85% of amputations due to diabetic foot injury can be avoided with better care. Has this happened to you?
If you or a loved one has suffered a diabetic foot amputation, you may be looking for answers. An amputation can affect every part of daily life, from mobility and work to independence, family life and emotional wellbeing. It is understandable to want to know whether more could have been done to prevent it.
Diabetic foot problems can deteriorate quickly. A small blister, cut, ulcer or pressure sore may become infected or fail to heal, particularly where diabetes has affected feeling in the feet or blood supply. When the sensation in the foot is decreased due to diabetes, small wounds or cuts can be missed due to the lack of pain. These minor injuries can then evolve into limb threatening conditions. Diabetics should also become familiar with their feet and incorporate a daily foot inspection into their routine.
In some cases, amputation is unavoidable. In others, it may have been prevented with earlier assessment, referral or treatment. This blog explains when a medical negligence claim may be possible, what evidence is usually needed, and how compensation can help with recovery, rehabilitation and future care.
What care should someone with diabetes expect?
For diabetic foot patients, diabetic foot checks are to take place annually. This can be through your GP surgery, or you may be referred to a specialist service for this to be performed. The annual check will check your circulation, sensation as well as your overall risk of developing a diabetic foot problem. The check will assess your feet for risk factors such as, changes in skin colour, swelling, as well as cracks or blisters that fail to heal.
In broad terms, good monitoring should include:
- Clear risk classification, noting when a patient has a lack of sensation to their feet, poor blood supply, a previous ulceration, deformity, kidney disease, or a prior amputation. This should be escalated where needed.
- More frequent monitoring for higher-risk patients.
- Prompt review of any new wound, ulcer, infection, colour change, swelling, discharge, blackened tissue, pain, numbness, or cold/pale foot.
- Urgent referral to a multidisciplinary diabetic foot team where there is an active ulcer, suspected infection, suspected difficulties with poor blood supply, gangrene, Charcot foot, or rapidly worsening symptoms.
- Documented wound monitoring, including size, depth, appearance, infection signs, circulation concerns, photographs where appropriate, treatment plan, follow-up date and escalation plan.
- Safety-netting advice, so patients know when and how to seek urgent help if symptoms worsen.
- Coordinated care, with communication between GPs, podiatrists, diabetes teams, vascular teams, district nurses and hospitals.
Patients often rely on GPs, nurses, podiatrists, hospital doctors and specialist teams to recognise when a foot problem is becoming urgent. If warning signs are missed, or if referral to a diabetic foot or vascular team is delayed, the consequences can be extremely serious.
NHS Resolution’s thematic review of clinical negligence claims involving diabetes and lower-limb complications found recurring problems that will feel familiar to many patients and families: high-risk patients were not always identified, preventative foot care was sometimes lacking, referrals to specialist footcare teams were delayed, and the seriousness of diabetic foot ulcers was not always recognised quickly enough. Importantly, the review highlighted that major amputation is not always an inevitable outcome and that lessons should be learned where earlier, better coordinated care could have reduced the risk of avoidable limb loss. 85% of amputations are avoidable.
What should have happened according to the NHS Resolution review?
The NHS Resolution thematic review identified key steps that can help prevent avoidable harm. Patients should receive thorough and consistent assessments, with clear descriptions of the wound or ulcer so that deterioration can be recognised. High-risk patients should be identified early, and there should be urgent referral to a specialist multidisciplinary diabetic foot team where needed.
In practical terms, this means clinicians should not be reassured just because a patient is not in pain, as nerve damage can mean that the diabetic does not experience pain in the affected foot. They should also act quickly where there are signs of infection, poor blood supply or non-healing ulceration. If care was delayed, disjointed, poorly documented, or no single team appeared to be taking responsibility for the patient’s foot care, those may be important issues to investigate in a medical negligence claim.
When could you have a claim?
You may have a claim if the care you received fell below an acceptable standard and that failure caused the amputation, made it more likely, or meant you needed a more serious amputation than would otherwise have been necessary.
Recurring trends in claims relating to diabetic foot amputations are: -
- Diabetic foot checks or risk assessments were not carried out properly.
- An ulcer, infection, gangrene, Charcot foot or poor blood supply was missed.
- You were not referred urgently to a diabetic foot clinic, vascular team or hospital specialist when the guidelines recommended you should have been.
- Important tests, scans or blood supply checks were delayed or not arranged.
- Wound care, antibiotics, offloading, debridement or follow-up was inadequate.
Warning signs that may have been missed
In a person with diabetes, symptoms such as a non-healing wound, spreading redness, swelling, discharge, blackened skin, numbness, fever, odour, sudden change in foot shape, or a cold or pale foot may point to a serious problem. These symptoms should not usually be ignored or treated as routine without proper consideration of the risks.
If treatment was delayed, earlier action may have made a difference. For example, urgent specialist review, antibiotics, wound care, pressure relief, vascular assessment or surgery may have helped control infection, improve blood flow, save more of the limb, or avoid amputation altogether.
What do you need to prove?
A solicitor will usually look at two main questions:
- Was there a breach of duty? This means asking whether the care fell below the standard expected of a reasonably competent healthcare professional.
- Did that breach cause avoidable harm? This means asking whether earlier or better treatment would have been likely to have avoided the amputation, reduced its severity, or improved the outcome.
You do not need to answer these questions on your own. Medical negligence solicitors obtain the medical records and ask independent medical experts to review what happened. Those experts can advise whether the care was acceptable and whether earlier treatment would likely have changed the outcome.
How compensation can help
Compensation is not just about recognising what has happened. It can also provide practical support for the future. In a diabetic foot amputation claim, compensation may help pay for rehabilitation, mobility support, care, home adaptations and other needs linked to the amputation.
- Lost earnings, reduced working capacity and pension losses.
- Care provided by family members or professional carers.
- Prosthetics, orthotics, specialist footwear and mobility aids.
- Physiotherapy, rehabilitation and psychological support.
- Home adaptations, such as ramps, stairlifts or bathroom changes.
- Travel expenses, medical costs and other out-of-pocket expenses.
- Future treatment, equipment replacement and long-term support needs.
What should you do if you are worried about the care you received?
If you believe your amputation may have been avoidable, you can start by writing down what happened in date order. Include when symptoms began, who you saw, what advice you were given, whether you were referred, and when the condition worsened. Keep photographs, letters and any records you already have. A specialist medical negligence solicitor can then review the case and advise whether it is worth investigating further.
Speak to a specialist solicitor
A diabetic foot amputation is life-changing, and it is natural to want clear answers about whether the outcome could have been avoided. If there were delays, missed warning signs or failures to refer you for specialist treatment, a medical negligence claim may help you obtain answers, accountability and financial support for your recovery and future independence.
Quote from Lauren Kerse, Associate Director, and Specialist Medical Negligence Solicitor, said “A diabetic foot amputation can be devastating for patients and their families, affecting independence, confidence and everyday life in ways that are difficult to put into words. Where there are concerns that warning signs were missed or treatment was delayed, we understand how important it is to help people find answers, accountability and the support they need to move forward.”
