Surgical claims

Surgical mistakes cover a broad spectrum of different errors that can happen in hospital. These can be during scheduled operations, cosmetic procedures or emergency surgery.

Any mistakes made in surgery can have a huge impact on your life. Cosmetic surgery gone wrong can lead to additional operations, pain and suffering to fix errors. In the worst cases, a severe surgical error can sometimes be fatal.

An example of a common surgical error claim is for instances of keyhole surgery where surgical implements have been left inside patients. This can cause pain, discomfort and put the patient’s health at greater risk.

A few issues can arise due to patient consent. This can often lead to surgical claims when surgery occurs without consent. If the patient experiences pain and/or further injuries that were avoidable should the surgery not have happened, it can be strong grounds for bringing a claim.

There is a line of case law that describes what the surgeon must (and need not) explain to the patient so that the consent is valid. Claims around consent tend to arise when surgical procedures are carried out without consent from the patient – whether the surgery is a success or not.

In most cases, there is a time limit on how long you have to make a compensation claim. This is generally up to three years from the date of the surgery.

It can be longer if the claimant is under 18 years old. In this case, the three-year window starts from the date when your child turns 18.

If a claimant doesn’t have the mental capacity to make a claim, the period within which you can bring the claim can be longer than three years.

Surgical errors can cause many difficulties in your life. This can include your physical and mental health and wellbeing, issues in your personal, family and working life, and affect the relationships you have with others.

Compensation aims to cover both physical and mental rehabilitation after the incident. It can be used to cover the costs of a number of different things, resulting from your surgery gone wrong. These include:

• Ongoing care and treatment
• Rehabilitation therapy
• Additional surgery (not covered by the NHS)
• Supportive equipment
• Travel and hospital parking
• Loss of earnings
• Changes to your home

The amount of compensation you may receive varies depending on a number of different factors. The severity of your injury and the impact your injuries have on other parts of your life are two of the most important ones.

Additionally, your lawyer will also investigate a number of other elements when looking into your case, including:

• Degree of the surgeon's skill during the procedure itself
• Preplanning ahead of the surgery
• Post-operative care