Amputations And Medical Negligence
If you have undergone a wrong-site amputation, or you have had an amputation because of an illness that was not properly treated, you could be considering a compensation claim.
Amputations are of course life-changing and will have a serious impact upon someone's physical, emotional and financial well-being. If you have suffered in this way due to medical error, you will understandably be very angry and want to know whether justice can be accessed.
Although it will not turn back the clock and undo the damage, you could be entitled to pursue a medical negligence claim. This will allow you to sue those responsible for your amputation. It will also enable you to recover all the money you have lost as a result, such as your loss of earnings.
To find out more about claiming compensation for an amputation, please get in touch with us at Glynns Solicitors. We deal almost exclusively in medical negligence claims and can help you take legal action against those at fault.
Amputation
A limb amputation may be needed after an accident or illness. For example, if someone sustains serious crushing injuries during a road traffic collision, it may not be possible to save the limb. Instead it will need to be surgically removed. In terms of illness, an amputation may become necessary due to severe infection, cancer or nerve damage.
If a patient is undergoing a limb amputation, medical practitioners must be certain that the correct limb is being removed. This sounds like an obvious statement, but when looking at the patient it may not be obvious which limb needs to be removed. Additionally, it may not be apparent what type of amputation is required – i.e. below the knee/elbow, or above the knee/elbow.
Therefore medical practitioners must follow certain protocol to ensure the correct procedure is being carried out. This will include:
- Getting written consent from a patient before the operation
- Marking the patient's skin before the operation, indicating where incisions will be made
- Double checking a patient's medical records before the operation to ensure the correct limb has been marked
- Confirming that the correct limb is being amputated before an incision is made, again using the medical records as a reference
- Wrong-site amputation
Using hospital protocol should guarantee that any wrong-site amputations are avoided. However, there are times when the wrong limb is removed, or the wrong type of amputation is carried out.
This may seem unbelievable, as anyone would assume that medical practitioners would make doubly certain that the correct amputation was being performed, before making any incisions.
But as unbelievable as it may seem, wrong-site amputations do occur – often because hospital protocol has not been rigorously followed. Wrong-site amputations are considered to be a 'never event', which is a serious patient safety incident that can be avoided with the correct safety measures. Thus anyone who has been affected by a wrong-site amputation has undoubtedly been the victim of a serious medical error.
Has this happened to you?
If you have come round from a general anaesthetic, only to find that the wrong limb has been amputated, you need to talk to a solicitor. It is very likely that you will be entitled to sue those responsible for your wrong-site amputation.
Amputation after illness or infection not managed
Amputations can also happen after an illness or infection that has not been properly managed.
A common example of this is diabetes. If diabetes is not kept under control, the patient will have persistently high levels of glucose in the blood. This can cause all sorts of damage around the body, including nerve damage.
Nerve damage will be particularly bad in the extremities, such as the feet. This will cause the loss of sensation in the feet, meaning the patient will not feel any nicks and cuts. The lack of immediate treatment and the reduced blood supply in the feet (another potential complication of diabetes) can make the sore slow to heal.
Consequently large ulcers and associated tissue death can occur. Ulcers and cuts are vulnerable to infection, which again may go unnoticed due to the loss of sensation. Severe infections can lead to extensive gangrene, which may make an amputation necessary.
People with diabetes are also at risk of peripheral arterial disease, where fatty deposits built up in the leg arteries. This can prevent blood from reaching the feet. Oxygen is carried in the blood, so the foot will soon become deprived of oxygen, after which the tissue will start to break down. Again, this may make an amputation necessary.
Others illnesses that can lead to an amputation include severe infections (such as necrotising fasciitis), cancer and deformities of the limb.
Amputation that could have been prevented
If you have undergone an amputation as a result of a chronic condition such as diabetes, or another illness such as necrotising fasciitis, you may be wondering whether it could have been avoided.
It is indeed highly possible that better medical care would have saved your limb. For instance, with severe infections like necrotising fasciitis, the outcome will be significantly better with early treatment. Timely treatment will stop the infection in its tracks, preventing any more tissue from becoming involved.
With diabetes, serious complications such as amputation can be avoided so long as the condition remains stable. If a patient is admitted to hospital and medical staff fail to administer their insulin or check their blood glucose levels are regular intervals, their condition can spiral out of control. This can ultimately result in an amputation.
Has this happened to you?
If you have undergone an amputation which you think could have been avoided with better medical care, you need to speak to a solicitor. You could be entitled to pursue a clam for compensation.
Contact us today
Whether you have had a wrong-site amputation, or an amputation that could be been prevented, please get in touch with us for professional legal advice. We will tell you whether you have been the victim of medical negligence. If so, you will be eligible to make a compensation claim.
Please call us free on 0800 234 3300 (or from a mobile 01275 334030) or complete our Online Enquiry Form.
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