The county fair is usually your favorite fall event, especially the carnival rides. But something went horribly wrong during your third trip on the Scrambler. Turns out, someone forgot to tighten a very important bolt, which caused your car to partially separate from the ride and slam into another car, crushing your right arm between the two slabs of steel.
You were rushed to the nearest hospital, but doctors determined your arm (which happens to be your dominant arm) was too damaged to save and decided amputation was the only option.
Not only are you disfigured, but your once-promising career as a graphic artist is all but over. You were always able to eke out a decent living through freelance work, but your health insurance deductible is more than you make in a month.
It’s not your fault the carnival operator failed to ensure the safety of their ride, but you’re the one whose life was forever changed. You’ll be filing a lawsuit soon, but how will you pay your medical bills or the rent?
You’ll never get your right arm back, but you shouldn’t have to worry about every other aspect of your life while you wait for a settlement from the carnival operator’s insurance company. With help from Provident Lawsuit Loans, which provides pre-settlement lawsuit loans within 24 hours, you won’t miss a single bill.
Overview of Amputation Injury Claims
If you’ve suddenly lost a limb due to the negligence of another party, the first expenses you’ll incur will be medical bills, medications, and any assistance you may need to help you move around. Then, you’ll likely need to seek physical therapy in order to learn how to make any necessary adjustments; for instance, you may need to learn how to use a prosthetic leg or how to eat and do other tasks with your other arm.
Modifications may need to be made to your vehicle so you can drive unless the amputation injury is so severe that you need to make alternative arrangements for transportation. You also may require help doing regular household tasks, such as cooking or even getting dressed.
Other possible claims for damages may include the following, depending on your particular case:
- Pain and Suffering – Losing a limb is not only physically painful but can cause severe depression and anguish.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life – Depending on your jurisdiction, this may be treated as a “pain and suffering” claim or a separate claim. Monetary values are usually up to the court’s discretion.
- Disfigurement – Although the quality of prosthetic limbs has improved tremendously, unwanted attention or lingering mental anguish from the loss may be claimed in a lawsuit.
- Loss of Consortium – If you’re no longer able to do the things you once did with your family or significant other, you may claim loss of consortium.
Future Expenses Related to Amputations
Amputation is one of those injuries that are permanent, not just in how the trauma affects your life going forward, but in nearly every practical aspect of your life. In the example above, the individual who lost their arm used that arm to make a living. While it’s possible they could learn to draw with their non-dominant hand, it’s very unlikely.
Therefore, the plaintiff will want to consider how the injury affects their future earning capacity, in addition to earnings lost directly following the accident. Courts generally calculate the loss of future earnings through complex calculations that consider the following factors:
- A review of the plaintiff’s skills, talents, experience, and of course the type of work they performed immediately prior to the accident.
- Testimony by an expert medical witness (extent of the injury, its impact on future work opportunities).
- Determining how much income will be lost in the future, based on current wage rates.
Other future expenses may be the need for additional prosthetics to replace older ones, continued assistance with day-to-day tasks, and anything else directly related to the accident (and the defendant’s negligence in particular) that will incur ongoing expenses.