Glossary
Diabetic Amputation
Surgical removal of a toe, foot, or part of a leg because of damage caused by diabetes, usually from poor circulation, nerve damage, and infections that do not heal.
A diabetic amputation is the surgical removal of a toe, foot, or leg in a person with diabetes. Over years, high blood sugar can damage nerves, so a person may not feel a blister or cut, and can narrow blood vessels, so wounds heal slowly. A small sore can become a deep ulcer or bone infection, and when infection or tissue death cannot be controlled, doctors may need to amputate to save the person's life.
Amputations are a serious and well-known complication of diabetes by themselves, which makes lawsuits in this area complex. The main question is usually whether something other than the disease, such as a drug or medical error, caused or sped up the loss of a limb.
The FDA added a boxed warning to the diabetes drug canagliflozin (sold as Invokana, Invokamet, and Invokamet XR) on May 16, 2017, after two large clinical trials found an increased risk of leg and foot amputations, then removed the boxed warning on August 26, 2020, after reviewing new trial data. Amputation risk information remained in the label. Canagliflozin is an SGLT2 inhibitor, and it was the subject of product liability lawsuits by patients who lost toes, feet, or legs. The manufacturer denied the claims.
Other amputation claims are medical malpractice cases alleging that a doctor or facility failed to treat a foot ulcer or infection in time. Those claims depend on medical records showing what was known and when. If you or a family member had an amputation while taking a diabetes drug under investigation, keep pharmacy records and wound care records. Our black box warning entry explains how label changes factor into cases, and our mass tort guide explains how claims are organized.
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Sources.
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