Amputations as a surgical option are normally undertaken in situations where saving a limb is likely not possible and the remaining part of the limb tissue needs excision. In many cases, emergency amputations are tied to crush or avulsion injuries caused by vehicle accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents and cycling accidents.
Traumatic amputations are extremely sudden and emotionally devastating catastrophic injuries which tend to require major physical, psychological, and social adjustment for accident victims. Our Hamilton amputation injury lawyers cannot stress enough the importance of speaking to a lawyer who specializes in traumatic limb amputations should you find yourself in this situation. The costs of managing this injury and its aftermath will likely be quite high. If your injuries are the result of another’s negligence, you may be entitled to have these costs covered by the party that uhrt you. If you have any questions, please call our Hamilton amputation injury lawyers today for a free consultation.
Regardless of how the accident happened, certain realities exist for all victims. The one body that they have in this life has been irreversibly altered. This can cause feelings of worry, surprise, heartache, anger, frustration and so much more. The loss of sensation and the loss of body image often follow, causing severe mental and psychological distress.
For accident victims, amputation is often brutally detrimental to their overall function, which in turn often leads to major psychological suffering. Hamilton amputation injury lawyer Matt Lalande has assisted many amputation victims since 2003 who have suffered amputation injuries all over Ontario.
We understand that accidents can happen anywhere, which is why our traumatic amputation lawyers extend their services to Ontario residents who have been injured in other parts of Canada or the United States.
No matter where your amputation injury occurred, our team is ready to fight for your rights and help you secure the compensation you deserve. With a proven track record of success and a commitment to client satisfaction, Lalande Personal Injury Lawyers is here to support you every step of the way on your road to recovery.
“How do I find an amputation lawyer near me?” is a very common question – especially for people who have never hired a personal injury lawyer. Nobody wakes up expecting to need a lawyer, so these searches are common, and the results can be overwhelming. Here are some tips on how to find an experienced amputation lawyer in Ontario:
Lalande Personal Injury Lawyers and our team of experienced Hamilton amputation injury lawyers are dedicated to fighting for the rights of amputation victims and helping them achieve the justice and compensation they deserve. We pursue maximum amputation injury compensation for your circumstances to ensure your future is protected and you’re able to regain quality of life.
For a consultation with an experienced amputation injury lawyer in Hamilton, Ontario, call us at 905-902-5244 or fill out a free consultation form. As knowledgeable amputations lawyers in Ontario, our committed legal professionals are devoted to assisting you, your cherished ones, and your relatives in obtaining the just recompense you deserve.
Our team has the expertise and resources to guide you through this challenging time and to fight tirelessly to secure the best possible outcome for your case.
In most cases, the urgent need to remove a limb comes from spreading infection. The body becomes sicker as the invading bacteria travel through the bloodstream. If the source of the problem is not removed, the person will die along with the limb. Simply speaking, an unsavable limb is one that puts a person’s body or life at high risk.
When the impact of limb loss strikes, the cost issues and concerns do as well. For many, money is often a primary daily concern anyway. Now, the person with a fresh amputation is struck with serious concerns: Does insurance cover this? Can I afford what is happening to me? Can my family afford it? After my surgery, will the artificial limb be provided?
Especially disturbing is the information that a prosthesis can cost as much as a new car or more. Many insurance policies cover only one prosthesis per lifetime or merely a fraction of their full cost.
If you’ve suffered a traumatic limb amputation as a result of someone’s negligence – and if that person is insured, you may have the right to claim compensation with the assistance of a Hamilton amputation injury lawyer.
Amputee accident victims can expect a lifetime of prosthetic fitting, re-fitting and updating, ongoing physical rehab and other adjustments, which can be very expensive over a lifetime.
Some of the expenses you may expect include:
Remember, if your amputation injury was a result of someone’s negligence, it’s important that you contact our Ontario amputation injury lawyers located in Hamilton. We serve amputation clients province-wide.
In Ontario, the severe impairment of ambulatory mobility, or use of an arm, or amputation can lead to a catastrophic determination. This can happen if the amputation is high up or is considered a Trans-tibial amputation – meaning a below-knee amputation that involves removing the foot, ankle joint, and distal tibia and fibula with related soft tissue structures.
You may be deemed catastrophic if you suffer an amputation of an arm or another impairment causing the total and permanent loss of use of an arm. Being deemed catastrophically impaired would entitle you to enhanced no-fault benefits for life, up to $1,00,000.00.
These benefits can assist with your life-long rehab needs, medication, assistive devices, prosthetics, prosthetic upkeep and/or replacement, vehicle or home modifications, housekeeping costs to help with the upkeep of your home, and attendant care if you are unable to manage certain aspects of life on your own.
If you have been hurt by a negligent third party, you may also be entitled to such amputation injury compensation as:
If you have been hurt by a negligent person or company and/or by a vehicle, you must speak to an Ontario amputation lawyer without any delay. An experienced Hamilton amputation injury lawyer can help put the above issues into place immediately with the right team of experts.
If you or a loved one has undergone a traumatic amputation, it is important to understand that losing a limb can have a very large impact on a person’s self-esteem. For an accident victim, negative feelings about the body, loss of independence, loss of friends or relationships, the ability to relate to others, or loss of a lifestyle could be tremendous hurdles in their recovery.
Understanding and resolving these feelings is a vital part of the rehabilitation process – which is long and expensive for many. If you or a loved one has suffered an amputation injury, you’ll need to determine future costs to ensure your lifetime of care is covered – for both physical and psychological conditions resulting from the accident. This can be a complex process and is something your Hamilton amputation injury lawyer can help you with.
Traumatic amputation surgery not only normally results in physically challenged and bodily disfigurement, but amputee accident victims may also need to make permanent behavioural, social, and emotional adjustments.
Psychologically, many victims often feel disgusted or repelled by their amputated limb. They might not want to look at or touch their limb. They may even feel ashamed. These emotions can be intense and should be managed with the help of a professional therapist or counsellor.
There is a grieving process that many amputee accident victims will need help getting through. The traumatic amputation of a limb may cause an accident victim terrible anguish, stress, and distress not only because of the loss of their body part but also from the need for significant lifestyle adjustments.
Victims who undergo a traumatic limb amputation are also at risk of developing severe depression from feelings of loss, disability, stigma issues, and difficulty coping with the impairment. The distressing events leading to the amputation, especially if amputation is induced by a vehicle or motorcycle accident or being a pedestrian hit by a car, may cause major symptoms of PTSD and heightened anxiety.
Most amputees experience a sensation called the “phantom feeling.” The phantom feeling is the feeling that the amputated part is still there. It relates to body image because your senses now give you a different message than reality. The individual sees that his foot is gone but can still feel it. It’s similar to the feeling we have when removing our hat, yet it feels like it’s still on.
Essentially, it is the sense that the missing extremity is still there after it has been physically removed. Neurologists describe our brain as developing a “nerve map” of our entire body before birth. Later, when a part is removed, the brain’s map remains intact.
The brain’s map is beginning to get different nerve feedback from the missing limb. The limb stays in its memory but becomes somewhat jumbled with these new sensations. The limb feels like it’s still there but often feels very different, and these feelings can change over time.
Our Hamilton amputation injury lawyers have had clients tell us that phantom sensations are incredibly annoying, perhaps more than anything else. Some people call them different names, like “ghost pains” or “electrical feeling,” similar to the feeling of hitting your “funny bone” [nerve at the elbow].
Other descriptions are stabbing, burning, cramping, twisting, and aching. Fortunately, the intense phantom feelings are short-lived and sporadic for most.
Due to the physical defect caused by a traumatic amputation, victims are forced to undergo changes to their activities. These may be minimal for a very distal lower extremity amputee or maximal for a high-level arm or leg amputee.
Certain activities most people take for granted become challenging for amputees. For lower extremity amputees, these challenges may preclude jobs and specific living situations and cause strained social interactions. For upper extremity amputees, these changes definitely limit job skills and will impact eating, personal hygiene, and toileting.
Mobility poses significant problems for amputees in emergency situations. Even a unilateral amputee has some difficulty with balance and quick action. As one might suspect, the bilateral amputee, in either a combination of both legs or arm and leg, has an even greater disability. In general, the amputee’s ability to respond to an emergency is limited.
Since most of us in society do not readily respond to help people in emergency situations, an amputee can often be the last one to leave a room that is on fire, for example. If a leg amputee is in bed at night and there is an emergency, they must first either put on their prosthesis or crawl.
Because of phantom sensations, lower extremity amputees will often get out of bed at night, start walking without thinking, and fall. Due to their limited maneuverability, even when wearing the prosthesis, rapid maneuvers often required in emergency situations are not possible or take place extremely slowly.
In situations like this, attendant care benefits are available through no-fault benefits if the traumatic amputation happened in a motor vehicle accident. Attendant care benefits can be paid up to $6000 a month for incurred expenses of professional attendants.
Attendant care benefits are combined with medical and rehabilitation benefits to a maximum of $1 million. For non-catastrophic cases, attendant care benefits are available for up to 104 weeks post-accident. Most dramatic amputation cases, however, are deemed catastrophic impairments. Attendant care benefits are available for catastrophically impaired victims for the duration of their life.
There is no doubt a picture in each of our minds of how we appear to others. We develop this sense through what we can see of ourselves and by using reflections, like a mirror or a photograph. We also utilize our other senses and communication with others to establish this vision.
This awareness is called our body image. It can be affected by simple things like getting our hair cut or coloured. For some people, just breaking a fingernail or having a “bad hair day” can disrupt this image. Our body image can and does change with things like cosmetic surgery or permanent scarring from injury or disease. It certainly changes over time as we become adults, gain or lose weight, and age.
When part of our anatomy is altered, especially a part that we identify closely with our sexuality, our identity is threatened. For example, legs are often viewed as a part of a woman’s sexual attraction. A fit man may see his arms or biceps and broad shoulders as a part of his physical appeal to women. If a person loses one or more of these limbs, do they become less female or male?
When an amputation occurs, that concern may become paramount. An amputee, if forced to experience a dramatic change to their body, may have serious concerns and suffer emotional troubles in the context of body image and sexuality. The accompanying emotional impact of such loss can require years of psychological therapy.
A significant amount of auto accident amputations occur in rollover accidents when the upper extremity is more vulnerable. Accident statistics (DOT) have often reported that the positioning of one’s arm on or outside a vehicle’s door/window causes immediate arm entrapment and major injury. Mangled arms and hands with associated vascular injuries have an amputation rate exceeding 40% – due to poor circulation.
When a limb is terribly hurt or mangled, and cells don’t get enough oxygen and nutrients they need from the bloodstream, tissue can die, become infected, and peripheral arterial disease can develop. When the tissue can’t be salvaged, this may lead to an amputation. Having your arm inside the car window eliminates the benefit of maintaining containment within a protective structure.
Returning to work after an amputation may be a challenge if you or your family member did any type of physical work or manual labour. If so, vocational rehabilitation will likely be required. Other times, mobility might not be a challenge in the return to work process, but other factors may be an issue. For example, many individuals struggle with the lack of mental acceptance or other psychological issues with their amputation.
Other medical problems may also be an issue, such as the type of amputation or if there were multiple amputations. For example, socket comfort, socket irritation or persistent stump problems, the comfort of the prosthetic or a restriction in walking distance can all inhibit the return to work and make certain professions and tasks challenging. There could also be an issue with the lack of acceptable transport to and from work, interpersonal relationships, social isolation or physical and mental stress issues.
All of that being said, many traumatic amputees do return to work successfully after undergoing comprehensive vocational rehabilitation, especially when pursuing a career transition or job change. Vocational rehabilitation and counselling should become a part of the rehabilitation programs for all victims trying to get back to work. Your Hamilton amputation injury lawyer can help you with this by connecting you with the appropriate experts and professionals.
Traumatic amputation surgery is a challenging process that produces considerable stress for the victim, and many struggle to cope. For this reason, it is vital that all traumatic amputation victims learn their rights and what they might be entitled to. The ongoing therapy, treatment, and other care required to recover from a traumatic amputation can become extremely costly.
We understand that you or your loved one are currently stressed, devastated, confused, and overwhelmed, but it is important that your future is protected. If you have any questions relating to your or your loved one’s accident, please contact us any time by filling in a contact form, chatting with our live operator or calling 905-333-8888. Our Hamilton amputation injury lawyers would be happy to speak with you. We never charge for consultation or upfront fees.
We Can Help. Contact us 24/7
start your case905-333-8888VOTED BEST LAWYERS IN CANADA 2018, 2019 & 2020
Traumatic amputation is the loss of a body part — usually a finger, toe, arm, or leg– that occurs as the result of an accident or trauma.
Traumatic amputations usually result directly from motor vehicle accidents. In our experience, most traumatic amputations are a result of motorcycle accidents and pedestrian accidents.
Yes. Our Provincial no-fault schedule states that an amputation injury is considered catastrophic if the accident victim suffers a severe impairment of ambulatory mobility or use of an arm or amputation meets one of the following criteria:
i. Trans-tibial or higher amputation of a leg.
ii. Amputation of an arm or another impairment causing the total and permanent loss of use of an arm.
iii. Severe and permanent alteration of prior structure and function involving one or both legs as a result of which the insured person’s score on the Spinal Cord Independence Measure, Version III, item 12 (Mobility Indoors), as published in Catz, A., Itzkovich, M., Tesio L. et al, A multicentre international study on the Spinal Cord Independence Measure, version III: Rasch psychometric validation, Spinal Cord (2007) 45, 275-291 and applied over a distance of up to 10 metres on an even indoor surface is 0 to 5.
In our experience, we have seen our amputee clients experience two types of pain: phantom limb pain and amputation stump pain. All amputees have phantom sensations, but in some patients, they can cause
excruciating pain.
Depending upon the specific level of amputation and the type of prosthesis, the costs
for prosthetic devices range from one to several thousand dollars. If your injury was caused in a motor vehicle accident, then your no-fault benefits will provide payment for all of your required devices, including prosthetic devices, for life.
It depends. You will be entitled to a minimum of $1M in medical and rehabilitation benefits, however you may also be entitled to compensation from someone (their insurance company) who was careless and caused your injury.
Yes, Matt Lalande has been representing traumatic injury accident victims all across Ontario since 2003.
Absolutely, we never charge clients to speak to us about their injuries.
We offer consultations to amputee victims 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
A traumatic amputation is the loss of a body part, such as a finger, hand, arm, foot, or leg, due to a sudden and severe injury. Common causes include industrial accidents, motor vehicle crashes, agricultural accidents, and injuries from defective products. Traumatic amputations can have life-altering consequences, requiring extensive medical treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term care.
If you or a loved one has experienced a traumatic amputation, seek immediate medical attention. After receiving proper care, consult with an experienced amputation lawyer to discuss your legal options. A knowledgeable attorney can help you understand your rights and guide you through the process of seeking compensation for your losses, including medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
To find an experienced amputation lawyer near you, start by searching online for law firms that specialize in personal injury cases, specifically those with experience in amputation litigation. Look for firms with a proven track record of success, positive client reviews, and a strong reputation in the legal community. You can also ask for referrals from friends, family, or other legal professionals.
When hiring an amputation lawyer, look for someone with extensive experience handling cases similar to yours. The lawyer should have a deep understanding of the medical, emotional, and financial challenges faced by amputation victims and their families. Additionally, choose a lawyer who is compassionate, communicative, and dedicated to fighting for your rights. Make sure the lawyer works on a contingency basis, meaning you don’t pay unless they recover compensation for you.
alande Personal Injury Lawyers is a leading law firm with over 20 years of experience representing amputation victims across Ontario. Their team of skilled amputation lawyers has recovered millions of dollars in compensation for their clients, helping them secure the resources they need to rebuild their lives. With a no-win, no-fee policy and a commitment to personalized service, Lalande Personal Injury Lawyers is dedicated to helping you achieve the best possible outcome for your case.
I was a dental hygienist that suffers from really bad scoliosis. My insurance company ignored my doc & cut my benefits off & told me I could do “something”. Matt got me CPP Disability and and LTD settlement – I don’t know what I would have done without him.
My daughter was killed by a drunk driver and it forever changed all of our lives. It seemed that for two years time stopped. This was no an easy journey. Matt let me sit in on the discovery of the driver and boy, he never let up. In the end, our grand-daughter was taken care of and we were compensated for our loss – which we then donated to a cause we believed in.
I call Matt my knight in shining armour. After I was struck by a car while cycling and permanently crippled, he fielded all communications with my especially difficult and downright nasty insurance adjuster. Every step of my care was a battle and I did not have the strength to fight alone.
I lost my leg in a terrible motorcycle accident and Matt help me recover compensation I need because I could not work and the cost of prosthetics and rehab are out of this world. I don’t know what I would have done without him.
My brother ended up paralyzed after a car accident and Lalande did SO MUCH to help get things straight from him getting out of the hospital to all his care for life. We are so grateful for Matt & Heather. I don’t know how my family could have done this without them.
