Losing a limb in an accident or having a surgical amputation after an accident can leave your life completely altered. The compensation for a serious, permanent, life-altering injury is often very high, and you should work with an injury attorney for help uncovering the cost of your injury and getting compensation in court.
Amputation and loss of limb injuries are some of the most serious injuries you can face. This often results in high damages. The cost of economic damages, such as medical expenses and lost wages, is often very high because of the intensive medical care needs and the cost of prosthetics or other devices and because of the effect these injuries have on your ability to work. Because the injury can so deeply affect your life, pain and suffering damage are also often quite high.
For help putting a value on your case and calculating damages, call our Baltimore amputation injury lawyers for a free case review. Contact Rice, Murtha & Psoras today at (410) 694-7291.
Medical Expenses for a Lost Limb in Maryland
The damages you can claim for a lost limb or surgical amputation will depend on what limb was lost and how severe the initial injury was. The follow-up care costs, the costs of prosthetics, and the cost of rehabilitation and physical therapy will also be quite high. Talk to our Maryland amputation injury lawyers for help evaluating the damages for medical bills in your specific case.
Emergency treatment costs will vary significantly depending on how the injury happened and the condition you are in. Many amputation injuries actually involve a traumatic amputation – loss of the limb as part of an accident. Depending on the actions taken and the speed at which you can seek medical treatment, it might be possible to reattach the limb and restore most or all function. When the surgery goes well, all medical costs could be lowered and the need for prosthetics eliminated entirely.
However, many traumatic amputation injuries are not as “clean,” and reattachment is impossible. This can result in much higher medical expenses since the chance of infection and the need for debridement or additional surgical amputation might be necessary, leaving the victim with less tissue.
Some of the most expensive medical bills result from the hardest cases. These often involve serious trauma to a limb that does not immediately need amputation, but after a few days or weeks gets worse and does require amputation. This means that one course of treatment might be pursued to save the limb, then surgical amputation will be pursued afterward, resulting in higher medical expenses.
In any case where rehabilitation and physical therapy are required, the cost of this treatment can be very high. Many people need physical therapy for months or years, especially if they face a leg or foot amputation that essentially requires them to re-learn how to walk with a prosthetic.
Lost Wage Damages for Amputation Injuries in Maryland
When a victim loses a limb in an accident, they could be unable to return to work for a long time. Many workers might even need to change careers entirely, causing them to face excessive lost wages, and jeopardizing their entire financial situation. In these cases, it is vital to have a Maryland amputation injury lawyer help you get damages.
If you will be able to return to work after recovering from your injury, then you will face damages only for the period of time you are out of work because of the injury. This means multiplying your average wages by the number of days you missed work – which could be months or years for many victims.
If your injury requires a change in job duties, there are a few scenarios that might happen. If your employer is willing to give accommodations that allow you to perform altered job duties at your same wages after you return from recovery, then you might not face any ongoing or future lost wages. If you are forced to take a lower-paying job or a job with less physical demands, you can seek compensation for the difference in your old and new wages going forward. Your Maryland personal injury attorneys will often have to hire financial experts to help calculate these lost earning capacity damages.
If you are unable to return to work at all because of your injury, you could be entitled to ongoing future lost wages. These lost earnings must be calculated by an expert to adequately account for potential raises and future job growth you might have enjoyed if you had been able to continue working. Often, these damages are quite high.
Other Economic Damages for Lost Limbs in Maryland
Keep in mind that there are other economic damages you can claim for a lost limb. This can include the cost of medical devices like walkers, the cost of adapting your home to your injury with ramps, and the cost of replacement services at home. For help calculating all of these damages, call our Aberdeen personal injury attorneys.
Pain and Suffering Damages for a Loss of Limb Injury in Maryland
Calculating damages for the pain and suffering of a lost limb can be quite difficult. There is often a lot to take into account, and these damages are often quite high.
Some of the first things that our Maryland limb loss injury lawyers will account for under the category of “pain and suffering” damages are of course the physical pain you face and the mental and emotional toll that you suffered. On top of this however, there are a wide range of damages that you can claim compensation for:
- Mourning the loss of your limb
- “Phantom limb” pain and discomfort
- Lost enjoyment of life
- Lost ability to participate in activities because of the lost limb
- Fear of future injury (e.g., tripping because of a prosthetic foot)
- Loss of confidence
- Lost independence (e.g., inability to dress or bathe without help)
- Lost mobility
- Scarring damages
- Loss of spousal benefits
Talk to a lawyer about what damages you can claim and what their values are.
Call Our Maryland Limb Loss Injury Attorneys for a Free Case Evaluation
For help understanding what your case is worth, call our Easton personal injury attorneys at Rice, Murtha & Psoras today. Our number is (410) 694-7291.