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Lost Limbs / Amputated Fingers

Arms, legs, hands, and fingers are an integral part of the day-to-day human experience and are often taken for granted. This is especially true if you perform physically oriented work for a living, such as in the maritime industry. You use these appendages every day to provide for yourself and your family, yet you may not realize what the loss of a finger, hand, or leg would mean for your livelihood.

Losing a digit or a limb in a maritime accident is devastating. You will have weeks or months off the job, or you may be ineligible to work altogether. You may also experience extended medical recovery and years of adapting to living your life without something that has been a part of you for so long. If you experienced a maritime accident involving amputation at sea, you deserve compensation and justice for what you’ve been through and what you will endure in the future as a result of your injury. An experienced maritime injury attorney will examine the details of your case to locate signs of your employer’s negligence, ill-equipped gear, or vessel unseaworthiness, and fight for the recompense you are due.

Maritime Lost Limb Attorney for Washington, Oregon, California, and Alaska

The maritime injury lawyers of BoatLaw, LLP have decades of combined experience with maritime personal injury cases like yours. If you have suffered an amputation of a finger, hand, foot, arm, or leg, you are facing a lifetime of adjustment, medical treatment, and modified living that needs financial addressing.

When your maritime employer’s negligent actions or inactions cause you to lose a limb or digit, they should compensate you fairly. The attorneys of BoatLaw, LLP will fight for you to receive such fair compensation. To schedule your free consultation to discuss what the maritime attorneys of Anderson Carey Williams & Neidzwski can do for you, call 1 (800) 262-8529 today.


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Maritime Amputation Information Center


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Causes of Maritime Amputation

The risks for maritime amputation are everywhere in the industry. Whether you are a fisherman, a longshoreman, a ship processor, a dock worker, or employed on a tugboat, you face risks of injury unique to the maritime industry. Chains, winches, crane hooks, netting, hatches, wires, and lines  are all forms of maritime equipment that could cause amputation. The loss of digit or limb in the maritime industry is usually caused by one of the following:

  • Defective equipment
  • Lack of operations and procedural training
  • Lack of safety training and equipment
  • Equipment that is improperly or poorly maintained
  • Lack of safety guards on machinery
  • Poor vessel planning
  • Improper navigation
  • Collision

Safety is a major concern in the high-risk maritime industry. Even if a large degree of human error is involved in the maritime amputation, an employer or vessel owner can still be at fault for neglecting to provide the proper safety training and equipment. An experienced maritime amputation attorney at BoatLaw, LLP will study your case closely to determine the company’s negligence and the applicable laws and will fight for the compensation you deserve.


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Treatment for Maritime Loss of Limb or Digit

The medical process to recover from any amputation is extensive, but if the loss of digit or limb occurred during a maritime accident you could be facing additional recovery time. First, you must heal from the damage caused by such a sudden loss of a body part in addition to healing from any other injuries caused by the accident. If the amputation is only partial or there is significant damage to the surrounding bones, tendons, muscles, or joints, you may have to undergo multiple surgeries.

In addition to physical healing, you may also require mental health treatment for PTSD or other traumatic issues associated with the accident. You will also have to relearn how to live your life and perform tasks like writing, standing, walking, and personal hygiene without your missing digit or limb. Finally, you may require the use of a prosthetic to better live your life, which entails weeks of training to use. All these medical considerations are very costly and should be covered by your maritime employer, especially if negligence or unseaworthiness was involved in your maritime amputation.


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Maritime Amputation Recoverable Damages

The initial medical expense of a maritime amputation alone is very high, but you also must consider all the other ongoing expenses involved in such an injury. If you have suffered amputation on a fish processing boat or other maritime vessel due to your employer’s negligence, you are likely eligible for recovery of all or more of the following expenses under the Jones Act or other maritime law. An experienced maritime injury attorney at BoatLaw, LLP will consider every detail of your case and tirelessly pursue the maximum compensation you deserve. The damages you may be able to recover for an involuntary maritime amputation include:

  • Initial medical care
  • Ongoing medical care
  • Rehabilitation
  • Vocational training
  • Future medical care, such as with ghost pains
  • Lost wages
  • Loss of services
  • Long-term or permanent disability
  • Mental anguish
  • Disfigurement
  • Pain and suffering
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Punitive damages for gross negligence

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BoatLaw, LLP | Maritime Lawyer for Amputation

Don’t suffer the repercussions of your maritime amputation injuries alone. If your maritime employer’s negligence or defective equipment caused your injury, then they should pay for it. You deserve compensation for your journey to healing after an amputation. The attorneys at BoatLaw, LLP are passionate about protecting maritime rights due to their own personal experiences in the maritime industry. Schedule your free consultation with the maritime injury attorneys of BoatLaw, LLP today by calling 1 (800) 262-8529. We have offices in Seattle and Bellingham, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and San Francisco, California.


 

  • The Maritime Law Association of The United States
    The Maritime Law Association of the United States (MLA) was founded in 1899. Its formation was prompted by the organization, some three years earlier, of the International Maritime Committee.
  • Washington State Bar Association
    The Washington State Bar Association operates under the delegated authority of the Washington Supreme Court to license the state's nearly 40,000 lawyers and other legal professionals.
  • Oregon State Bar
    The Oregon State Bar is a government agency in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded in 1890 as the private Oregon Bar Association, it became a public entity in 1935 that regulates the legal profession.
  • Alaska Bar Association
    The Alaska Bar Association is a mandatory bar association responsible to the Alaska Supreme Court for the admission and discipline process of attorneys for the State of Alaska.