An Amputation Injury Lawyer’s Guide to Workers Compensation Settlements for Loss of Limb
How to Get Workers Comp Benefits or a Lump Sum Settlement for a Workplace Amputation
Thousands of American workers suffer amputation injuries and loss of limb yearly.
These work-related amputations cause significant disability. Indeed, a June 2020 report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found workplace amputations resulted in a median of 31 days away from work to recover, compared to nine days away from work for all types of injuries. And, in our experience, amputation can lead to much more lost time. Indeed, many amputees have to change careers due to the loss of a limb.
Can you afford to miss more than a month of work?
Time missed from work and the resulting wage loss tell only part of the story regarding work-related amputation. In addition to lost wages, a lost limb takes tens of thousands of dollars in medical treatment and rehabilitation, causes permanent impairment, and may affect your mental health.
This article analyzes the factors determining your workers compensation settlement for limb loss after an amputation.
Read on for more information about work-related amputation claims and settlements.
If you have questions about workers compensation or want to talk to a top-rated amputation injury lawyer, call me at (804) 251-1620 or (757) 810-5614.
What is Amputation?
Amputation is the loss of a limb (arm or leg) or digit (finger or toe) from trauma or a surgical procedure to remove all or part of the injured body part.
Amputation Levels
An amputation may be total – resulting in loss of the entire limb or digit – or partial.
Unless the traumatic incident severs the limb, your doctor will perform the amputation at the level that gives you the best chance of healing and retaining some use of the injured body part. The goal is to preserve as much of the limb as possible while preventing infection that may cause further loss or death.
The amputation level you have depends on where the work-related accident, machinery, motor vehicle crash, or surgeon amputates the limb.
Typical amputation levels include:
Upper Limb (Arm and Hand) Amputation Levels
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- Forequarter: You lose the scapula, part of the clavicle (collarbone), and the entire arm.
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- Shoulder disarticulation: You lose the whole arm through the shoulder joint.
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- Transhumeral (above elbow): The doctor amputates the arm to just above the elbow.
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- Elbow disarticulation: You lose the elbow joint and your arm below it.
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- Transradial (below elbow): The doctor amputates the hand and forearm bones.
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- Hand or wrist disarticulation: You lose the hand and arm through the radiocarpal joint.
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- Partial hand: With this injury or procedure, you lose part of the hand, including the palm, fingers, or thumb.
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- Transmetacarpal: The doctor removes the metacarpal bones in your hand.
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- Finger amputation
Lower Limb (Leg and Foot) Amputation Levels
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- Hemicorporectomy: The doctor amputates the entire body below the waist.
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- Hindquarter: You lose part of the pelvis and the leg.
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- Above knee: The doctor amputates through the femur.
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- Below knee: This amputation is the most commonly performed.
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- Through the knee
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- Syme’s amputation: The doctor amputates through the ankle joint.
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- Foot amputation
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- Toe amputation
How Common is Limb Loss in the United States?
A 2024 study commissioned by the Amputee Coalition reports more than 2 million people are living with limb loss in the United States, with approximately 185,000 amputations occurring each year. The hospital costs associated with amputation totaled billions of dollars.
Of these amputations, trauma (such as a work-related incident or truck crash) caused nearly half. Vascular disease, including diabetes mellitus and peripheral arterial disease, is the leading cause of limb loss.
How Many Workplace Amputations Occur Yearly?
Employers must report any work-related amputation or inpatient admission to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) within 24 hours of the incident.
Since January 2015, OSHA has received reports of 18,559 work-related amputations—many amputations – 5,049 – required inpatient hospitalization. Fingers, toes, and hands were the body parts most commonly lost in these industrial accidents.
The industries with the most amputation reports include:
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- Manufacturing (55.2%)
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- Construction (10.5%)
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- Wholesale Trade (5.7%)
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- Retail Trade (5.2%)
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- Transportation and Warehousing (4.8%)
What are Common Causes of Work-Related Amputations?
Government agencies like the BLS, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and OHSA provide some data on workplace amputations and their causes.
For example:
In 2020, BLS reported that 58 percent of work-related amputations in 2018 involved machinery. Parts and materials contributed to 15 percent of industrial amputations. Powered and unpowered hand tools contributed to another seven percent of work injury claims for limb loss.
In 2012, OSHA published a fact sheet stating amputations occur most frequently “when workers operate unguarded or inadequately safeguarded mechanical power presses, power press brakes, powered and non-powered conveyors, printing presses, roll-forming and rollbending machines, food slicers, meat grinders, meat-cutting band saws, drill presses, and milling machines.” Other workplace tasks that cause amputations and loss of limbs include cleaning, maintaining, or operating shears, grinders, slitters, forklifts, trash compactors, and other tools.
In a 2003 report, BLS found that during the period 1992-1992, more than half of nonfatal workplace amputations occurred in manufacturing, resulting in a rate more than double the national average. Operators, fabricators, and laborers accounted for more of these amputations than all other occupations combined. The construction industry also had a higher-than-average incidence rate for nonfatal amputations.
In 1987, NIOSH issued a bulletin that said about 10% of all reported amputations occur among power press operators.
A 1977 BLS survey found 21,000 industrial accidents resulted in amputations that year.
What Types of Doctors Will Treat My Amputation Injury?
Multiple medical providers with different specialties may provide care after a catastrophic injury resulting in the loss of a limb.
For example, you may see these medical professionals because of an amputation:
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- Emergency room physician
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- General surgeon
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- Neurosurgeon
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- Physiatrist (for rehabilitation and pain management)
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- Psychiatrist
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- Physical therapist
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- Mental health counselor (including licensed clinical psychologists and licensed clinical social workers)
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- Prosthetist (a medical professional who helps people with limb loss design, fit, build, and adjust their artificial limb)
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- Orthotist
Rehabilitation after Amputation
Post-trauma or post-surgical amputation rehabilitation is a crucial step in regaining as much limb function as possible and avoiding medical complications.
The type of rehabilitation depends on the body part amputated; however, typical rehab for the loss of a limb includes some or all of the following:
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- Cold treatment to restrict blood vessels and control swelling and bleeding
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- Electrical nerve stimulation to relieve pain
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- Physical therapy and stretching to maintain flexibility of the remaining muscles and joints
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- Strengthening the residual limb
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- Practicing with a temporary prosthesis to determine how much weight the limb can hold
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- Functional training to improve your ability to perform daily living activities
In addition, you may receive mental health counseling to help with depression, PTSD, or your loss of mobility and independence due to amputation.
What are the Potential Complications from an Amputation?
You may have several complications after a work-related amputation, such as the following:
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- Contractures: The muscles at the hip or knee joint tend to shorten depending on where your leg is amputated. As a result, you may experience contractures that affect the leg’s range of motion and how the prosthesis fits.
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- Falls from phantom sensation: After the amputation, you may feel you still have the lost limb. This sensation that your limb remains intact may cause you to try to stand or walk as you did before the injury, causing you to fall and hurt additional body parts.
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- Infection: Surgical site infection after an amputation happens often and may slow your recovery. Wound care remains crucial throughout the healing process.
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- Mental health difficulties: The workplace accident that resulted in amputation may lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In addition, amputees are at risk of depression due to the loss of independence or mobility from losing the limb. These psychological problems may cause insomnia, an inability to concentrate, and difficulties with social interaction.
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- Neuroma: The severed nerve end may scar, causing a neuroma to form.
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- Nerve damage: Surgical amputation and trauma causing you to lose a limb often sever nerves, causing pain and other symptoms.
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- Obesity: The loss of a limb may reduce your mobility, causing you to gain weight and develop conditions like cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
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- Overuse injuries to the healthy limb or digits: You must rely on your healthy limbs when you lose a limb in a workplace accident. This increased reliance may cause you to develop overuse injuries, degenerative disc disease in your spine due to an altered gait, or osteoarthritis in one or more of your joints. In addition, changes in how you walk (altered gait) or hold yourself due to a prosthesis may cause pain in other body parts. Under the compensable consequence theory, you can receive workers comp benefits for these overuse injuries.
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- Phantom limb pain: Though you have lost the limb, you may continue to feel pain where the injured body part once was. The pain is real; the location is not. At least one study found that the majority of amputees will have phantom pain that is difficult to relieve. And the longer you had the pain before amputation, the more likely you will experience phantom pain after the surgical procedure to remove the limb. Further, prescribed medication for chronic pain may have side effects, including lethargy and fatigue.
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- Skin breakdown: The part of the remaining limb that contacts the prosthesis is at risk of breaking down from new pressure points, leading to infection. Indeed, an infection could lead to losing more of the limb if you suffered a partial loss in a work accident.
What is the Average Settlement for the Loss of a Limb After a Work-Related Amputation Injury?
In my experience, workers compensation settlements for amputations range from $55,000 to $500,000 or more when you can prove compensability. The lower settlement range applies to losing a finger or toe with minimal effect on your ability to work. In contrast, the higher end applies to the loss of extremities requiring prosthetics.
Personal injury settlements for loss of limb due to car crashes or defective machinery (forklifts, cranes, electric shock, etc.) can lead to much higher amputation settlements – $1,000,000 or more – because you can recover money for pain, suffering, and diminished quality of life under tort law.
What Factors Affect the Settlement Value for Loss of Limb?
Amputation is one of the most severe injuries you can suffer, right there with spinal cord injuries resulting in paralysis and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Losing a limb will significantly affect your life and the lives of loved ones.
The starting point for evaluating amputation claims is the likelihood that you can prove compensability in your work-related amputation case or liability in a civil action for loss of limb based on negligence.
After that, I recommend analyzing these factors to determine a reasonable settlement for amputation.
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- Permanent impairment: Losing part or all of an extremity or digit will cause a degree of permanent impairment. For example, a thumb amputation may reduce your ability to use the hand for daily tasks involving handling, grasping, and fingering. In turn, this impairment will allow you to recover compensation for permanent partial disability (PPD) or, in cases involving the loss of an entire limb, permanent total disability payments.
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- Disability (missed time from work): As mentioned in this article, the median number of days missed due to amputation is more than triple the median for all occupational injuries. The length of disability will depend on the level of your amputation, your ability to use a prosthesis efficiently, and your pre-injury job requirements. You may qualify for temporary total disability (TTD) when you are out of work due to limb loss. And if you return to a light-duty job earning less because of the amputation, you can qualify for temporary partial disability (TPD).
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- Long-term healthcare costs: The workers compensation insurance company must pay for medical treatment related to the amputation injury. This obligation lasts for life and applies to any medical care or rehabilitation that is reasonable, necessary, and causally related to limb loss. Depending on the treatment needed for the initial trauma causing the amputation (often $100,000 or more), your life expectancy, prosthetic needs (including the number of times you must replace the prosthesis, which can cost from $5,000 to $70,000 or more), and whether you need home health care or assisted living due to loss of mobility, lifetime medical costs for amputation may exceed $500,000.
Resources for Amputees
As a new amputee, we understand that you may have concerns or needs outside your lawsuit or workers compensation claim.
Therefore, we recommend seeing if these organizations can answer your questions and provide support while we prosecute your amputation case and negotiate a loss of limb settlement:
Amputation Injury Lawyers for Employees Living with Loss of Limb
Our amputation injury lawyers help you recover workers compensation benefits, Social Security disability, and personal injury damages when you lose a limb in an industrial accident or have a tort claim against a third party.
Contact us today to see how we can help.
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