Advocating for Accident Victims With Catastrophic Injuries
There are few injuries that are as life-changing and shocking as losing a limb. Your entire world shift in just one moment. You have to adjust everything. If your house is no longer easily accessible, you’ll have to move. If your job is not suitable for your new disability, you will have to get a new one, or potentially start a completely new career. Something as simple as taking your dog for a walk or roughhousing with your child could become labor intensive. Nothing will be the same.
That is why we at the Tenge Law Firm, LLC believe in fighting for those who have lost a limb due to an act of negligence. No one should have to pay for an accident that was not their own, especially with a price as high as an amputation. If you have suffered an amputation because of someone else’s poor decisions, you deserve justice. Call our firm at (970) 212-4777 and find out what our Fort Collins personal injury attorneys can do to get you the compensation you need.
Why Do Amputation Injuries Happen?
Amputation or loss of limb injuries can happen for any number of reasons. It is impossible to fully list all possible amputation scenarios, but some of the most common ones include:
- Car accidents that involve crush injuries or severe lacerations
- Motorcycle accidents, especially if a rider is pinned under a vehicle or their bike
- Truck accidents, such as underrides and rollovers
- Mass transit accidents
- Dangerous product accidents, such as faulty power tools
- Construction accidents when safety standards and procedures are not followed
- Dog attacks that involve damaged hands
Severe vehicle accidents often lead to amputations, ranging from the complete loss of an arm at the shoulder to individual toes. In addition, your limb can become so severely injured in an accident that surgeons are forced to remove it in order to promote proper healing. Or the accident can cause the limb to be completely severed or crushed by the force of the vehicle, leaving it mostly, but not completely, removed from your body.
Types of Amputations
There are two main kinds of amputations that you can sustain after an accident: partial and complete. A partial amputation means that the limb is still at least somewhat attached to the body. While there is the chance that a partial amputation can be reattached to the body if the injury is not too severe, it is not guaranteed. The limb may be beyond repair or only attached superficially, like by a small section of muscle or skin.
A complete amputation is just as it sounds. The limb has been completely severed from the body, and there is no connective tissue left. There are cases where a skilled surgeon can reattach a completely severed limb, but only if proper care has been taken with the body part. Even then, the surgery is incredibly complex, and it may provide total control of the limb.
What Can I Recover in a Claim?
If your amputation injury was caused by someone else’s negligence, then that negligent person can and should be held liable for your injuries. For example, if you lost your arm in an accident due to injuries caused by a truck driver falling asleep at the wheel, that truck driver, and even their company if they were also found to be negligent, would be liable for the damages you suffered. This means you could be eligible to file a claim against their insurance policy.
When filing a claim, there are two categories you can file for: economic damages and non-economic damages. Economic damages refer to any financial loss or strain you suffered due to the accident. An amputation is also extremely costly, both in terms of medical bills and lost wages, but both are eligible for compensation, as well as property damage, lost job opportunities, and other financial burdens.
Non-economic damages cover everything you may have suffered that is not financially related. When it comes to an amputation, you will be facing a lot of emotional trauma as well as a great deal of pain and suffering. You can also recover damages for lowered quality of life, loss of enjoyment, and any other non-financial hardship.
Amputations and the Statute of Limitations
Amputations are hard to recover from, both emotionally and financially. After something so traumatic, you likely do not want to think about anything else other than healing and getting your life as back to normal as possible. That sort of mentality, however, can easily cause you to miss your chance at compensation.
In Colorado, the statute of limitations, or the amount of time you have to file a claim and recover damages, for personal injury cases is three years for injuries caused by motor vehicle accidents and two years for injuries caused by other means. While two to three years may sound like a long period of time, you must also consider your own recovery period. You should not file your claim until after you have received the majority of your treatment so that you can properly assess your financial costs and do not undersell your own claim. In addition, you will want to have time to collect evidence and prepare for negotiations.
The longer you wait to contact an attorney, however, the more likely you are to lose certain pieces of evidence that could help strengthen your case, such as photos of the accident scene, witness testimonies, and security camera footage. Filing a claim and worrying about evidence is the last thing you want to think about when trying to recover from such a traumatic injury. That is why you need an experienced attorney by your side, helping you through the claims process and putting together your case. You need to heal, so let your attorney do all the heavy lifting.
Get Top Notch Help from the Tenge Law Firm, LLC
Given our years of experience, our legal team at the Tenge Law Firm, LLC has seen first how just how traumatic and deviating an amputation can be. We have also seen the incredible financial burden they leave on our clients. You are probably feeling alone, afraid, and distressed. How will you be able to support yourself and your family while you recover? Will you be able to work after you have healed? How are you going to pay the ever-increasing medical bills? Thankfully, you may have more options than you realize. If you have lost a limb due to negligence, reach out to a Fort Collins amputation attorney at (970) 212-4777 and tell us about your case.