Amputation Malpractice Wrongful Death

The leading source of disability and mortality in the US is medical errors. These can result in a variety of consequences, but in the most severe situations, these preventable mistakes result in limb amputation. Medical malpractice is the legal action that an injured person can pursue if a healthcare provider’s carelessness or deviation from the established standard of care causes injury, such as amputation.

Amputation is sometimes necessary to treat a patient or save his or her life. Even when an amputation is necessary, the path to recovery can be lengthy, exhausting, and physically devastating. What can make recovery even more difficult is when an amputation should never have happened in the first place, making rehabilitation much more unpleasant and hard for a patient who simply wants to get back to normal. This would be known as amputation malpractice. This may happen due to medical misdiagnosis or negligence. Whether a patient loses the tip of a finger or a complete leg, the loss of a limb or limbs may have a catastrophic impact on a person’s overall quality of life due to amputation malpractice.

Surgical Mistakes

This type of malpractice encompasses more than simply failed procedures or mistakes made by the surgeon during surgery. Any type of irresponsible medical care connected to a surgical operation and post-operative recovery and therapy is referred to as a surgical error. The majority of limb amputation occurrences include therapeutic mistakes during the post-surgery recovery period.

One prominent example is failing to appropriately monitor, identify, and manage post-operative infections or other issues that arise after surgery. Post-operative problems might include blood clots or disorders that affect blood circulation to the legs, in addition to infection.

Inability to Diagnose

Failure to diagnose is the most prevalent kind of medical negligence related to limb amputations. Diagnostic mistakes occur when clinicians fail to diagnose, diagnose too slowly, or misdiagnose a medical disease.

The crucial point here is that the mistake or delay in diagnosis must be negligent. This implies that a reasonable clinician would have made the proper diagnosis under the same conditions. Misdiagnosis is widespread in the hospital emergency department environment when a careless delay in diagnosis results in leg amputation.

The Outcomes of Improper Amputation

Amputations have catastrophic implications. They should normally be used as a last option when all other therapies have failed. Amputation is sometimes necessary to preserve the patient’s life.

The following are some of the patient’s major removal costs:

• Disability – Despite having a prosthetic leg, you will likely experience some functional decline and be unable to perform all of your prior tasks. You might not be able to do your work if it involves physical labor, like construction. You might not be able to work at all or you might need to get retrained for a new career after an amputation.
• Phantom Limb Pain: Despite the fact that the affected area no longer has a limb, many patients who have had appendages severed claim to experience pain there.
• Amputation Neuroma: Lower limb amputees who have nerve damage may need extra surgery and feel discomfort.
• Infection – Amputation areas may be vulnerable to infection, necessitating further tissue removal.
• Prosthetic Issues – You can experience discomfort or incapacity if your prosthetic limb does not fit properly or is difficult to use.
• Muscle and Tissue Loss – After an amputation, you may experience a loss of muscle mass and extra tissue.
• Depression — Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression are highly frequent in persons who have had amputations; these conditions need medical attention and counseling and might interfere with daily activities.
• Wrongful Death — Due to medical malpractice and amputation of a limb, possible infection/bacteria formed. This resulted in wrongful death for the patient.

Contact a Los Angeles Attorney Today

If someone you know has wrongfully died due to a medical malpractice amputation, give our office a call today. Visit our other website for information on other potential cases you may have.