Claims for limb-loss from infection
Expert support to help you rebuild your independence.
Limb-loss and amputation from sudden, severe or untreated infection has a devastating impact on the injured person and their family. Physical disability from amputation reduces the amputee’s independence and mobility, and their ability to engage in work, leisure, family and social activities. Alongside the physical restrictions caused by limb-loss and amputation, many amputees experience distressing phantom limb pain and psychological injury.
If you have suffered limb-loss and amputation as a result of negligent delays or mistakes in medical treatment for sepsis or other types of infection, our limb-loss and amputation solicitors can help you access rehabilitation, specialist prosthetics and an adapted home, whilst ensuring you receive your full entitlement to compensation.
- Nationally recognised medical negligence specialists with decades of experience
- Access to leading medical experts and rehabilitation professionals
- Proven track record of securing life-changing compensation for families
- Dedicated support from initial enquiry through to settlement
- No upfront costs and claim through a no win no fee agreement
Starting your limb-loss from infection compensation claim
For more than 30 years, Boyes Turner’s medical negligence solicitors have guided amputee clients through the claims process to secure the compensation and specialist support that they need to manage their disability and rebuild their lives.
You can contact us for free, confidential advice from a medical negligence solicitor. We will ask you to tell us briefly about your injury and your medical care, and advise you about your time limits and whether we can help you investigate your claim. Once our investigations confirm you have grounds for a claim, we will notify the defendant healthcare provider (usually represented by NHS Resolution) on your behalf and invite them to respond, giving them an opportunity to admit liability (responsibility for your injuries) before court proceedings are issued.
If liability is admitted, we will obtain a judgment from the court and apply for a substantial interim payment to meet your needs arising from your injury and disability. If NHS Resolution deny liability, we will advise you about the best way to proceed with your claim. This may involve issuing court proceedings or inviting NHS Resolution to enter into settlement negotiations or mediation.
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No hidden or upfront costs. Clear, straightforward advice. Nothing to pay unless your claim is successful.
Over 30 years’ experience
We have helped thousands of clients claim compensation.
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Limb-loss from infection claims FAQs
What kind of infections can lead to limb loss and amputation?
Limb loss and amputation from infection claims often follow negligent delays and mistakes in the care of patients with:
- diabetic foot ulcers or other unhealed, infected wounds;
- cellulitis (skin infection);
- surgical site wound infections;
- bacterial meningitis;
- severe systemic infection, such as septicaemia (blood poisoning) or sepsis;
- osteomyelitis (bone infection);
- methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA);
- necrotising soft tissue infection or necrotising fasciitis;
- gangrene (tissue death from infection or ischaemia).
Timely recognition, investigation and treatment of most infections with antibiotics or (salvage) surgery can often heal the patient by repairing or removing the infected tissue. If the infection, disease or damage to the tissues is impossible to repair or becomes life-threatening to the patient, the affected part of the body must be removed by surgical amputation.
What are common signs and symptoms of serious infection in a limb?
Signs and symptoms of serious infection in a limb (arm, hand, leg or foot) include:
- pain and swelling which persists despite treatment;
- redness and warmth which expands around a wound;
- pus or foul-smelling discharge;
- open wounds or ulcers which worsen instead of healing;
- darkening skin colour;
- black, shrivelled, or discoloured tissue, indicating tissue death (necrosis).
Limb-loss and amputation can also be caused by life-threatening, systemic infections, such as sepsis and meningitis.
What kind of negligence leads to limb-loss from infection claims?
Doctors, ambulance paramedics and hospital clinical staff are expected to recognise and respond quickly to the symptoms and signs of serious infection. They must also consider the increased risk of limb-loss to people with diabetes from foot injuries and wounds complicated by infection. Delays and mistakes in treatment can result in life-changing injury, including limb-loss and amputation.
Medical negligence claims for limb-loss and amputation from infection are often caused by one or more of the following mistakes:
- failure to recognise signs, symptoms or red flags for infection or sepsis;
- delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis of infection;
- failure to examine the patient or take their history;
- failure to refer a diabetic patient with a foot ulcer or unhealed foot wound to a multi-disciplinary footcare clinic;
- delay or failure to refer, transport or admit a patient to hospital;
- failure to carry out or act on the results of an infection screen (series of tests for infection);
- delay or failure to give antibiotics;
- medication errors;
- failing to escalate a patient with a deteriorating condition from infection;
- delayed critical or intensive care treatment for severe infection or sepsis;
- delayed surgery or incorrect surgical technique or post operative care.
What types of injury lead to limb-loss from infection claims?
Medical negligence claims for amputation from infection usually relate to the partial or entire loss of one of the injured person’s limbs. Many of our clients have suffered multiple amputations as a result of negligent treatment for severe infection, such as meningitis, septicaemia or sepsis. Any form of limb-loss and amputation can result in lifelong disability.
In addition to their limb-loss disability, many amputees also suffer from:
- nerve pain;
- phantom limb pain;
- PTSD or psychological injury;
- Increased risk of further amputations in future.
Where the patient’s limb-loss injury occurred as a result of systemic infection, such as septicaemia or sepsis, the patient may also have other injuries caused by the same infection (e.g. brain injury and neurological disability from meningitis).
What types of amputation are common in limb-loss from infection claims?
The type of amputation that a patient needs after tissue damage or limb-loss from severe infection will depend on how far the infection or resulting disease has spread throughout their limbs. When planning the amputation, the surgeon will consider the extent of the infected or diseased tissue, and aim to preserve as much of the patient’s limb as possible, to optimise their mobility, sensation (ability to feel) and appearance, whilst removing all the infected or diseased tissue. If the patient is expected to be able to use a prosthesis (artificial limb, hand or foot) after their amputation, the surgical team should also consider the need for the future prosthesis to fit and function properly when deciding how to perform the amputation.
Depending on the patient’s injury and individual needs, surgical removal of the infected or diseased limb(s) may involve one or more of the following types of amputation:
- Lower limb:
- pelvic or hemipelvectomy (leg and part of pelvis);
- hip disarticulation (separating the leg from the body at the hip);
- above-knee;
- knee disarticulation (separating the leg from the body at the knee);
- below-knee;
- ankle disarticulation;
- foot (Lis-franc, partial foot, toes).
- Upper limb:
- shoulder disarticulation (separating the arm from the body at the shoulder);
- above-elbow;
- elbow disarticulation;
- below-elbow;
- hand (wrist disarticulation, partial hand, fingers);
- Bilateral (both sides) and multiple amputations.
What compensation can I claim for limb-loss from infection?
The amount of compensation that an amputee can claim in a limb-loss from infection medical negligence claim depends on their injury and disability and its impact on their life.
Claims for amputation from infection caused by medical negligence often include compensation for the injured client’s injury, financial loss and expenses including:
- pain, suffering and disability;
- specialist prosthetics (artificial limbs, hands, feet);
- private medical and surgical treatment and rehabilitation;
- therapies (occupational therapy (OT) and physiotherapy);
- pain management;
- psychological counselling;
- necessary home adaptations;
- adapted vehicles, wheelchairs and specialist equipment;
- care and domestic assistance;
- support with special educational needs (SEN);
- vocational rehabilitation or training;
- financial losses, such as loss of earnings and pension;
- other costs and expenses arising from their disability.
In medical negligence claims involving limb-loss from meningitis or sepsis, the injured person may also be able to claim compensation for additional disability that was caused by negligent management of the same infection, such as specialist rehabilitation for brain injury.
In cases where the medical negligence has resulted in injury but has also left our client at risk of needing an amputation in future, we can protect their right to claim further compensation if the anticipated future amputation occurs by making a claim for provisional damages. This means that our client receives a compensation settlement for the injury they have already suffered, but can return to court for more compensation at a later date if the anticipated amputation takes place.
Making a claim for limb-loss from infection
We understand how daunting it can feel to take the first step. Our specialist medical negligence solicitors are here to guide you through every stage.
Getting in touch
Call us or complete our online enquiry form for free, confidential advice from a specialist limb-loss negligence solicitor. We will listen to your concerns, explain your options, and advise whether we can investigate if delays or failures in diagnosing or treating an infection led to avoidable amputation.
Supporting your claim
Our solicitors will review your medical records, instruct independent experts, and investigate whether the infection was recognised and treated appropriately. Where negligence is identified, we can build a strong claim and, where appropriate, seek an interim payment to help meet immediate care, rehabilitation and prosthetic needs.
Securing compensation
Contact us
If you would like advice regarding a serious injury or illness affecting you or a loved one, please complete the form and one of our experts will be in touch as soon as possible.
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Client story
Jan's story
Jan developed sepsis after surgery to reverse her colostomy. Despite worsening symptoms and ineffective antibiotics, a bowel leak was only discovered when she was re-operated on. Signs of serious infection, including necrotising fasciitis, were initially mistaken for normal post-surgical bruising.
Our limb-loss from infection claims
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£1.6 million settlement for multiple amputee after negligent hospital treatment of sepsis
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£6.4 million settlement for amputations after ambulance crew fails to take suspected meningitis patient to hospital
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£1.3 million settlement for below-knee amputee who did not receive multidisciplinary foot care
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£600,000 settlement for diabetic man after negligent medical care of foot injury leads to amputation
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£750,000 settlement for delayed sepsis treatment multiple amputee
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£75,000 settlement after negligent diabetic foot care leads to amputation
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£750,000 settlement after GP and district nurses’ failure to refer for post-surgical infection leads to amputation
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Liability settlement after GP and district nurses’ failure to refer patient with post-surgical ankle infection leads to need for below-knee amputation
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£950,000 settlement for diabetic amputee after delayed diagnosis and treatment of Charcot foot
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Settlement for family of 94-year-old man after hospital negligence led to pressure sore, bone infection and amputation
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Compensation settlement for man who needed amputation after negligent knee replacement surgery
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£210,000 settlement for client after GP delay in treating infection leads to below knee amputation
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Admission of liability and NHS apology for 68 year old below knee amputee
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Compensation recovered for below knee amputee following thrombosis
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Our clients receive the highest standards of advice and representation and are always treated with compassion, outstanding care and understanding of the physical, emotional, psychological and financial impact that life-changing injury can have upon their lives.
- We are nationally acclaimed for our claimant medical negligence expertise and the outstanding results we achieve for our clients.
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- Our integrated multidisciplinary team offers our clients a full range of specialist help with compensation, rehabilitation, SEN, deputyship, personal injury trusts and community care.
- We secure maximum compensation in claims for adults and children who have suffered catastrophic injury and severe disability, and provide practical support for their families.
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