Nassau County Amputation Injury

An amputation injury occurs when a leg, arm, foot, toe, or finger is severed in an accident. Having a body part amputated can be life changing. In addition to coping with the emotional and psychological impact of a traumatic amputation, such an injury may involve a tremendous financial hardship as many victims require extensive medical care, prosthetics, psychological counseling, and physical therapy. In addition, some who suffer amputation injuries are not able to care for themselves without assistance and require expensive adaptive equipment. Long-term rehabilitation may be required in order to help the victim learn how to walk, write, eat, use the bathroom and perform other activities of daily living. Those who lose a limb may not ever be able to return to their previous careers. If you are in need of a personal injury lawyer because you or your loved one has been in a construction accident, auto accident, bike accident or some other accident that has resulted in an amputation or some other serious physical injury, it is important that you contact an experienced Nassau County personal injury lawyer who will work closely with you to help you recover the maximum compensation for your injuries.

There are two types of amputation: traumatic amputation and surgical amputation. Unintentional, traumatic amputations are often the result of a car accident, workplace accidents, or the malfunctioning of a machine or heavy equipment. Unfortunately, when a traumatic amputation occurs in an accident, such accidents are usually due to negligence of another person and could have been avoided.

Intentional, surgical amputations are usually required to remove a limb and save the rest of the body because of an infection, diabetes, or some other serious condition. In some cases surgical amputations occur because of medical malpractice if post-surgical care leads to gangrene, the medical amputation occurred without enough medical evidence, or misdiagnosed a condition that resulted in an amputation.

Victims who suffer the loss of a limb in a tragic accident, find that many aspects of their lives will change forever. Amputations often lead to permanent disability, limiting the victim's ability to work and produce an income. Related medical issues continue well after the amputation. Some amputees must undergo multiple surgeries throughout their lifetimes. Many have prosthetic limbs fitted. Costs associated with the medical procedures, psychological treatment, prosthetics, and rehabilitation are astronomical.

There are, however, several possible types of compensation to help cover your losses and expenses and help ensure that you enjoy the best possible good quality of life. Such compensation may include:

• Medical bills: An amputation injury will result in substantial medical bills. Through a personal injury claim you may be able to recover expenses for medical treatment, your hospital stay, prescriptions, rehabilitation and visits to your doctors.
• Loss of income: While receiving treatment for your injury, you will miss a significant amount of work. You will be entitled to recover compensation for the income you lost due to missing work while recovering. Loss of income includes not only loss of your paychecks. It also includes the value of sick or vacation days you had to use while recovering as well as in other type of compensation and benefits that you lost.
• Pain and suffering: You may also be able to recover compensation for the pain and suffering that you suffered as a result of the accident. An amputation not only involves severe pain, it also leaves the victim with a permanent disfigurement. Furthermore, the victim's ability to enjoy life may be compromised because of such an injury. Thus, a substantial pain and suffering award is reasonable where the victim suffered an amputation due to another person's negligence.

If the injury that resulted in your amputation was work-related, then you may be entitled to worker's compensation benefits. New York's workers' compensation laws state that injured parties are entitled to compensation if they sustain a work-related injury. Compensation often comes in the form of medical expenses, lost income and benefits, loss of ability to earn, and more. However, it is important to note that worker's compensation benefits are limited. Just because the accident occurred at work does not necessarily mean that you are limited to the benefit available through workers' compensation.

If you have been injured in accident that resulted in an amputation, it is important to speak to our legal team as soon as possible. The staff at the Law Offices of Stephen Bilkis & Associates has nearly 2 decades of experience successfully representing clients who have suffered serious injuries in auto accidents, construction accidents, slip and fall accidents, and other types of accidents. Contact us at 800.696.9529 to schedule a free, no obligation consultation regarding your case. We represent clients in the following locations: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Long Island, Manhattan, Nassau County, Queens, Staten Island, Suffolk County and Westchester County.