Have you or a loved one suffered from plastic surgery negligence?
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Posted on 13th March 2026
Blackwater Law, has obtained data from NHS Resolution revealing that the most recent year on record saw a notable rise in clinical negligence claims related to plastic surgery treatment within the NHS, with patients alleging avoidable injuries such as nerve damage, unnecessary operations and scarring.
The latest figures for 2024/25 record 75 claims, representing a sharp rise from 53 claims the previous year and one of the highest totals reported since 2019/20. The data suggest that concerns about standards of care in plastic surgery remain significant, with multiple patients each year formally alleging their treatment resulted in avoidable harm.
For claims received during 2024/25, unnecessary operations were listed as the primary injury in 12 instances – making it the most common injury type.
These types of claims can indicate serious concerns about clinical decision-making, including whether procedures were justified, properly planned or appropriately explained to patients beforehand.
The data also shows nerve damage and scarring, which were each cited in seven claims during the latest year, while unnecessary pain was recorded in six cases. These injuries can be particularly distressing for patients because they may result in long-term physical symptoms, visible changes to appearance, or lasting psychological effects.
In addition to the most frequently reported issues, the 2024/25 figures also include claims involving serious complications such as infection, thrombosis, compartment syndrome, blindness and fatalities. Although the exact numbers for some categories are suppressed due to low totals, their presence in the dataset highlights the range of severe outcomes that can arise when treatment is alleged to have gone wrong.
Jason Brady, Partner and Head of Medical Negligence at Blackwater Law, said:
“The data reveals that there has been a rise in avoidable injuries from plastic surgery treatment. Such injuries can be distressing because there can be visible in appearance, with scarring together with physical and psychological symptoms.
There can be other more severe injuries such as nerve injuries, chronic pain and amputations. If the treatment provided fell below the accepted standard this could lead to a medical negligence claim for compensation.”
Although the latest year shows a rise, the longer-term figures indicate that plastic surgery claims have remained a consistent issue. A total of 524 claims were notified between 2018/19 and 2024/25, demonstrating that concerns about patient safety in this speciality have persisted over time.
Claims commonly arise where patients believe procedures were performed unnecessarily, risks were not properly explained, complications were missed, or post-operative care was inadequate. In many cases, patients seek legal advice after experiencing avoidable injuries that have long-term consequences for their health, appearance or quality of life.
The data relates to claims by year of notification and was provided following a Freedom of Information request to NHS Resolution. Some injury categories were not broken down where the numbers were very small. It is also important to note that not every claim that is notified to NHS Resolution would result in compensation being paid.
