Handling Amputated Thumb, Finger or Arm Personal Injury Lawsuits: Legal and Medical Issues

Representing personal injury clients who have a lawsuit involving an amputated thumb, finger or arm involves many unique issues. Working with a variety of professionals that treat amputation injuries is absolutely necessary, but also dealing with the psychological and mental aspects of losing a limb, finger or thumb requires special attention. This article explores some of these issues.

I am currently involved in a case involving a thumb amputation which also adversely affected the fingers of my client's right hand - the client's dominant hand. My client has endured four surgeries including the amputation of his right thumb. After seeing what he has been through over the last two years, I have come to appreciate the massive psychological and mental impact of an amputation injury.

My client cannot button his own button down shirt, cannot do a simple task like hook together the button on every typical pair of blue jeans. He lost the ability to use a simple kitchen utensil and had to re-learn that task with his left hand. And for a right-handed person, imagine being unable to give a typical handshake to every individual you ever meet in your daily life. These types of daily psychological reminders are devastating to a person that suffers an amputated thumb, finger or arm. Amputation injuries can arise from industrial equipment failures/defects, use of saws, high speed tools, from crush injuries and many other types of accidents.

An experienced personal injury attorney will discuss the implications of the amputation with the surgeon who is treating the injured client. I learned from my client, and from discussing the matter with his orthopedic surgeon, that the doctor was proposing to do a thumb-to-toe reconstruction surgery.

I learned there is an orthopedic surgery done around the United States and in other nations involving removing the big toe off the person's foot and reattaching it where the amputated thumb was. I even saw a story on Shark Week on Discovery channel where a surfer who suffered traumatic thumb amputation due to a shark attack successfully underwent the reconstruction and was doing well. Doctors have learned to try to reattach nerve endings in a successful digit-toe reconstruction surgery, and a person can re-learn the opposable thumb movement that is one of the most essential human functions that distinguishes us from all other animals on the planet. As a matter of fact, until you suffer an amputation injury to a thumb you probably don't ever think about how essential that motion is to your daily activities. Surgeons are also learning to reattach fingers and it depends on whether the finger can be located and is in good enough condition to re-attach.

My client who suffered this amputation injury has endured amazing psychological and mental stress - who wouldn't? He can't work in his previous job and he is currently, after many surgeries, still trying to determine what job he can retrain for with one good hand because of the loss of his right thumb and weakness in his other fingers of that right hand. He was an electrician and a welder. Those jobs are not realistic now. I had my client assessed by a vocational counselor to determine what his capacity without his right thumb, in relation to jobs that he might look for or retrain for in the future. This type of opinion is absolutely mandatory in a major amputation case where the client was working and lost their occupation because of injury or disability.

Also, when a client is looking at future surgeries as a result of amputation or an amputated limb, an attorney must go to a qualified life care planning nurse or rehabilitation expert in order to present the actual costs of the future surgical procedure, including any physical therapy or rehabilitation costs associated with that future surgery. Unfortunately, in our state and federal courts, the judges will not allow an attorney to present a claim for money for future medical expenses or surgeries unless there is adequate evidence. This means professional medical testimony. Accordingly, obtaining a medical professional opinion on future medical expenses or costs is absolutely mandatory and is something that experienced injury attorneys often must develop and present in case of a jury trial.

Different persons that suffer amputation respond differently with regard to the psychological and mental aspects of this devastating injury. Depending upon the client's specific situation, if they are seeing a psychologist in order to cope with the implications of amputation, then certainly an injury attorney must develop this evidence and plan to present the devastating psychological consequences.

Even if the client is not being treated by a psychological professional, if the surgeon or other specialists are already describing some aspect of depression by the victim, an injury attorney must assess whether the information should be developed further, and how to best present the psychological and mental aspects of amputation injuries at trial. This is a fine art and not a science, and is based on representing victims of serious and catastrophic injuries and makes a significant difference in the eyes of a jury. If you or a family member suffers such an amputation injury, carefully assess the experience and track record of an injury attorney, and read other articles on this website on various aspects of handling major injury cases.

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About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a Virginia (VA) injury law firm whose attorneys focus exclusively on personal injury and accident law. We have a proven track record in the court room, and you can review our case results to see for yourself. Our attorneys have deep roots in Virginia and handle cases throughout the commonwealth including Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Newport News, Hampton and Suffolk, VA. We have offices in Virginia Beach and Hampton, but we're ready to come to you anywhere in VA if you've been seriously hurt by another person's carelessness. 

Virginia injury lawyers Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been recognized as among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008. Shapiro and Lewis have also been selected by the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009. Rick and Jim have been named Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law since 2010, making them among the 5 percent of lawyers so honored. In addition, we were the first injury law firm in Virginia to join Primerus, a select group of highly ethical and respected law firms. Our Virginia Beach accident injury firm has the highest rating of AV from Martindale-Hubbell, a national lawyer ranking organization, which means we have a reputation for preeminent legal skill. 

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