lead to partial amputations due to severe finger fractures. This results in issues like impaired grip, deformity and disturbed sensation. |
| Leg | £240,790 to £282,010 | This bracket is for both legs have been amputated above the knee or one has been lost high above the knee and one below it. |
| Leg | £201,490 to £270,100 | Below knee amputation of both legs. Compensation award is based on factors like psychological issues and the severity of phantom pains. |
| Leg | £104,830 to £137,470 | This bracket is for an above-knee amputation of one leg. |
| Foot | £169,400 to £201,490 | This bracket is for amputation of both feet. |
| Foot | £83,960 to £109,650 | Amputation of a single foot – this injury is similar to a below-knee amputation due to the loss of an ankle joint. |
Please note, however, that these are only rough guidelines.
Special damages could compensate successful claimants for their pecuniary (financial) losses caused by losing a limb. We explain more about these in the next section. To get further insight into compensation payouts in the UK if you’ve lost a limb, please call us. We would be happy to discuss this with you in further detail.
How Much Other Compensation Could I Claim?
Whether you decide to use the services of a No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor or not, receiving compensation involves providing sufficient evidence. For instance, with special damages, you would need to show the value of the financial losses caused by the injury. This involves providing receipts, invoices and bank statements, for example.
The losses you could claim include:
- Travel costs
- Loss of earnings
- Medicine/prescription charges
- Loss of future earnings
- Costs of recreational activities that you can no longer attend and can’t get refunded
How Long Do Claims Take?
Answering a question like “how long will it take to settle my claim?” is difficult as it can depend on the nature of your claim and whether the other party accepts liability for the injury. Cases may take longer to complete if they result in going to court. However, in most instances, claims don’t go to court.
Claiming For The Loss Of A Limb With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
One of our solicitors may be able to help you with claiming loss of limb compensation, provided you have a valid case. They could help ensure that all bases of your claim are covered and may also offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which is a type of No Win No Fee agreement. When making a claim with a solicitor under a CFA, they won’t ask you to pay any service fees upfront or during the process of your claim. Furthermore, you won’t be required to pay for your solicitor’s work should your claim fail.
If you are successfully awarded compensation, a success fee will be deducted from this by your solicitor. The percentage that this success fee can be is legally limited.
For more information regarding the loss of limb claims process or to see if you could be eligible to work with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors, you can contact our advisors today.
Contact Us To Claim Compensation For The Loss Of A Limb
Contact us using the details below. Our advisors are available 24/7 and give no-obligation, free legal advice.
- Call us on 0800 073 8801
- Write to us with injury details at office@accidentclaims.co.uk.
- Use the Live Chat window on the right-hand side of your screen.
- Contact us via our website
Read More
For more useful information, use the links below.
The NHS provides guidance about how to deal with an amputation. Visit their website.
To know more about lower limb amputation, read the NHS guidance.
Visit the Department for Transport’s website if you’d like to see road accidents and safety statistics from Great Britain.
If you’d like to know more about how to claim for post-traumatic stress disorder, view this page on our website.
Have you suffered from a leg amputation after an accident? If so, read this page to see if you can claim.
To see if you can claim compensation due to the loss of an arm, read our guide.