Surgical Negligence Claims

Our expert Clinical Negligence lawyers advise clients on a wide range of surgical clinical negligence claims, helping them to get vital compensation for injuries caused by poor or negligent surgical practice. If you or a loved one have suffered an injury as a result of negligent surgical treatment or post-surgical care, we can help you secure the justice and compensation to which you are entitled.

Our approach to surgical negligence claims

We understand that undergoing surgery can be both distressing and disruptive. Finding out that the surgery has failed or made things worse can be devastating, causing pain and anxiety and further disrupting your life, potentially with long-term, even life-changing consequences.

Our specialist Clinical Negligence team combine expert legal knowledge in this field with a sympathetic and human approach. We will break down the jargon and help you to understand how to make a complaint and launch a claim for compensation. Working closely with expert medical professionals, we will help build your case, showing where surgery or post-operative care was negligent, and provide guidance at every stage of your claim so that you have the best possible chance of securing compensation.

Can you make a claim for surgical clinical negligence?

Surgery embraces a wide range of treatments, some of which are relatively minor and straightforward while others are complex. Successful surgery can be transformative, but when it doesn’t go as expected, the consequences can be serious and lasting. Surgical clinical negligence can take many forms and we have successfully advised clients for a wide range of issues, including:

• Performing the wrong operation
• Operating on the wrong body part
• Foreign objects left in the body
• Causing infection
• Stitching the wound incorrectly
• Inadequate pre-surgical checks regarding your suitability for surgery
• Failure to provide proper advice following the surgery
• Failure to inform you about the risks of the surgery
• Inadequate anaesthesia
• Causing nerve damage during the surgery
• Injuring nearby organs

The risks of surgery

Different types of surgery carry different levels of risk and complication. Our clinical negligence lawyers specialise in helping patients pursue compensation claims, many of which revolve around a failure to properly inform you (consent) of the risks associated with your procedure. If you weren’t warned about the risks of your surgery or if your surgeon made an error that led to unnecessary pain and suffering due to their surgical malpractice you may be eligible to claim compensation. Examples of the complications resulting from surgical error that could support a compensation claim include:

• Anaesthetic – nerve damage, allergic reactions, death
• Ear, nose and throat surgery – breathing difficulties, excessive bleeding, deafness, infection
• Gynaecological surgery – deep-vein thrombosis (blood clotting), injuries to other organs, infections, hernia, excessive bleeding
• Heart surgery – damaged arteries, heart attacks, brain related problems, excessive bleeding infection
• Neurosurgery (brain) – stroke, bleeding in the brain, blood clotting, brain swelling, comas, impaired speech, vision and coordination, infection, seizures
• Ophthalmological surgery (eye) – vision loss, visual symptoms such as halos, glares, sensitivity, and dry eyes
• Orthopaedic surgery – damage to nerves or spinal cord, excessive bleeding, infection, inflammation
• Urological surgery – infection, injury to adjacent organs, urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction
• Vascular surgery – infection, bleedings, failed or blocked grafts, strokes, heart attacks, leg swelling, brain impairment, impotence

Whatever the incident, including those listed above, if you have suffered an injury as a result of surgical clinical negligence then our specialist Clinical Negligence team are here to help you claim the compensation you deserve. We’ve helped many people to claim compensation after surgical errors, so we know exactly how to approach your case to get the best possible result.

How much will your surgical negligence claim cost?

In many cases, we will be able to support you on a no win no fee basis, meaning that if your claim is not successful, you will not have to pay any legal fees.

Whatever your case, we offer a free initial consultation to help you understand the process and the likely funding basis of your claim.

How long do you have to make a surgical negligence claim?

You usually have up to three years from the date of the surgery or when its effects were first apparent to start a surgical negligence claim.

If the claim is for your child, you have until their 18th birthday to make a claim on their behalf. After this it becomes the responsibility of the child to make the claim, with the three-year limit starting when they reach the age of 18. If they lack the ‘capacity’ to handle their own affairs, the time limit does not apply. Similarly, if the surgical negligence claim is on behalf of an adult incapable of handling their own affairs, the limitation does not apply.

We recommend that you contact us as soon as possible, so that our clinical negligence lawyers can explain the process of claiming compensation, start your claim and help you access any other support and/or rehabilitation you need.

How much compensation could you receive?

Every case of surgical negligence claim is different. That’s why it is important to get expert advice from qualified specialist lawyers who really understand the unique nature of each surgical injury and who are experienced in working with medical professionals to truly understand its long-term implications.

The amount you can claim will depend on a number of factors, including the severity of the injury, the impact on your life, any financial losses you or your loved one have suffered or will suffer in the future, and any changes to your lifestyle that you have to make as a result of the surgical injury. Whatever the case, our specialist clinical negligence lawyers will ensure that you get the compensation and support you are entitled to.

Of course, financial awards can’t fully compensate you or your loved one for a surgical injury resulting from clinical negligence or address the long-term consequences. But compensation can help you to make any necessary adjustments to your lifestyle and help you get your life back on track. Compensation could also help to provide vital support if a loved one has lost the capacity to work as a result of their surgical injury.