If you are in or around Spokane or Spokane Valley Washington and have suffered an amputation due to someone’s negligence please contact us today for a confidential case evaluation and free consultation. We have represented local people since 1948.
Amputation injuries in Washington
The loss of a limb is often one of the most traumatic events that a person can experience in their lifetime. Once a limb is lost, the disability and disfigurement are permanent. The victim who has lost an arm or a leg faces a long and difficult physical and mental journey. Stops on that journey include inability to work for an extended period of time, medical bills, and possibly depression and/or difficulty performing simple tasks that were second nature in the past.
Accidents causing amputations
Amputations might be the result of an accident. Those are known as traumatic amputations, and they’re medically necessary when a limb has been damaged so severely that it will never receive sufficient blood flow. Some examples of traumatic amputations that we see here in Spokane include:
- Limbs being crushed in a motor vehicle accident
- Upper and lower extremity injuries in motorcycle, ATV, bicycle or pedestrian accidents
- Severe burns from an electrical accident
- Industrial and agricultural accidents involving large machinery
- Crush injuries from large objects falling on an extremity
- Medical malpractice
Traumatic amputation
Most amputations are not due to accidents. The most common reason for an amputation is insufficient blood flow. That might be caused by:
- Severe infection that prevents blood flow from healing
- Ulcers that won’t heal
- Birth defects
- Tumors
Conditions secondary to amputation
Other medical conditions can arise that are secondary to an amputation. Amputations can suffer with complications involving infections, blood clots and even phantom pain syndrome. An amputee’s image of himself or herself can deteriorate rapidly with diminished function and how they think others might perceive them.
What do amputations cost?
A study released by the American Medical Association Journal of Ethics in June of 2015 separated direct and indirect costs of amputations. Direct costs were calculated after two years at an average of $90,000. They included amputation, fitting of prostheses and adjusting the prostheses. Indirect costs depended on the life of a prosthesis, and how often the prosthesis would require replacement based on the amputee’s age. Those costs averaged between $345,000 and $600,000. Add in damages like permanent disability, permanent disfigurement, loss of a normal life, pain and suffering and lost earnings, and an amputation case can easily go well into seven figures without any comparative negligence.
Washington statute of limitations
The legislature of the State of Washington has set a three year statute of limitations on injury cases. That might seem like plenty of time to get a lawsuit on file, but recovery from an amputation is likely to take years. While a victim is recovering from his or her amputation, witnesses can disappear, and medical records can get lost. That’s why Washington amputees need to contact a highly qualified and respected personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after an accident. The longer that they wait, the more difficult his or her case for compensation might become.
If you or somebody close to you has suffered through an amputation anywhere in the State of Washington, preserve your rights and the evidence supporting your case by contacting our offices as soon as possible for a free consultation and case evaluation. We want to hear your story about your life and how your amputation has affected you and your family. We’re compassionate, and we want to know as much as possible about the unique circumstances that you’re going through.
