Cosmetic Surgery Negligence Claims

“If you suffered harm due to medical negligence during your cosmetic surgery treatment, Our Cosmetic specialist solicitors can help you with Cosmetic Surgery Claims.”

What are Cosmetic Surgery Claims?

Cosmetic surgery is any surgical procedure done for the purposes of improving the appearance of the body. In other words, it is mostly done for aesthetic reasons. Cosmetic surgery can be done on various parts of the body including any part of the face, breasts or buttocks. 

Every surgical procedure comes with its degree of risk and this is the same with cosmetic surgery. Risks such as infections or some form of complication are common with cosmetic surgery , especially as the area of cosmetic surgery is not strictly regulated as other specialties of healthcare delivery. This also suggests that persons who elect to go for such surgeries are more at risk of harm or injury arising from surgical negligence.

It is estimated that about £300 million is being spent every year on cosmetic surgery in the UK. In 2019, nearly 27,000 procedures took place which was down 7.5% from that of 2018. Breast augmentation (6900) and breast reduction (4245) recorded the greatest number of cosmetic procedures. Abdominoplasty, Tummy tuck, blepharoplasty, rhinoplasty, liposuction and face/neck lift also recorded significant numbers of surgeries. 

Statistics also revealed that women had about 92% of all cosmetic procedures in 2019 with the men having 2126 surgeries, a drop of 9.2% from 2018. It is also expected that the number of non-surgical alternatives to traditional surgical procedures will most likely increase from 2020.

When one decides to undergo a cosmetic surgery, whether it be to the nose, breasts, eyes, face, he/she expects to leave the operating room looking better and well satisfied. However, there are always cases of surgery gone wrong. Effects of cosmetic surgery complications can be very devastating and traumatizing both physically and emotionally. Some come out of the operating room with one form of illness or cosmetic deformity such scarring, a lack of symmetry, misshaping, adverse reactions to implant materials, swelling. 

While some victims may need further surgeries to correct the effects of the previously failed procedure, some effects are irreversible and lifelong. Some effects also are actually fatal. Plastic surgery mistakes can occur before, during and after the procedure.

Every cosmetic surgeon owes their patients a duty of care, and when they act below the expected standard of care or perform a bad cosmetic surgery leading to unnecessary suffering or pain, the victim is legally entitled to make cosmetic surgery negligence claims.

What Constitutes Cosmetic Surgery Negligence?

Before a Cosmetic Surgeon, Plastic Surgeon or Beauty Therapist performs any cosmetic procedure, they have a duty to discuss with their patients and discuss any risks associated with the procedure. The patient then has to make an informed decision whether to proceed or not. 

The medical professional should also make known any alternatives available while allowing the patient to take time to think and make a decision since cosmetic surgeries are mostly not emergency surgeries.

If a cosmetic procedure goes wrong, and you suffer pain, trauma, financial losses or a loved one loses his/her life, our medical Negligence solicitors are here for you. You can make cosmetic medical negligence claims if your healthcare provider subjects you to any of the following types of negligent care;

• Failure to warn you or inform you of known risks about your procedure.
• You received substandard care or treatment.
• A faulty or damaged product such as an implant was used during your procedure.
• Failure to give you the right post-surgery care which led to some form of infection or complication.

Some of the consequences of negligent treatment during cosmetic surgeries include;

• Damage to the nerves or other internal organs.
• Poor results such as a lack of symmetry or misshaping. 
• Adverse reactions to implant materials.
• Injuries and complications due to the retention of surgical instruments.
• Unnecessary and avoidable scarring.
• Perforated bowel caused by liposuction.
• Breast implant illness

Cosmetic Surgery Case Studies- (Our Success Stories)

As with any medical procedure, cosmetic surgery comes with its own risk that can have severe effects on your overall well being. Some cosmetic surgery procedures take several months before you can make full recovery. During this period your healthcare provider has the duty to provide you the right standard of care to prevent any post-surgery complications. 

Here are some cases of cosmetic surgery gone wrong where we have been able to help clients get compensations for negligent care during or after a cosmetic procedure.

Compensation For Failed Facelift  Surgery

Our Expert Cosmetic Surgery Medical Negligence Solicitors were able to secure a Compensation for Miss. Cashman of Crawley whose facelift surgery went wrong. Our Client had elected to undergo the surgery for aesthetic reasons – her desire was simply to improve the appearance of her face. She visited her Doctor who told her she would undergo a facelift surgery. He explained to her that the procedure was simple and she could rest assured of getting the results she desired. Convinced with the positive meeting with her Doctor, our client proceeded to have the procedure done but unfortunately, she left the operating room worse than before after a surgery blunder. 

Miss Cashman suffered necrosis in the skin and was required to undergo several unsuccessful corrective surgeries to remove the dead skin after it had been stretched too long causing swelling, bruising and eventually infection. Thankfully, she reached out to us and our panel of specialist solicitors represented her, the defendants accepted liability and we were able to claim compensation for the injuries she had suffered due to negligence, as well as corrective surgery to repair the scarring on her once scar free-face. 

Settlement Award For Failed Nose Surgery

Our Cosmetic Surgery Claims Solicitors secured compensation for a young client who went to have a procedure on her nose with the aim of boosting her job prospects in the media industry. She met the Doctor through her friend who suggested she undergo a “slight trim” on her nose. The procedure lasted over 4hours and the outcome was her nose visibly damaged as the tissue at the tip of her nose died. As a result of the failed surgery, she lost modelling contracts worth thousands of pounds. She was left emotionally and mentally distraught and considered giving up on her dreams. 

However, she came to us to help her make claims and our Specialist Cosmetic Surgery Solicitors in Nose reshaping / rhinoplasty claims were able to establish a case of medical negligence. It was also discovered that the Surgeon was not qualified to carry out such a procedure. After some months of deliberations, the defendants agreed to pay the settlement for the avoidable pain, suffering and emotional distress our client had to undergo as a result of the surgical error.

How To Prove Cosmetic Surgery Claims

Cases involving medical negligence can be very sensitive and need to be handled expertly. A strong case must be presented and a direct causal link between the negligent treatment and harm suffered established. It must then be shown that the Surgeon, beauty therapist or any healthcare professional in charge of the cosmetic procedure failed in the discharge of their duties as the standards of medical practice require and such failure caused you harm, pain and suffering.

Four parts of negligence has to be proven thus;

• Duty (that the healthcare provider owed you a duty of care)
• Deviation (that the duty of care was breached)
• Direct causation (That breach of duty directly caused the injury suffered or worsened an existing medical condition.
• Damages (that the injury or worsened medical condition has impacted your life severely and caused you losses) 

At Medical Negligence Direct, we will assign to you a personal solicitor who will work closely with you and our specialist team of cosmetic surgery claims solicitors to ensure that you are well represented. We will leave no stone unturned to see you receive the best possible compensation award to help get your life back on track and ease the pain and effects of the unfortunate incident.

Making A Cosmetic Surgery Claim for a Cosmetic Surgery Procedure that’s gone wrong

The processes involved in making a cosmetic surgery claim are outlined below;

Contact Us For Initial Consultations:

To begin your cosmetic surgery claims, you need to contact your lawyer to guide you begin your claims. We will assign to you a personal lawyer to listen to you and carefully evaluate the details of your case and give you proper legal advice. Our consultation services are free of charge, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

Funding Your Claim:

After a thorough review of the details of your case, we will proceed to fund your claims. There are different ways of funding medical negligence claims. These include:

• Legal Aid
• Legal Expenses Or Before The Event Insurance (BTE)
• Conditional Fee Agreements (No Win No Fee Agreements)
• Trade Union Funding
• Private Funding

The funds will be used for preliminary investigations and accessing relevant documents for use as evidence. Our Cosmetic Surgery Solicitors will help you decide on which funding type you are eligible for and how to secure your funding.

Gathering Of Facts and Evidence

With your funding in place, we will proceed to help you gather all documents and evidence needed to prove your claim. These will include your detailed statements (including timeline of activities and events that transpired), photographs, medical reports and test results, evidence of financial losses and witness statements. 

We will also secure the services of a Specialist independent medical practitioner to give a report on your condition which will be used to support your claims.

Claim Submission

We will send a “letter of claim” to the Defendant part after successfully gathering the evidence we need for your claims. The defendant will issue a response after due investigations accepting or denying any wrongdoing.

Deliberations and Negotiations

Both parties will begin deliberations upon receiving response from the Defendant. If the defendant denies liability, he must provide evidence to support his decision while we will make more findings to counter such claims. Deliberations can be prolonged where it is difficult to reach an agreement either in accepting liability or agreeing a settlement fee.

In such cases, the case will be registered to be handled by a competent judge. However, most cases are resolved without going to court.

In the case where the defendant accepts liability and we will try to reach an agreement for the settlement fee.

Settlement And Payment

Once agreement on the value of compensation is reached, the defendant will make payments within the agreed number of years. Compensation award values are not fixed and varies with each case. they are determined by factors which include, severity of injury, impact of injury on daily life, financial losses suffered, costs of further medical procedures and rehabilitation.

We pride ourselves in being able to secure the best possible settlements for our clients over the years. Be rest assured that your case will be handled expertly..

How Much Can My Cosmetic Surgery Claim Be Worth?

No two cosmetic surgery claims are the same. Settlement payouts vary with each case, our Cosmetic Injury Claims Solicitors will give you a range of compensation payout you can expect using the cosmetic surgery cost calculator.

Generally, your compensation award value will depend on-

• General Damages- which covers the severity of the injuries suffered and its impact on your general wellbeing.

• Special Damages- which covers for financial losses incurred due to the injury. They are also designed to take care of costs for future medical appointments, rehabilitation and loss of earnings. 

Compensation Values For Cosmetic Surgery Negligence

Non-Surgical Cosmetic procedures are popular such as Botox injections, chemical peels, laser treatments, microdermabrasion and dermal fillers. They make it possible to change the way you look with you undergoing a full surgical procedure and continue to prove popular as people see them as viable alternatives.

However, the number of mistakes from non-surgical cosmetic procedures continue to rise. Lack of proper legislation in this field of healthcare puts patients at even greater risks of complications.
You are well within your rights to make a claim for negligent treatment suffered during any non-surgical cosmetic procedure.

What Are The Risks Of Cosmetic Surgery?

As with any medical procedure, cosmetic surgery has its own risks such as lacerations, scarring, psychological damage, infections, injuries to internal organs and other complications. These risks can have severe impacts on the patient and your healthcare provider should be able to explain these risks to you in detail so that you can make informed decisions.

What Are The Most Common Areas Of Cosmetic Surgery Mistakes?

The most common areas of cosmetic surgery mistakes are;

• Liposuction
• Rhinoplasty (nose reshaping)
• Abdominoplasty (tummy tuck)
• Rhytidectomy (face lift)
• Breast enlargement or augmentation
• Botox injection procedures

What Is the Process For Making Cosmetic Surgery Negligence Claims?

The first step towards making a cosmetic surgery claim is to contact your lawyer. We are ready to assist you make your claims. Reach out to us and we will explain to you what the entire process entails, give you the needed legal guidance and support you ensuring you are well compensated.

How Much Compensation Can I Get For My Cosmetic Surgery Negligence Claims?

It is not easy to actually say the amount you would get in compensation for your claims. Several factors need to be considered. Such as the severity of the injury, ability to make a full recovery or not, psychological and emotional trauma suffered, costs of further medical treatments and rehabilitation as well as financial losses.

Can I Sue For A Botched Surgery?

Suing a Surgeon for a failed surgery is a serious issue and so it must be noted that it should not be done just because the surgery didn’t turn out exactly the way you wanted. There has been a case of negligence directly causing harm to you. If this is the case, you can make claims for surgical error.