How Much Loss Of Limb Compensation Could I Receive?

You may be wondering how much compensation for losing a leg, an arm or a finger might apply in a successful amputation compensation claim. If your loss of limb compensation claim is a success, you could receive an award that is made up of two categories or ‘heads’ of loss.

The main one is general damages which compensates for the pain and suffering caused by the amputation injury itself, as well as the negative overall impact on the person’s life.

To calculate a value for general damages, those involved might use medical reports and compare them with documents like the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This publication lists guideline bracket amounts for a cross-section of injuries based on how severe they are.

Below, you will see a bullet point list that we have compiled using entries for amputation injuries. These are purely suggested amounts and the first line does not originate from the JCG:

Compensation Guidelines

Multiple Severe Injuries and Special Damages – Cases where the person suffers multiple types of severe injury and is awarded special damages for the impact on their earning ability, medical expenses and care costs – up to £500,000+
Loss of both arms – Cases where a person with full awareness is rendered considerably helpless – £293,850 to £366,100.
Loss of one arm – Cases where the amputation occurs at the shoulder – Not less than £167,380.
Loss of both legs – Where both legs are lost above the knee or one high above the knee, the other below – £293,850 to £344,150.
Below knee amputation of both legs – Cases where phantom pain, stump difficulties and psychological impact are significant – £245,900 to £329,620.
Above knee amputation of one leg – Instances where in addition to pain, age of the person and psychological impact, risk of backache and osteoarthritis is a risk – £127,920 to £167,760.
Amputation of both feet – Injuries such as this are treated in the same way as below-knee amputations because of the loss of the useful ankle joint – £206,730 to £245,900.
Amputation of one foot – the ankle joint is lost – £102,470 to £133,810.
Total or effective loss of one hand – Crush injuries where the subsequent surgical amputation took away several fingers and the majority of the palm – £117,360 to £133,810.

What Else Can My Amputation Compensation Cover?

A second head of loss may apply called special damages. This compensates the person for the financial harm that their amputation injury has caused them. Some examples of financial losses you could suffer and potentially claim compensation for include:

Loss of Earnings

After suffering an amputation, you may have had to take time off of work to recover or be unable to work at all. Any lost earnings you have experienced or may experience in the future due to your injury could be compensated. Your payslips could help prove these loss of earnings.

Medical Expenses and Rehabilitation

This includes the cost of rehabilitation and prosthetics or anything you need beyond what is freely available. These costs could be proven with bank statements, for example.

Care Costs

This could be professional care or any care you have received at home from a friend or family. This could include help with tasks such as cleaning and cooking. Invoices of this care could be used as evidence in your claim.

Adaptations To Your Life

You may have required adaptation to your home and vehicle to help cope with your injuries. For example, if you suffered a leg amputation, you may have needed adjustments made to your car for hand-control pedal. Receipts of these purchases could help support your claim.

Continue reading this guide to learn when you may have a valid personal injury claim. You can also contact our advisors to discuss your case.

Can I Claim Loss of Limb Compensation?

You could be eligible to claim loss of limb compensation if you meet certain criteria:

You must have been owed a duty of care at the time and place of your accident.
This duty must have been breached.
This breach leads to your amputation injury.

A duty of care is where someone has a responsibility for your safety. Some examples of accidents that could occur if this duty is breached include:

Accidents At Work

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HASAWA), employers must take practicable and reasonable steps to prevent employees from being harmed. This duty of care means that hazards and risks should be controlled as much as possible. An example of when you may be able to make an accident at work claim is:

Management failed to maintain essential machinery on a production line regularly. As a result, an employee lost their arm in a workplace accident due to the machinery malfunctioning.

Accidents In A Public Place

Those in charge of areas open to the public owe them a duty of care as outlined in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. They must take steps to implement measures that keep the public reasonably safe while lawfully using their facilities. An example of when you may be able to make a public liability claim is:

Automatic doors leading into a supermarket were faulty and closed early, crushing your fingers that later required a partial finger amputation.

Road Traffic Accidents

Motorists, pedestrians and cyclists all owe each other a duty of care to avoid causing harm and damage while using the roads. To comply fully, they must adhere to the Road Traffic Act 1988 and obligations detailed in the Highway Code. An example of when you make be able to make a road traffic accident claim is:

A drunk driver causes a serious crash on the motorway, causing you to suffer a leg amputation after your leg was trapped in your vehicle.

To see whether you may have a valid claim for loss of limb compensation, you can contact our advisors.

How Long Do I Have To Make An Amputation Claim?

When starting a personal injury claim, including those for loss of limb compensation, you only have a certain amount of time to begin proceedings. Per the Limitation Act 1980, you will have a 3 year limitation period to begin your personal injury claim.

To see whether you have enough time to begin your own claim, you can contact our advisory team.

Can I Make An Amputation Compensation Claim On Someone Else’s Behalf?

In certain circumstances, a claimaint will be unable to make their own claim. These include:

Claimants under 18 cannot start a claim themselves until their 18th birthday.
Claimants lacking the mental capacity cannot make their own claim, unless they were to regain this capacity. From which, the 3-year time limit would run from the recovery date.

In both of these cases, you could apply to be a litigation friend and make a claim on the claimant’s behalf. As their litigation friend, you will be expected to act in their best interests.

Please connect with the team for further information about starting a claim for someone else and the applicable time limits for personal injury claims.

Could I Receive Interim Payments As Part Of My Amputation Claim?

You may be eligible to receive interim payments during the course of your claim for any necessary expenses you need to pay, such as medical expenses or for care. These are usually only awarded if your claim looks likely to be successful.

Additionally, any interim payments you receive will be accounted for and these amounts will be taken from your final compensation settlement.

To learn more about how compensation is awarded in personal injury claims, you can contact our advisors.

Claim For Loss of Limb Compensation On A No Win No Fee Basis

After the loss of a limb, seeking compensation with the help of a personal injury solicitor could be a real help. Our expert solicitors have extensive first-hand experience supporting eligible claimants with their amputation compensation claims. For example, they can:

Help you gather supporting evidence.
Collect witness statements to bolster your case.
Calculate your compensation settlement that covers both general and special damages.
Handle all correspondence.

Furthermore, they offer these services through a type of No Win No Fee contract. Typically, our solicitors use a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This requires no service fees to be paid upfront, or as the claim develops. In fact, if the claim is unsuccessful under a CFA, you will not need to pay your solicitor for their completed work.

If you are successfully awarded loss of limb compensation, your solicitor will deduct a success fee from this. A success fee is a legally limited percentage of your compensation.

If this sounds of interest to you and you’d like to learn more, talk to our advisory team. You can:

Call 0800 073 8804
Use our live chat
Fill out the contact us form

More Resources About Personal Injury Claims

In addition to limb amputation claims, there are some other guides below that might help:

This guide looks at serious leg amputation claims.
Advice on claiming for a crush injury.
Guidance on claiming for a foot amputation.

External resources:

Read about amputations from the NHS.
Also, the charity Amputation Foundation offers support.
See if you could claim statutory sick pay from Gov.UK.

Thank you for reading our guide on claiming loss of limb compensation.

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