Surgical Error Claims

Surgical Negligence Compensation Claims

If you or your loved one has suffered pain, trauma or a worsened condition as a result of mistakes made during your operation, then you could be able to make surgical negligence claims.

What Are Surgical Negligence Claims?

Surgical negligence claims refers to when a patient or the loved ones take legal action against their medical professional or surgeon due to negligent treatment or mistakes made during an operation which has caused the individual harm, pain, a worsened medical condition or worse, death.

In other words, surgical negligence claims will only occur or be brought up when a medical professional (generally, a surgeon) provides sub-standard surgical care to a patient.

All medical professionals and indeed all surgeons owe their patients a “Duty of Care” which means that they are to take all possible measures and decisions in the best interest of their patients. They are to ensure that they deliver an acceptable level of care as any form of negligence could be disastrous.

If you believe that the standard of care that has been provided to you during your surgery operation was inadequate and has led to damages, losses or suffering, then you need to speak to a specialist medical negligence solicitor today and get vital legal advice.

Our surgical error claims solicitors are ready to assist you with your claims. Therefore, we encourage you to reach out to us especially as there is a time limit to make medical negligence claims so that you do not miss the chance to obtain justice for your suffering.

We undertake the following surgical negligence claims

Our medical negligence solicitors are experts in the aforementioned surgical error lawsuits and are able to give you the required legal advice and professional legal representation you need to ensure that your claim is successful. 

We are fully aware that having to undergo a surgical operation can be a traumatic time for patients. Fear of the unknown, the risks involved, the potential outcome and achieving a full recovery can be a lot of psychological burden on the individual. When a surgical mistake is made, it only makes the situation much worse. The impact of surgical negligence can be extremely disastrous, debilitating and life-altering. 

This is why we are here for you. We will stand by you ensuring you get all the support you need during the difficult time.

Do surgical errors result in claims?

Surgical errors are mistakes which are made before, during or just after an operation which makes the patient’s medical condition worse, leads to a new medical problem or worse still, leads to death. Surgical errors are of different kinds and occur in different ways and for different reasons. However, for whatever reason for which they occur, it is not acceptable and victims may be eligible to make surgical negligence claims. 

Although the vast majority of surgeries performed yearly in the UK are successful, there have also been cases of unsuccessful surgeries which have had long-standing and devastating effects on the patient.

Most surgical procedures have risks associated with them but negligence of the surgeon or hospital can result in medical complications, infection or injury to the patient.

What Are The Causes Of Surgical Error Claims?

The reasons why an individual may make surgical error claims could be for a wide range of surgical procedures. These surgical error claims may take the form of an operation gone wrong claim, for example; knee replacement gone wrong. It could also take the form of wrong patient surgery cases, hip replacement negligence cases or a failed operation claim. 

The causes of surgeon negligence claims can vary according to the type of treatment you are receiving and can range from human error to failure to properly clean surgical equipment or anaesthesia errors.

Examples of surgical errors are:

• Wrong surgery performed on a patient
• Performing the right surgery on the wrong site, such as amputating the wrong limb;
• Retained surgical instruments in the patient’s body
• Infection as a result of improper sterilization of surgical instruments
• Organ damage
• Unnecessary nerve damage
• Poorly conducted surgeries leading to complications
• Poorly administered anaesthesia

What Happens If A Surgeon Makes A Mistake?

When a surgeon makes a mistake during surgery, he or she could face liability for a surgical error lawsuit. 

Medical professionals have a responsibility of care towards their patient and should do their best not to be found wanting in any way. The following are the possible scenarios that can play out if your surgeon makes a mistake;

• Another Person Corrects the Mistake- in a case where the mistake can be corrected, another doctor or surgeon will be assigned to correct the mistake. This will be both in the best interest of the patient and the hospital especially as the patient will most likely not feel comfortable being operated on again by the same person who made the initial mistake.
• An Investigation Takes Place- The hospital will make internal investigations to know why and how the error occurred. They might also suspend the surgeon if they find him liable for medical negligence.
  Also, the victim or family may make enquiries (formal complaints) as the response received can provide you the evidence you need to make a claim
• The Victim Can Make Claims- the victim or family can make surgical negligence claims against the surgeon.

Can You Sue If Surgery Goes Wrong?

Not all surgeries will come out exactly the way you want. However, if the surgery went wrong as a result of negligence of the surgeon, causing you to suffer, then yes, you certainly can take legal actions against the surgeon. 

You should expect the highest standard of care possible from your surgeon and when you instead suffer pain, anguish or a worsened medical condition because of negligent treatment by your medical professional, then you can make surgical negligence claims.

Why Should You Make Surgical Negligence Claims?

Making surgical error claims is not just about obtaining monetary compensation for your injury or suffering, it is about seeking redress and obtaining justice. It is about ensuring that the errors that led to your suffering do not reoccur again. It is about the NHS or private hospitals involved to make appropriate investigations and improvements to ensure that patients do not suffer unnecessarily in the hands of those who should ensure their safety.

Making a claim is also important for you to obtain compensation for the physical pain and mental breakdown you must have suffered. You may have incurred additional costs as a result of extra care due to the injury, or while seeking further medical attention to correct the error. You may also have been relieved of your job and so have no source of income. In these circumstances, it is only fair that you as the victim receive commensurate compensation for your suffering and losses.

Our solicitors understand that this is a difficult time for you, and will support you all the way from the consultation stage until you finally get your compensation.

How Do I Make Surgical Negligence Claims?

When a surgical negligence occurs, the results can be really difficult for you and your family. Suing a surgeon is never easy and that is why you need to present a strong case to win your claims.

If you think you may have a surgical negligence claim, then you should reach out to our team of medical negligence solicitors for a free assessment of your claim. Our medical negligence lawyers are friendly, approachable and understanding. 

They will assist you establish that your medical professional or surgeon acted negligently making mistakes which are responsible for the difficult situation you have found yourself in.

In other words, we need to prove that;

• Your surgeon owed you a duty of care
• Your surgeon breached that duty of care
• That breach in duty of care directly caused you undue pain, suffering and has worsened your condition
• You have incurred losses and damages physically, emotionally, mentally, financially and otherwise 

To do this, our Surgical Negligence Compensation Claims Solicitors will require that you provide certain relevant information and documents which will serve as evidence to make your claims. We can also help you obtain them if you are not able to do so. We will also secure the services of an Independent Medical expert who will examine you and give a proper report of your condition which will be very vital in the claims process.

These documents include;

• Detailed statements including appointment dates, the surgeon who attended to you, the procedure performed and the error made
• Medical test results and scans
• Witness statements 
• Evidence of financial losses incurred as a result of the surgical error including past, current and estimated future financial losses
• Photographs
• Medical Report from an independent medical expert

The Surgical Negligence Claims Procedure

When you come to us for a free consultation session, our expert Medical Negligence Solicitors in surgical negligence compensation claims will listen to your story, make a professional assessment of your case and explain to you in simple terms what the claims process entails. 

You can reach out to us or book an appointment today by completing our quick Free Claim Assessment or call us on 0800 644 4240.
Below is a summary of the surgical negligence compensation claims process;

How Much Compensation Can I Get For Surgical Error Claims?

Surgical errors are of different types and come in varying degrees of severity. That is to say that no two surgical error claims can be the same. This is why the amount you will receive as settlement is not fixed but depends on the uniqueness of each case. For example, a never event compensation and an unnecessary surgery compensation claim will vary in details, severity and damages and so will receive different compensation amounts.

In the UK, medical negligence compensation amounts range between £1,000 to several millions of pounds. However, according to the NHS, the average medical negligence claims compensation amount is £50,000.

Our surgical negligence claims lawyers can however, give you a range of what you can expect as compensation amount for your claims using our medical negligence calculator

What Damages Can I Claim?

The amount you receive as compensation are divided into two main categories-

• General Damages which refers to compensation for factors regarding the type of surgical error, severity of the damage caused by the negligence and its impact on your general wellbeing.

• Special Damages which on the other hand covers for financial losses and “out-of-pocket” expenses as a result of the incident. Special damages are also designed to take care of additional medical costs for appointments and further treatment, loss of earnings, future prognosis, costs of extra care, accommodation adjustments as well costs of rehabilitative and assistive devices or aids necessary for recovery or management of the condition.

The table below outlines the estimated range of compensation values for various types of injury that can be caused by surgical negligence.

Our Expertise In Surgical Negligence Claims

Our medical negligence experts have many years of experience in representing clients who have suffered surgical negligence. Over the years, we have secured deserving compensation amounts and will certainly leave no stone unturned in ensuring that you are well compensated for your pain. 

We will do our best to make sure that the entire claims process runs smoothly and stress-free for you. We have a strong record of settling claims swiftly as we do not want your days of suffering to prolong even further.

Contact us today by completing our quick Free Claim Assessment Form for a free assessment of your case and let us help you make that claim.

No Win No Fee Surgical Negligence Claims

Our Medical Negligence Solicitors will undertake your surgical negligence claims under our No Win No Fee policy which means you can pursue your claim without any financial risks to you.

You do not need to pay us any legal fees before or during the entire negligence claims process for us to represent you. 

Additionally, you will not have to pay us a penny even if the case is not successful as we take out an insurance cover for you that protects you from such financial implications.

However, when your case is won, we will deduct a 25% success fee from your total compensation award value when it is paid and we will give you the rest.

Time Limit For Surgical Negligence Claims

According to the Limitation Act of 1980, you only have a three-year time limit for making a negligence claim. This period of time begins to count from the date of the surgical negligence or when you became aware of it.

In a care where the individual is a minor (under 18 years of age), then the three-year time frame starts from the individual’s 18th birthday. The individual thus has until his or her 21st birthday to make a claim.

Furthermore, for an individual who is incapacitated and unable to make claims, the time frame can be relaxed until he or she is able to do so.

In above scenarios, the individual may have a close relation (a litigation friend) to make claims on their behalf.

When you reach out to us, we can give you more explanations about this and what a litigation friend has to do to make a claim.

We therefore encourage you to begin your claim as soon as possible because of how sensitive medical negligence claims can be so that your lawyers can have ample time to prepare adequately and give you a strong legal representation. 

Conclusion

When medical professionals fail in their duty of care to their patients, the results can be devastating or fatal. For whatever reasons for which such negligent acts occurred, it is not acceptable. Contact us today, let us access your case and help you make that claim.

What Are The Five Steps To Safer Surgery?

The five steps to safer surgery is a surgical safety checklist which is now advocated by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) for all patients in England and Wales who are undergoing a surgical procedure.

These steps are;

• Briefing
• Sign-in
• Timeout
• Sign-out
• Debriefing

What Is The Most Common Type Of Surgical Error?

Common surgical errors include mistakes during anesthesia administration, operating on a wrong body site and injuries to internal organs.

Can I Get Compensation For Nerve Damage?

Yes, you certainly can get compensation for nerve damage following a surgical procedure. The amount of compensation you get will depend on the severity of the damage, the impact it has on your quality of life as well as losses incurred and estimated future losses.

It must however be proven that the nerve damage was as a result of negligence of your surgeon.

How Common Are Surgical Errors?

In a recent study, it is estimated that surgical errors occur in approximately 1 of 112,000 surgical procedures. Although this number doesn’t seem frequent, every hospital will experience one surgical error every 5 to 10years.

What Is A Surgical Error?

A surgical error or mistake is an avoidable error during an operation or surgical procedure made as a result of negligence of the surgeon. All surgical procedures come with an element of risk which is why the patient or family will sign a form consenting to this before the procedure is carried out. 

However when a surgery goes wrong not because of its associated risk but because the surgeon failed in his duty, then a surgical error claim can be made.