You were riding a motorcycle when your worst nightmare happened. A driver who was waiting to make a turn suddenly pulled out in front of you. She apparently didn’t see you, even though the road was straight and you were highly visible.
When you awoke in the hospital, you knew something was horribly wrong. It was then you found out that your leg had to be amputated below the knee. The bones had been shattered, and the leg couldn’t be saved.
Amputations can be used when tissues, ligaments, muscles and bone are so badly destroyed that there is no way to save the limb. Amputations aren’t rare. Around 1.8 million people in America live with amputations today. Most have amputations of the leg or legs, usually right above or below the knees.
Why would an amputation be used for a broken bone?
With a typical broken bone, there is no reason to amputate in the majority of cases. However, poor circulation, damage to the arteries, necrosis (dying/dead tissue) and shattered bones that cannot be grafted or pinned back together all make a case more complex. When tissues begin to die, the only option may be to amputate to save the remainder of the leg or limb.
When an amputation is performed, the surgeon will do what he can to save as much of the limb as possible. The diseased tissues and crushed bone are removed. Blood vessels and nerves are sealed, and uneven areas are smoothed. The muscles may be cut and shaped, so that the end of the limb can have a prosthesis attached.
All of this happens quickly, and a patient may be in the hospital for five days or more. Each procedure varies.
If you’ve gone through an amputation as a result of the accident you were involved in, know that you may be able to hold the other party accountable. The driver’s actions resulted in your injuries, so you should definitely make a claim to be able to seek compensation. You would also be able to recover for lost wages, emotional distress as well as the cost of your medical treatment and pain and suffering after you prove that the driver who hit you was at fault due to her negligence.
