An amputation of any kind can be serious, but what happens when a doctor or medical professional wrongfully amputates your toe, or when your finger is severed due to a workplace accident or a traffic collision? In many instances victims of amputations are able to file personal injury lawsuits against negligent parties. A common question asked by clients who have suffered serious injuries including amputations is What is the value my case? We have written a few articles dealing with amputation injury, but this will focus entirely on the cost of or possible estimated settlement amount which can be recovered by a victim of wrongful amputation due to medical malpractice, workplace accident, defective product, or roadway accident.

Estimated Cost Future Medical Care

Future medical care refers to the cost of care after the amputation. Calculating this cost will generally require expert evaluation. This will include all future medical care such as follow up doctor visits, medical equipment and specialty equipment or retrofitting for your house or car. These are all considered medical care and cost. If you were subject to a wrongful amputation you will need to make sure your attorney will fight for these damages. Any settlement award should factor in a substantial amount of money for the cost of future medical care. For example the cost of retrofitting a car or house with specialty ramps and handles can be expensive. If you consider that these costs will need to be for a indefinite period of time and must include cost of repair and inflation, the cost can be enormous. It is insufficient to accept any offer which does not factor in or consider the potential cost of such expenses. It is impossible to tell or calculate these figures without knowing exactly the extent of the injury. Once that info is provided we can set up a few different scenarios and calculate the cost of future medical care. However, it is not unlikely for these costs to reach in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Pain and Suffering Including Emotional Distress

This is considered by many attorneys to be the most valuable element of your monetary compensation claim. Why? Because it deals with the human element of your case. It deals with what you went through, emotionally and physically. What you had to endure and will have to endure as a result of the doctors or surgeons negligence. What is value of your pain and suffering? To calculate this element of your claim your attorney needs to understand what you experienced. What this accident has done to your life. How it has changed how you walk, move and do basic tasks and how it has changed you as a person. This includes your self esteem and confidence. It can include how it makes you feel around the opposite sex, around your friends and around your family. In order to truly get compensated for this element of your case, it s important that your attorney understand what you went through and what you experienced. It is necessary that both you and your attorney communicate this element of the case. However, many firms will neglect to take the time and learn and understand what the client is going through. Most plaintiffs firms will fail to really listen and understand what happened before making any demand for settlement. Regardless of your choice of counsel it is critical that you have this element of your case discussed with your attorney.

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Loss of Earnings/Future Loss of Earnings

Loss of income and future earning capacity is another important component. When you have an amputation injury, you may not be able to perform your employment duties. This can be true if you are in a labor intensive field. In certain fields you may not be able to perform your duties at all. Loss of earnings or loss of earning capacity, considers whether or not you will have loss of gainful employment after the injury. It is possible in many cases that a minor amputation will not impact your work related abilities. In fact many are able to live completely normal lives with little to minor impact on future loss of earnings. However, with more severe injuries, you will likely be unable to seek employment, or continue employment at your current job. These are all issues which will be discussed and evaluated. If it is deemed by our experts that employment will be at issue in the future, we will make sure this is considered in your prayer for damages. We generally use a particular mathematical formula to evaluate loss of earnings .This will include future loss of earnings adjusted for inflation, which will be added to your final demand for damages. Free Legal Consultation: You can reach the Los Angeles personal injury attorneys at Downtown L.A. Law in order to discuss your case at no charge. Our consultations are free of charge, and our cases are always handled on a contingency fee basis. No recovery no fee guarantee! Call us now at 213-389-3765 or toll free at (855) 339-8879.