Amputation Injuries
Wisconsin Amputation Injury Attorneys
Accidents, happen. But when someone has a catastrophic accident due to the negligence of another party in which they undergo amputation, life get’s much harder. If you were injured in an accident which caused you to have to undergo an amputation, you maybe entitled to compensation for those injuries. If they were a result of a car accident or if they happened at work, Lein Law can fight to get you the compensation you deserve. Call us at (715) 403-5045 or get a free consultation. The road to recovery begins with Lein Law.
Introduction to Amputation Injuries
Amputation is the surgical removal of a body part, such as an arm or a leg. Amputations are also sometimes called ‘partial limb amputations’ and they often occur after a severe accident, such as the loss of fingers or toes on your dominant hand in a car accident. These injuries are common not only among people that are involved in car accidents, but among people who earn their living with heavy machinery and work around dangerous environments.
When a body part is amputated, the person loses his ability to control that limb and will need to get used to using alternative methods of physical therapy as well as different types of prostheses. In this article I’ll be focusing on the injury and types of amputations, as well as how a person copes with having to get used to their new arm or leg.
I will also be going into detail on what physical therapy will help people who have lost a limb regain full function of their body through training of the muscles again. How doctors and nurses deal with these kinds of injuries and operate on the injured limbs. And what types of prostheses exist for people who have had amputation injuries, I will also go into detail about them and how they work.
A Brief History of Amputations.
In early times, amputation was used as a way to treat some health conditions, such as gangrene or other infections in the limbs of humans, and it was a successful method. In men, amputations’ were rare but not unheard of until World War I. Then an American surgeon named William B. Astin performed amputation on soldiers that had been injured by small arms fire or shells and he noticed how effective this treatment was because without amputating, the soldier would have died. From there, amputation became a common practice among injured soldiers and it saved many lives on both sides of the war.
In World War II, both sides used amputations’ on their injured troops as well and they had become so common that by 1942 they were considered to be a vital surgical procedure in combat. After World War II, further medical research and development were done to improve amputation experience. New inventions and methods of healing the injured limbs gave people who have had an amputation a better quality of life.
During the Vietnam war in which America was involved during 1965-1975, it is estimated that anywhere from 65, 000 to 72,000 casualties happened as a result of gunshot wounds and that about 17,000 amputations were performed on wounded soldiers. Since then, improvements in medical treatment have resulted in most American servicemen being evacuated from battlefields so only 1% of them end up dying from their injuries.
Amputations in the Modern World
Today the use of amputation is sparingly used by surgeons because it is often better to save a damaged limb for someone who can use it than do an amputation, which removes a potentially useful body part from a person.
In the United States alone there are over 200,000 people living with amputations and about 100 new amputations are performed every day. Most of these surgeries happen because they’re needed in order to save a person’s life after an accident. Other than in America, amputation is used more often among people from developing countries.
This type of surgery can be very dangerous and surgeons must take caution to prevent infection among their patients as well as keep the wound clean and free of any infections that might be there.
https://acl.gov/programs/post-injury-support/national-limb-loss-resource-center
Types Of Amputations
There are no less than 6 different types of amputations and they are all subdivided into upper and lower body parts like hands, arms, feet and legs. The most common type is called “Truncal” or total which means the entire limb was removed from the body, but it can also refer to partial amputation’ such as losing one arm or leg.
There are also partial amputations that remove the fingers, toes or hand from an individual and these types of surgeries were performed in ancient times because they’re mostly used to save a person’s life after an accident if the injury was severe enough to require it.
This type of surgery removes all or part of an entire limb at once, for example: an arm or a leg, and it is mostly performed in order to save a person’s life after an injury has happened.
Amputations are also divided into two different groups which are loss of limbs due to trauma or cancerous cells. Traumatic amputations occur as the result of a fall, gunshot wound, blast or any other type of serious accident and very often they happen during wars whereas cancerous amputations occur because they’re needed in order to save a person’s life after a tumor has started growing or some other health condition caused by the presence of malignant cells.
Types of Amputations’ Injuries
Amputation injuries come from many different causes:
- Car Accidents
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Heavy Machinery Accident
- Semi-truck Accidents
- Farm & Agricultural Accidents
- Construction Accidents
- Building Collapses
- Factory Injuries
- Manufacturing Plant Injuries
The biggest problem with listing accidents, is that an amputation while rare, has stemmed from something as small as bruise or a scratch.
A doctor once told me that the smallest scratch can in fact lead to amputation, it just takes time. Time for infection and gangrene to set in.
For example: if I scrape my arm on a rusty fence post today, chances are nothing will happen. But if I continue to scrape that same spot on a daily basis (even though the wound is unnoticeable to my naked eye), chances are that by next week, I will be in a hospital and they will have to amputate my arm.
Amputation Prosthetics
“Prosthesis” is an artificial body part used to replace a missing one (thus giving people mobility). There are three types of prosthesis:
End-of-range Prosthetics (these are the most common and they have to be changed every few years because your body will continue to grow.)
Symmetrical-suspension Prosthetics
The first two types of prosthesis (above) are used in both lower and upper body amputations whereas the third type is used only in upper body amputees because they’re needed to help them breath.
Amputation Prosthetics are usually made of a combination of plastic, metal and rubber which makes it possible for prosthetic limbs to mimic natural ones as closely as possible. Patients with amputations simply have to decide which style of prosthesis they want to use.
Types Of Prostheses
There are two basic types of limbs: passive and active.
Passive limbs only have a cosmetic purpose and they don’t move at all. A good example for this type is a rubber hand used in order to balance out the natural one which was lost.
Active limbs, on the other hand, are used for a much bigger variety of movements. They can be either symmetrical (means they have legs and arms) or asymmetrical (can only have one arm, mostly used in upper body amputations).
When active prosthetics first came out they were very expensive and hard to use because they required a lot of effort from the patient. However, as technology evolved, so did prosthetics and nowadays they’re easier to use because they can be controlled by sensors which tell the device how much pressure is needed to be applied on it in order for it to move.
Symmetrical-suspension Prosthetic Information (used for lower and upper limbs)
The leg and arm are attached directly to the pelvis and give patients more freedom of movement than end-of-range ones. However, they still have a big disadvantage which is that they have a tendency to slip out of place, especially during extreme activities such as running (because prosthetics need force in order for them to move).
The most important factor when it comes to a lower limb is the knee joint. Amputations used to come with bolted-on legs which gave patients no mobility whatsoever, so the next generation of prosthetic was made with hinged knees instead. Doctors found out that this kind of prosthetic (or any other type for that matter) doesn’t work with a bolted-on pelvis because patients started to fall after weeks of using it. Therefore, the next generation of prostheses used a hinged hip/pelvis combination instead which gave patients better mobility and steadiness than before.
Most prosthetics have diameter-adjustable sockets so they can fit over various types of limbs (for example, some patients have a hard time using ankles because they can’t find the right socket for them).
The most common problem that people with prosthetics face is skin erosion/infection. This happens when patients forget to take out their device at night (because in order for it to be comfortable during the day, they need to put it under their clothes). Doctors have found that if the patient has a weak immune system then chances of him/her getting this kind of infection are bigger.
Personal Injury and Amputation Injuries
Personal injury attorneys in Wisconsin specialize in a person’s right to seek compensation for injuries that result from the negligence of others. By contacting your local personal injury attorney you can learn more about your rights and whether you have grounds for a lawsuit.
A lawyer will help you understand what type of compensation is possible (Medical costs, lost pay, pain and suffering, etc.) Depending on the severity of your injuries you could be entitled to a high settlement that will cover all medical expenses and reimburse you for lost wages.
If you’ve suffered an amputation injury due to someone else’s negligence then it is possible that they have been negligent in the past which can help build your case. What is important is proving that this negligence has caused your accident and injuries.
In order to protect yourself from liability in the future, speak with an experienced personal injury attorney who can help you build a case against the person or party responsible for your accident. They will inform you of what evidence is needed to prove negligent behavior on behalf of the defendant and how to get it.
Personal Injury Compensation
A personal injury lawyer can help you figure out how much money you should be asking for from the party responsible for your injuries or accident. It is important to take into consideration that a settlement offer is usually considerably less than what it will eventually cost you to cover all of your bills and medical expenses over time.
If you need proof of the defendant’s negligence then it is important to speak with an attorney as soon as possible. If your case can be made stronger by proving, for example, that the defendant has been negligent in the past then you should have a lawyer collecting and analyzing evidence immediately.
Proof of Negligence
Some types of injury cases require proof of negligence in order to win compensation. A personal injury lawyer can help you prove that the other party is at fault for your accident or injuries. They will collect evidence to show what happened leading up to your accident as well as any relevant circumstances (ex: a vehicle speeding down a residential street).
Amputation accidents, especially when someone is working at a company, are a prime example of negligence. If the worker didn’t take the necessary precautions then they could be held liable for the accident. It is important that you speak with an experienced personal injury attorney if your amputation was caused by another person’s negligence.
Amputation Injuries in the Workplace
A work injury can occur anytime an employee is on the job or during the time spent traveling to and from work. Due to this factor you may be able to file for workers’ compensation benefits even if your employer does not carry workers’ compensation insurance. A good Wisconsin Workers Compensation Lawyer can help you understand your rights and let you know if you are eligible for any benefits. If so they will make sure that they will be paid in a timely manner.
Compensation Benefits for Work Injuries
If an employee is injured at work he or she may be entitled to receive medical treatment and compensation for the loss of pay. If it is determined that the injury was caused by the negligence of someone else in the workplace you may be eligible to file a lawsuit for damages outside of workers’ compensation. In general an injured person cannot sue their employer in a situation like this because they would only end up hurting themselves financially. Compensation benefits are paid by the employer, not your boss so it is in your best interest to receive them first before doing anything else.
Workers’ compensation insurance helps employees avoid bankruptcy due to medical expenses and lost wages. For these reasons it is important that a person receives compensation as soon as possible after being injured on the job. A good injury lawyer will help you find all of the necessary paperwork, fill it out correctly and submit it to the right party on time. He or she can also help make sure that your employer has Workers’ Compensation Insurance that is valid.
In addition to filing a lawsuit for damages an injured employee can receive as much compensation as possible. A workers’ compensation lawyer will help you figure out how much money you should be asking for from the party responsible for your injuries or accident. It is important to take into consideration that a settlement offer is usually considerably less than what it will eventually cost you to hire a lawyer and go through the court procedure. There are many things that an attorney needs to figure out when you bring your case in front of a judge, so try to avoid doing it alone.
Tell Us About Your Injury. We’re Here To Listen.
If you are injured in a Wisconsin in an accident, our longtime Wisconsin injury attorneys can help.
Contact Lein Law Offices for information about your personal injury in Wisconsin by calling 715-403-5045 .
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