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Have you been affected by surgical negligence? Are you wondering if you could claim compensation? If so, our guide may be able to help. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about making surgical negligence claims.
To discuss your particular circumstances and receive free advice, you can contact our team of friendly advisors by:
When you are treated by a medical professional, you are immediately owed a duty of care. This means that any care they provide has to meet a minimum standard. If they fail to do so, and you suffer unnecessary harm as a result, then this is called medical negligence.
Surgical negligence occurs when this standard isn’t met in the operating room. While every surgery comes with expected risks, the care your surgeon provides has to meet a minimum standard. For example, the Royal College of Surgeons provides information on good surgical practice.
We’ll explore what a breach in this duty of care can look like later on in this guide. Keep reading to learn more about surgical negligence claims, or contact our team today to find out if you could claim.
Not all instances of harm during surgery are classed as negligence, and because of this, not everyone who is harmed through surgery can make a claim. To form the basis of a valid claim, you need to be able to prove that:
For example, leg amputations can have many negative side-effects, including phantom pains and permanent scarring. However, if your surgeon explained all the risks of the surgery and you needed it to get better, you’d be unlikely to have a valid claim. This is because the harm is unavoidable, and not caused by substandard care.
More and more people are choosing to get cosmetic surgeries and elective surgeries abroad. If you’ve suffered surgical negligence in another country, get in touch with our team and find out if you could make a claim.
So, what can surgical negligence look like? Some common examples of surgical mistakes can include:
These are only a few examples of instances that could lead to surgical negligence claims. If you’d like to know whether or not you could make a claim, get in touch with our team today.
People often contact us wondering how long surgical negligence claims take, but unfortunately we can rarely give a definite answer. This is because all claims are unique, and have different factors that can affect how long it will take to resolve.
For example, the length of your claim can be affected by:
To get more information on how long surgical negligence claims can take, contact our team of friendly advisors today.
Generally, medical negligence compensation could be made up of two heads. Every successful claim will result in the first head, which is general damages. This heading covers the physical and mental effects of the surgical negligence. It also covers loss of amenity, which means the effect the harm has had on your quality of life.
When professionals value general damages, they might refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document contains a variety of injury and illnesses, and provides compensation brackets that solicitors and other professionals can use as a guide.
The table below illustrates some of these figures, but please remember that they aren’t guarantees, and the top figure is not from the JCG.
| Injury | Compensation Bracket | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Instances Of Harm Plus Financial Losses | Up to £1,000,000+ | Multiple instances of harm caused by medical negligence, alongside financial losses, which can range from lost earnings to medical bills and childcare. |
| Paraplegia | £267,340 to £346,890 | The compensation awarded can depend on the level of independence, presence of pain, depression, and life expectancy. |
| Moderately Severe Brain Damage | £267,340 to £344,150 | There is a serious disability with a substantial dependence on other people and a need for constant professional care. |
| Moderately Severe PTSD | £28,250 to £73,050 | The effects of the PTSD is likely to cause some disability, though there is a chance for recovery with professional help. |
| Chest Injuries (c) | £38,210 to £66,920 | Continuing disability caused by damage to the chest and lungs. |
| Male Reproductive Injuries (f) | £24,490 to £27,560 | Orchidectomy that doesn't cause impotence but does cause some psychological issues. |
| Female Reproductive Injuries (c) | £68,440 to £87,070 | Infertility in a young person with no children that causes no aggravating features. |
| Bladder Injuries (c) | £78,080 to £97,540 | Pain and incontinence paired with serious impairment of control. |
| Many Laceration Scars or One Single Scar Causing Disfigurement | £9,560 to £27,740 | Either a number of scars that are noticeable to others, or one larger scar that is on a visible body part. |
| Scarring With No Significant Internal Injury | In the region of £10,550 | An exploratory laparotomy that finds no internal injuries but results in a scar. |
In some cases, surgical negligence can have severe financial effects. For example, harm caused during surgery may mean you need to lose out on wages, or pay for:
If you’ve been affected financially as a result of surgical negligence, special damages can help you recoup your losses. This is the second head of compensation that you could be eligible for. However, you need to prove that these losses occurred in order to claim them back with evidence such as payslips, invoices and bank statements.
Contact our team today to learn more about compensation in surgical negligence claims.
While there is no obligation to work with a solicitor to make a claim, we highly recommend it. A trained medical negligence solicitor knows all the ins and outs of the surgical negligence claims process, and can use their experience to help you gain a deeper understanding.
For example, a solicitor can help you support your claim by gathering evidence, speaking to witnesses, and even arranging for you to undergo an independent medical assessment. A solicitor can also explain any complex legal jargon or any steps in the process that you don’t understand.
Read on to find out how our expert medical negligence solicitors could help you, or get in touch today to get started.
So, how can we help? Our solicitors are experts in surgical negligence claims, and have years of experience in securing compensation payouts for those who have suffered due to medical negligence.
Plus, our No Win No Fee solicitors offer their services under something called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This means that:
The success fee is taken as a small percentage of your compensation, which is capped by law, helping to ensure that the larger share goes to you.
If you have any more questions, or if you’re ready to start your claim, contact our expert team today by:
For more helpful medical negligence guides:
Or, for further resources:
Thank you for reading our guide on surgical negligence claims.
