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Serious Injury Leg Amputation Claim | No Win No Fee

This guide forms part of our series on serious injury claims and examines who could be eligible to make a leg amputation claim. 

You will find explanations of the legislation governing the duties of care at work, in public places and on the roads and examples of how failures to uphold these duties can result in serious injuries and the loss of a limb. 

We look at how these injuries are valued following a successful leg amputation claim and examples of the evidence you could gather to support your case.

The final section of this guide provides a brief overview of the type of No Win No Fee agreement our solicitors can offer and what benefits this brings to claimants.

Serious-Injury-Leg-Amputation

A Guide To A Serious Injury Leg Amputation Claim

You can talk to our advisors using the contact information below. Our team can answer any of your questions and offer you a cost-free assessment of your potential claim. You can get in touch with us via:

Select A Section

  1. Eligibility To Make A Leg Amputation Claim
  2. What Accidents Could Cause Leg Amputation Injuries?
  3. How Do I Prove My Leg Amputation Claim?
  4. How Is Leg Amputation Compensation Calculated?
  5. Why Choose Legal Expert For A No Win No Fee Leg Amputation Claim?

Eligibility To Make A Leg Amputation Claim

The eligibility criteria for making a leg amputation claim remain unchanged whether you are claiming for a road traffic accident, an accident at work or in a public place. To make a serious injury claim after losing a limb you will need to show:

  1. You were owed a duty of care by a third party at the time of the accident.
  2. The third party breached the duty they owed.
  3. This breach was the cause of your injuries. 

Is There A Time Limit To Make A Leg Amputation Claim?

Personal injury cases are subject to the time limits set out in the Limitation Act 1980. This means that, in most cases, you will have 3 years from the accident date to start the claims process. But, there are circumstances where extensions of this can be granted.

To find out more about the exceptions to the general time limitation period and if any apply to your particular claim, contact our team using the contact details above. 

What Accidents Could Cause Leg Amputation Injuries?

In this section, we have detailed the legislation governing the duties of care owed at work, in public places and on the roads. You will see some example scenarios of how failures to uphold these duties can result in leg amputation injuries.

Leg Amputation Claim After A Road Traffic Accident

Road users owe a collective duty of care to use the roads in a way that prevents injury and damage to themselves and others. In order to uphold this duty, road users must obey the rules set out in both the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Highway Code. A scenario of a breach of this duty leading to a serious injury could be:

The driver of a car pulls out of a side road without looking, causing a collision with a cyclist. Both the cyclist’s legs become trapped. The cyclist sustained serious fractures. His left leg was subsequently amputated. 

Leg Amputation Claim After An Accident At Work 

Every employer owes a duty of care to their employees per the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. In order to uphold this duty, employers must take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of their workforce. How this can be achieved will vary depending on the nature of the work being carried out, but it can include; ensuring employees are informed of all risks associated with their work activities, conducting regular maintenance checks on both work equipment and the working environment, and making sure employees receive the correct training and supervision to carry out their work in a safe manner. 

A scenario where an employer fails to uphold their duty to protect their workforce could be:

An employee was instructed to perform maintenance on a piece of industrial machinery, despite not receiving the necessary training. Because of this, they did not check the machine was switched off before starting the work. The employee’s leg was sucked into the machine resulting in a traumatic below-knee amputation. 

Leg Amputation Claim After A Public Accident

Parties in control of public places, also known as the occupiers, are required by the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 to take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of visitors to their premises. “A public place” can include recreational and leisure facilities, public green spaces such as parks, public highways and the premises of bars and shops. We have provided an example of how an occupier could breach their duty of care and cause a serious injury here:

The safety rail on a second-floor shopping centre had been reported as being faulty, however, no maintenance repair work was carried out. A shopper leaned on the rail when resting, the rail gave way, and the shopper fell from the first floor to the ground floor, shattering the bones in one leg. This led to a full amputation of the shopper’s leg.  

How Do I Prove My Leg Amputation Claim?

A serious injury, like any other sort of claim, requires evidence to support it. This evidence is useful for showing how the accident happened, as well as proving a third party’s breach of their duty of care caused your injuries. We have prepared a list of possible evidence you could collect here:

  • Workplace accident book: Employers with 10 or more employees are legally required to keep an accident book. You can request a copy of your accident report to be used as evidence.
  • Witness contact details: witness statements can be useful accounts of how accidents happened. Take the contact information of potential witnesses so they can give their statements at a later date. 
  • Video footage: You have the right to request CCTV footage you appear in. You could also require dashcam footage following a road accident. 
  • Your medical records: Seeking medical attention after an accident is always advisable. This is not only important for your health, but you can request copies of the records of your treatment, such as any scans or tests that were done, to highlight the extent of your injuries. 
  • Workplace training records: Workplace documents that show training was carried out incorrectly, or not at all, can be useful for showing an employer breached their duty of care. 

How Is Leg Amputation Compensation Calculated?

A personal injury compensation settlement will be awarded following a successful leg amputation claim. The first of the two heads of claim that make up a settlement is known as general damages, which are awarded for the physical and psychological impact.

We have taken figures from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to create this compensation table. The JCG publication contains details on various different types of injuries and their guideline award brackets. A solicitor can refer to the JCG figures along with your medical documents to calculate a potential value for your claim.

It is important to note that this table has been included to act as a guide, not give a guaranteed payout sum. The JCG figures are guideline brackets as each personal injury claim is assessed individually.

Compensation Table

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Injury Severity Guideline Amounts Notes
Multiple Injuries Serious Up to £1,000,000+ Multiple serious injuries with financial losses sustained from those injuries.
Amputations Loss of Both legs (a)(i) £240,790 to £282,010 Cases where both legs have been lost. Award determined by severity of phantom pains, associated psychological problems and the success of any prosthetics.
Below-knee Amputation of Both Legs (a)(ii) £201,490 to £270,100 Cases where both legs are amputated just below the knee. Level of ward will depend on phantom pain, side effects such backache and the risk degenerative changes in the remaining joints and spine.
Above-knee Amputation of One Leg (a)(iii) £104,830 to £137,470 Loss of one leg above the knee. Award dependant on associated psychological problems, phantom pain and risk of developing osteoarthritis.
Below-knee Amputation of one Leg (a)(iv) £97,980 to £132,990 A traumatic amputation below the knee during an accident where the injured person remained fully conscious will attract an award towards the top of the bracket.
Special Damages Loss of Earnings Up to £100,000+ A loss of income, temporarily or permanently, due to absence from work could be reimbursed under special damages.

Special Damages

The second of the two heads of claim that can comprise a compensation settlement is called special damages and can be awarded for any financial losses you have experienced due to your injuries. Some possible examples could include:

Retain copies of any receipts, invoices and other documents as proof of your financial losses.

Why Choose Legal Expert For A No Win No Fee Leg Amputation Claim? n

After an assessment of your potential claim, one of our solicitors could offer to take on your claim under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). A CFA is a type of No Win No Fee contract where there will be no upfront fee for the solicitor to commence work on your claim. You will also not be met with any ongoing fees as your claim moves forward. There will likewise be no fees for an unsuccessful serious injury claim. 

Following a successful claim, you will be awarded a personal injury compensation settlement. You and the solicitor will agree to a success fee percentage before the start of the claim. The success fee is a legally capped percentage that is automatically deducted from your compensation.

You can talk to one of our advisors using the contact information below. Our team can answer any of your questions and offer you a cost-free assessment of your potential claim. You can get in touch with us via:

Further Claims Guidance

More of our claims guides

Other resources

We appreciate you taking the time to read our guide on making a serious injury leg amputation claim. You can speak to our team with any questions, further guidance, and an assessment of your potential claim. To talk to an advisor, use the contact information above.