‍

Sometimes, when people have had digits amputated, such as a finger that's been amputated right at the knuckle, the body is divided up into parts under the statute. There's a division of the body into parts, including the hand. If someone's had a fingertip amputated and it's literally at the knuckle, then it might be more straightforward because you can look at the statute and say here's what that would be worth, here's what your compensation should be. But most times, it's not even. Even with something like that, people might have a finger amputated right at the knuckle, but they might have some additional problems like phantom pain or problems making a fist, which again then the disability could go to the level of the whole hand.

It is complicated, and there are a few times when it's kind of straightforward as long as you can really trust the work comp insurance attorney. Sometimes you can have a pre-hearing conference with the administrative law judge, and the judge can help you a little bit. But in most cases, if you really want to get what you're entitled to and know your rights, you're going to need to consult an attorney.

A lot of times if somebody gets the tip of their finger amputated, they won't have a lot of lingering problems to the hand. Sometimes they do, but sometimes they don't. The statute and the body are divided up, including the hand. If it's clear that you've got 100% loss at the knuckle, well, you can look at the knuckle on the charts and see that it's a 100% loss. Then it's an easy calculation as far as what they're supposed to get for a benefit.

Again, most of the time somebody has an injury and it's not just to the body part. It goes up the rest of the hand or the arm or shoulder. So it just becomes increasingly complicated as you go.

‍