Eye and sight loss claims
This page is for people who have experienced eye injuries or sight loss related to medical negligence. For eye injuries and sight loss caused by accidents at work, visit our personal injury and illness pages.
Losing your vision is one of the most devastating, life-changing experiences you can suffer. It can be even harder to come to terms with when this happens due to negligent medical care.
If you lose substantial vision, you may have to learn to use braille, move or adapt your accommodation, or retrain to get new work. This is where sight loss compensation can help.
Ophthalmology is the section of medicine that deals with diagnoses, treatment and diseases of the eyes and visual systems . While the majority of treatments are performed safely, mistakes can have severe consequences. The same is true for the failed or delayed diagnosis of eye diseases. Failings by opticians could also lead to eye problems.
If you have experienced inadequate medical or optician care that you believe resulted in ophthalmic damage, you may be able to claim compensation for loss of sight in one eye, both eyes or impaired vision.
At Leigh Day, our medical negligence lawyers in London and Manchester are highly experienced dealing with many cases and claims around ophthalmology negligence – successfully securing significant eye injury payouts.
What our clients say
Causes of eye damage and sight loss
Some eye claims due to medical negligence are related to eye damage or sight loss because of mistakes in NHS, private ophthalmic or optician care and treatment. These include:
- Laser eye treatment for the correction of long or short-sightedness
- Management of foreign bodies in the eyes
- Trauma to the eyes
- Treatment of glaucoma
- Cataract, corneal and vitreo-retinal surgery
- Treatment for retinal detachment
- Corneal transplants
- Blocked tear duct surgery (dacryocystorhinostomy)
- Eye muscle surgery (strabismus and macular degeneration)
- Prescriptions for glasses, contact lenses, eye drops and medication
A delay in the diagnosis or misdiagnosis of an eye problem can also lead to eye damage leading to a claim for sight loss compensation.
Making a claim
Whether you have suffered damage to your eye, or are seeking compensation for loss of sight, you may be able to make a claim.
Contact our medical negligence team for an initial free consultation. One of our expert lawyers will listen to your case, advise on whether you have a legitimate eye injury or sight loss claim, and suggest the best steps to take.
To support your claim, you’ll likely need to gather as much evidence related to your case as possible. This can include:
- any medical records and documents related to your eyes, surgery and treatment received
- documents relating to any complaint you make
- financial records, which could help support a claim in terms of expenses spent on specialist equipment, appointments and travel, alongside any loss of earnings.
Eye damage and sight loss compensation
Eye injury payouts vary depending on the severity of your injuries. Our team works to make sure the compensation reflects the damage caused by negligent eye treatment and your current and future condition.
Compensation can cover the costs of:
- Any long-term health effects and care costs
- Specialist equipment – such as visual aids, walking sticks, home adaptations
- Further treatment from an ophthalmology expert
- Expenses – for travel costs to treatment and therapy appointments
- Loss of earnings – up to retirement age in the most severe instances
- Physical and emotional pain and suffering
Eye damage and sight loss compensation case studies
Retinopathy mismanagement
Six-figure sum for a boy who lost his vision in one eye following negligent management of retinopathy.
£860,000 glaucoma settlement
Damages of £860,000 for a woman who suffered acute glaucoma that was undiagnosed for several days.
Pituitary tumour diagnosis delay
Woman left blind and suffering from hypopituitarism after a delayed diagnosis and treatment for a pituitary tumour. She was awarded a six-figure sum and periodic payments.
Why choose Leigh Day?
The medical negligence team at Leigh Day has more than 30 years’ experience, including working across a variety of eye damage and sight loss claims.
This includes successfully securing significant amounts of compensation for clients who have experienced injuries following laser eye treatment, misdiagnosed glaucoma and delayed diagnosis for other serious eye conditions and treatments.
Suzanne White is the head of our clinical negligence team. She has specialised in this area of law for over 20 years, working and advising on a wide range of medical negligence cases.
Her work includes various eye damage and sight loss cases, including claiming a six-figure sum for a boy born prematurely who lost vision in one eye following negligent management of retinopathy. She is a member of the APIL executive, a trustee of the Patients Association and a member of the INQUEST Lawyers Group.
What the directories say
Suzanne exemplifies the firm's commitment to achieve the best possible results for its clients. She has great tactical acumen and is able to step back and look at the bigger picture of a catastrophic case.
Legal 500