Surgical Error Claims

Making a surgical error compensation claim

There are a number of circumstances that may mean you are able to make a surgical error claim for compensation. Some examples of circumstances where Blackwater Law medical negligence solicitors may be able to assist you in claiming compensation include:

• You or a loved one have undergone surgery unnecessarily.
• Mistakes were made during your surgical procedure which has caused further suffering, required further surgery to undo or repair these mistakes, or impacted your health and well-being.
• Your surgery was unreasonably delayed causing you extended pain and suffering or reducing the successfulness of the surgery once it was finally carried out.
• Surgery was undertaken on the wrong part of your body, i.e. for example the wrong knee. This is known as a ‘Never Event’ because it should never happen, but it does.
• During surgery, a piece of medical apparatus was left inside your body by doctors by mistake. It may be some time before this was realised. In other cases, this will cause significant discomfort and it will be clear something is wrong very quickly. Examples of apparatus that might be left inside a patient’s body by mistake include mesh, clips, tongs and scissors.
• You or your loved one developed an infection during or after surgery. While any kind of surgery is not without risk, doctors, surgeons and nurses should identify and manage infection risk. Where an infection does develop, this should be diagnosed promptly and appropriate treatment provided. These surgical error claims may be linked to a general hospital negligence claim or misdiagnosis claim where an infection goes undiagnosed or there is a delayed diagnosis.
• In the case of cosmetic surgery compensation claims, you may be able to claim compensation where there are issues around informed consent and if you were not appropriately aware of the risks of the cosmetic procedure.

Specialist surgical error claim solicitors

Blackwater Law medical negligence solicitors are experienced in dealing with a wide range of surgical error claims. Our team is independently recognised and ranked as one of the leading teams of clinical negligence lawyers in the country, based in the South East. Our team’s reputation and experience mean that they advise and represent clients across the country in claiming compensation for surgical mistakes.

The independent recognition of our team’s experience means that you can be certain when you ask for advice, guidance and representation from Blackwater Law, that you will be getting some of the best legal advice in relation to your misdiagnosis claim that is available.

What type of surgery can I claim for?

You can submit a claim for any type of surgery that you feel has been negligent, or left you with an injury. This includes:

• Bariatric surgery
• Cardiac surgery
• Colorectal surgery
• Endocrine surgery
• Ophthalmology
• Neurosurgery
• Oral and maxillofacial surgery
• Orthopedic surgery
• Otolaryngology
• Pediatric surgery
• Reproductive surgery
• Transplant surgery
• Trauma surgery
• Urology
• Andrology
• Vascular surgery

How much compensation could I receive for a surgical error claim?

Claims that involve surgical errors can often be extremely complex and can lead to a wide array of outcomes for patients. As a result, it is not often possible to give a figure for how much compensation you could receive until the facts of the case are laid out.

The amount of compensation you receive will be affected by a multitude of factors, such as the damage that has been caused, and the effect this has on your life moving forward.

Compensation is awarded under what is known as general and special damages. You can learn more about how medical negligence compensation is calculated in this article.

Will I have to go to court to prove my surgical error claim?

Most medical negligence claims do not need to be taken to court to be resolved. In 2021 for example, just 3% of claims required a court to be involved in a resolution. It is therefore unlikely that you will need to go to court for your surgical error claim.

You can read more about what happens when a claim goes to court here.

How long do I have to make a surgical error claim?

In medical negligence claims, generally, you have 3 years from the date you became aware of the negligence to make a claim. After 3 years, it can become difficult to have a successful claim.

There are some exceptions to the limit, for example, if the person who suffered from the negligence was under 18. In this case, the 3-year time limit only begins once they turn 18.

No Win, No Fee Surgical Negligence Lawyers

At Blackwater Law, we understand the serious negative effects caused by surgical errors. We also appreciate that the notion of paying legal fees for representation can mean you are put off claiming the compensation you may be entitled to. That is why we undertake all surgical error claims on a no-win, no-fee basis.