People can lose a limb or extremity to trauma or to surgery if the body part suffers such severe injury that medical professionals cannot help repair it safely. The expenses involved in the initial surgical procedure and aftercare following a traumatic or surgical amputation will only be the start of the financial impact such an incident will have.
Losing a body part will have an impact on many areas of your life and will frequently lead to lasting financial complications through not one but two separate consequences.
Ongoing medical expenses
People often experience lingering pain and discomfort due to nerve damage after an amputation. So-called phantom limb pain can wake people up at night or distract them throughout the day, affecting their quality of life and necessitating ongoing medical treatment.
Even without phantom limb pain, those who undergo amputation procedures need frequent medical evaluation, prosthetic devices and rehabilitation therapy. Ongoing medical care will likely cost thousands of dollars a year for life after an amputation.
Lost income potential
Some people are able to adjust their professional obligations after an amputation and retain the same work. Someone who loses a lower extremity but who works in an office, for example, can likely continue the same employment.
Not all individuals recovering from an amputation are so fortunate. Especially for those who work in physically demanding professions, a change of career to lower-paying work or even a complete end of employment is possible.
Identifying financial consequences and quantifying their impact can help those recovering from a catastrophic injury seek compensation as appropriate for the impact of their injury on their life.