How Can A Motorcycle Wreck In Virginia Cause An Arm Amputation?
Key Highlights:
- A motorcycle accident amputation Virginia can bring significant injury to one’s body (an injury that could occur from other types of accidents).
- Following the accident, an injured arm cannot usually be saved by the doctor, so the only option for saving the individual’s arm is through a traumatic arm amputation.
- In these circumstances, timing is essential to save the limb. The loss of blood supply for a prolonged period of time renders that limb unsalvageable and cannot be saved.Â
- The loss of an arm results in the loss of grip as well as the loss of fine motor skills; therefore, the amputation of a limb is not solely a loss of a limb.Â
- In Virginia the 1% rule, may preclude a victim from recovering damages for his or her amputation.
How Can a Motorcycle Wreck in Virginia Cause an Arm Amputation?Â
A motorcycle has no protective shell to shield the rider from impact; therefore, when the rider’s body impacts another object, the arm absorbs the majority of the impact force. The impact to the arm (crush) and the force (tear), as well as the lack of adequate blood supply to the arm, create the condition that limits the possibility of the arm’s survival.
When a doctor determines that the injury is so severe that it cannot be repaired and that the best option for saving the individual is through amputation. Therefore, the following is a discussion of how a Virginia motorcycle crash injury can result in an arm’s amputation and the medical and legal ramifications involved.
Robert Tatum is my name, and I’m a lawyer at the Tatum & Atkinson law office. For the past 14 years, we’ve been a veteran-owned firm with well over 65 years of experience helping Virginian clients with traumatic amputations from motorcycle accidents. We believe that we have the experience required to win your case in the case of a traumatic amputation from a motorcycle accident in Virginia.
Why the Arm Is Highly Vulnerable in Case of a Motorcycle Accident
Unlike other body parts, the arm is more vulnerable and susceptible to amputation after an accident.
The Rider Has No Protection
No frame, no cage, no airbag. The arm, in case of a fall, hits the ground, the fence, and any other object in front of it first; the force of impact that would have otherwise been absorbed by the car’s door.
Crushing and Entrapment
It could happen that the arm would be trapped or crushed between the motorbike, the surface, and the car or another car. Dragging and being entrapped multiply the damage manyfold.
Conditions Leading to Amputation
There is only one situation when doctors decide to amputate the arm – this is the case of irretrievable damage. This is caused not by one but by several serious conditions occurring simultaneously.
Blood Flow Interruption
Once the artery tears, the blood flow stops. In case the supply is not revived within several hours, the arm dies and cannot be retained.
Nerve Avulsion
The impact may cause the detachment of nerves from the arms, leading to paralysis and numbness even though the arms are intact. The loss of the ability to move and sense is usually not a good thing.
Crushing and Tissue Damage
Bones, muscles, and skin may be damaged and beyond repair. With the degloving, the skin is completely peeled off; nothing can be repaired.
Infection and Contamination
The dirt from the roads may lead to an infection going deep inside the wounds. Once the infection becomes life-threatening to the individual, amputation is the safest route.
The Decision in the Trauma Bay
Usually, the surgical team is keen on saving an arm; it tries to salvage an upper limb much more frequently than a lower one. This means that when an amputation occurs, the bones, blood vessels, nerves, and soft tissues are all injured to such a degree that the limb does not have any functions or puts a patient’s life at risk.Â
An arm can be attached again only if there is a clean cut, a low contamination rate, and fast transportation to surgery, something that is usually lacking during a crush injury. A literature review on upper-limb trauma published in a peer-reviewed journal proves that amputation occurs only if several of these critical factors are present simultaneously.
Life Without An Arm
Life without an arm or after an amputation is quite different from normal.
Lack of Functioning and Independence
The arm is the way by which you hold, lift, type, prepare food, and dress up. Loss of an arm, particularly if it is the dominant one, affects almost everything and shuts off any career where two arms are needed.
A Prosthesis and Its Long Learning Curve
A prosthetic arm after accident includes body-powered hooks or myoelectrically controlled hands, but a prosthesis for the arm is difficult to use compared to a leg prosthesis, and not everyone learns to use one. In addition, a prosthetic arm needs to be replaced periodically over one’s lifespan.
Ongoing Painful Sensations
Phantom limb pain and residual limb pain are quite common after amputation, sometimes lasting for years despite the wound being healed.
Psychological Stress
Acute trauma resulting in limb loss usually involves post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
Value of a Virginia Motorcycle Amputation Injury Claim
The following rules govern the quantity of your claim in an amputation injury.
What Compensation Can You Receive
Your limb loss compensation case may include future medical expenses, prosthetics, lost earning capacity, past medical expenses, pain and suffering, and disability. In an amputation injury, the future-care and lost-earning aspects of the compensation are generally the biggest components.
How We Get There
Together, treating surgeons, life care planners, vocational experts, and economists take a look at the future of medical care and lost earnings and make it into a dollar amount for today.
The 1 Percent Rule and Virginia’s Statute of Limitations
Contributory negligence prevents any kind of compensation claim if you are even 1 percent responsible under Virginia law. Insurers will push the stereotype that riders are irresponsible to the hilt.Â
The focus here is on the establishment of the other driver’s liability in connection with your motorcycle accident; also, take notice that Virginia’s statute of limitations states that most cases must be filed within 2 years of the date of the accident Virginia Code § 8.01-243.
Amputation Victim in a Motorcycle Wreck in Virginia? Contact Tatum & Atkinson Law Firm.
Life changes in an instant when an arm is amputated, with more costs to be dealt with year after year. You don’t need to figure out all the issues yourself while you are healing, and learning what needs to be included in your case is completely free of charge. Jon Ward is a catastrophic injury lawyer Virginia, practicing for Tatum & Atkinson, out of the firm’s offices in Cedar Bluff and representing riders on the mountain roads of southwest Virginia.Â
The Heavy Hitters deal with catastrophic motorcycle accident amputation Virginia cases, develop the necessary life care and economic evidence, and understand how the 1% rule and rider prejudice will be used against those seriously injured.Â
Call (800) 529-0804 for a free consultation with no obligation to use our services if you choose not to. Our firm does not charge actual fees for representation until after we have obtained a financial settlement for our client, and since the Virginia Statute of Limitations only gives a client two years from the date of an accident to file a lawsuit against the responsible party, it is suggested that you contact us now.
Frequently Asked Questions!
Why would doctors amputate instead of reattaching my arm?
This type of surgery is possible only with clear-cut, minimal contamination, and quick access to the procedure. Most of the time, a Virginia motorcycle crash injury results in severe crush and tear injuries, along with contamination due to dirt, thus making the procedure impossible, and the best solution is amputation of the limb.
Do insurers treat motorcyclists fairly after a crash?
Usually not. Insurance adjusters tend to assume that all riders are reckless, and in Virginia, the adjusters only need to prove that the motorcyclist was 1% at fault to refuse payment. That said, establishing liability for the other driver as soon as possible is very important.
Can I recover if I wasn’t wearing full protective gear?
Possibly, in Virginia, motorcyclists must wear a helmet; however, there is also the question of whether or not the type of gear you wore contributed to the injury of your arm. No one wears a jacket to get their limb cut off; the force of a crash does, and a lawyer will make sure of that.
What does hiring a lawyer cost?
No fees up front. The kind of case that this falls under operates on a contingency basis; there are no fees without a recovery.
If you have been injured from a motorcycle accident, can your injured arm be saved, or is your arm susceptible to amputation?
Every effort will be made to save the injured arm, but traumatic arm amputation will have to be considered in cases of massive injury to the bones, nerves, blood vessels, and other tissues or when the patient’s life is in danger.
