Introduction

The causes of successful medico-legal claims following amputation were reviewed.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of claims handled by the National Health Service Litigation Authority, from 2005 to August 2010, was performed. Under the Freedom of Information Act, the National Health Service Litigation Authority provided limited details on closed claims, settled with damages, following a search of their database with the term “amputation.” No demographic data were provided.

Results

During this period, 174 claims were settled by the National Health Service Litigation Authority, who paid out more than £36.3 million. The causes of the claims were the need for a lower limb amputation due to a delay in the diagnosis and or treatment of arterial ischaemia (56), an iatrogenic injury (15), the development of preventable pressure sores (15), the delay and or failure to diagnose a limb malignancy (6) and the delay in the management of an infected pseudo-aneurysm (1). Complications following orthopaedic surgery resulted in 25 successful claims as did the delayed diagnosis or mismanagement of 10 lower limb fractures. Additional claims followed the amputation of the wrong toe (1), a retained foreign body (2), an unnecessary amputation (4), inadequate consent (4), failure to provide thrombo-prophylaxis following amputation resulting in death (2) and a diathermy burn injury during an amputation (1). Delay in the diagnosis of and/or failure to manage an injury or infection resulted in 21 upper limb amputations. There was insufficient information provided in the remaining 11 claims to determine how the claim related to an amputation procedure. The largest single payout for damages (£1.9 million) resulted from the failure to diagnose and treat a femoral artery injury following a road traffic accident leading to an eventual below knee amputation.

Conclusion

Delays in the diagnosis and or treatment of arterial ischaemia were the commonest reasons for a settled claim. Lessons can be learnt from potentially preventable cases that can be incorporated in medical education and training programs with the aim of reducing both amputation rates and litigation costs.