Specific loss means a worker has lost a body part, or the use of a body part, and compensation is paid on the basis of which part was lost. It is a separate payment made in addition to medical expenses, lost wages, rehabilitation, and out-of-pocket costs.

Missouri, like each state, uses a pre-set schedule assigning weeks of compensation to amputations, loss of body parts, and loss of use. Insurers apply that schedule to calculate lump sum payments, and partial losses are paid as a proportion of the scheduled weeks.

The lump sum for the same body part can vary with the facts: the level of the amputation, whether use of the remaining hand or limb is affected, your wage rate, and how the loss affects your particular work. Loss of a finger means something different to a machinist than to a cashier, and the rating should reflect it.

Amputations that leave broader permanent disability receive a permanent partial disability rating on top of the schedule math, and severe or multiple losses can support permanent total disability. Disfigurement compensation and prosthetic devices belong in the claim too, and so does future medical care for revision surgery, neuroma pain, and prosthetic replacement.

Crush injuries complicate the picture: nerve damage, infection risk, cold intolerance, and loss of grip often exceed what the amputation level alone suggests. A rating done early, before the residual limb and the remaining function have declared themselves, will understate the loss.

The rating comes from a doctor the insurer chose. Before you sign, get a second opinion on the level of loss, the loss of use, and the future needs, and understand how the number was built.

In 2025 alone, our firm spent over $700,000 on expert witnesses. Amputation cases are proven the same way they are won: physicians who connect the work incident to the injury, and preparation that treats every disputed claim as one that may need a judge.

Our firm handled roughly 1 in 4 of recent workers’ compensation trials at the St. Louis Division of Workers’ Compensation, out of hundreds of attorneys representing Missouri workers. Insurers know which firms will actually try a case, and it changes how they negotiate.

When the claims administrator knows a trial firm is on the file, refusals of care get reconsidered.

How is a finger amputation paid in Missouri workers’ comp?

Missouri assigns scheduled weeks of compensation to each body part, and a finger amputation is paid as a lump sum based on the schedule, the level of the amputation, and your wage rate, in addition to medical care and lost wages during recovery.

What if I lost use of my hand but not the hand itself?

Loss of use is compensable like loss of the part. A crushed hand that no longer grips, feels, or tolerates cold can be rated at or near the value of the amputation itself when the medical evidence supports it.

Are prosthetics and future surgeries covered?

Prosthetic devices, revision surgeries, and related future care belong in the claim, and whether future medical stays open in the settlement determines who pays for replacements years from now. That line in the release matters as much as the lump sum.

Can I get disfigurement compensation?

Missouri allows additional compensation for serious and permanent disfigurement in many cases, on top of the scheduled loss. Whether and how it applies depends on the injury and the facts. Every case is different; results depend on the facts.