By Cat Way. Last Updated 7th June 2024. In this guide, we discuss plastic surgery negligence claims, including the eligibility criteria that need to be met in order to pursue medical negligence compensation and the evidence you could provide to prove medical negligence.
When you undergo plastic surgery, the medical professionals performing the procedure and providing your treatment owe a duty of care to provide the right standard of care. If they fail to meet this standard, it may lead to you suffering avoidable harm. If this is the case, and you make a successful medical negligence claim, you could be awarded compensation to address the way in which you were affected. We discuss the way medical negligence compensation payouts are calculated later in our guide, as well as what they could include.
Additionally, we look at examples of the ways plastic surgery, such as a tummy tuck, breast reduction, a surgical fat transfer, could go wrong and the complications that could arise as a result.
Finally, we discuss how you could benefit from working with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors and the services they could offer.
To find out more, please contact an advisor. They are available 24/7 to provide free advice and answer any questions you might have about starting a clinical or medical negligence claim. You can reach them in the following ways:
- Phone on 0800 073 8804.
- Enquire about your claim online.
- Talk to an advisor via the live chat function below.
Jump To A Section
- Can I Make A Plastic Surgery Negligence Claim?
- Examples Of Plastic Surgery Negligence You Could Claim For
- How Can I Prove My Plastic Surgery Negligence Claim?
- How Much Could I Claim For Negligent Plastic Surgery?
- How To Make No Win No Fee Plastic Surgery Negligence Claims
- Related Medical Negligence Claims
Can I Make A Plastic Surgery Negligence Claim?
All medical professionals owe a duty of care to their patients to provide care that meets the correct standard. If they neglect this duty, then you may wonder whether you could make a medical negligence claim.
To begin a claim for medical negligence, you need to meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Showing that you were owed a duty of care by a medical professional, such as the surgical team responsible for your plastic surgery.
- Proving that this duty of care was breached.
- Proving that because of this breach, you suffered harm that could have been otherwise avoided.
In some cases, you may have suffered further illness or injury even after being given the correct standard of care. In these instances, it may not be possible to make a medical negligence claim. This is because there are situations where a further illness or injury is necessary to treat you. For example, if a patient had breast cancer and required mastectomy surgery, this will likely leave scarring. However, the unwanted effects of the surgery will have been necessary to treat the patient.
Is There A Time Limit To Claim Compensation?
The standard time limit for medical negligence claims can be found in the Limitation Act 1980. It states you have three years to begin your claim either from the date medical negligence occurred, or the date you realised medical negligence had occurred. The latter is called the date of knowledge.
For further guidance on the time limits and eligibility criteria for plastic surgery negligence claims, please call our team on the number above.
Examples Of Plastic Surgery Negligence You Could Claim For
Plastic surgery negligence could happen by not following the proper frameworks, using defective products, using the wrong technique or equipment and not providing the right aftercare.
Below, we have provided some examples of how plastic surgery could go wrong:
- A surgeon performing a face lift slips while making an opening with an iris scissor, causing facial disfigurement and excessive scarring.
- Too much anaesthesia is given during a rhinoplasty operation, causing traumatic brain injuries from oxygen depletion.
- The surgeon penetrates the tube too deeply during liposuction, puncturing an internal organ, such as your kidney.
- Defective implants are used in breast augmentation surgery, leading to silicone poisoning.
Our advisors can offer information and guidance on plastic surgery negligence claims if you have sustained avoidable harm following a surgical procedure. Please reach out to an advisor today using the number above.
There are a number of different kinds of cosmetic surgeries, and they all come with their own risks. All surgeries have a chance of going wrong, but as we’ve already mentioned, this risk alone isn’t enough to make a claim. You need to be able to prove that negligence occurred.
What Kinds Of Cosmetic Surgeries Can Go Wrong?
There are a number of different kinds of cosmetic surgeries, and they all come with their own risks. All surgeries have a chance of going wrong, but as we’ve already mentioned, this risk alone isn’t enough to make a claim. You need to be able to prove that negligence occurred.
As long as you can prove that negligence occurred, you could potentially make a plastic surgery negligence claim for harm caused by a:
- Tummy tuck.
- Liposuction.
- Facelift.
- Eyelid surgery.
- Hair transplant.
- Cheek or chin implants.
- Breast lift, augmentation, or reduction.
- Rhinoplasty.
- Fat removal.
- Butt augmentation.
- Jaw reshaping.
If you’ve been harmed by the negligence of a medical professional during a cosmetic procedure, contact our team of advisors today. Or, read on to learn more about making a plastic surgery negligence claim.
How Can I Prove My Plastic Surgery Negligence Claim?
Evidence is vital in plastic surgery negligence claims for showing the extent of the avoidable harm you suffered and that it was caused by a medical professional breaching the duty of care they owed.
Here are some examples of what you could collect:
- Photographs to show any visible injuries, such as scarring.
- A diary recording your mental and physical symptoms and any treatment you needed.
- Medical record copies, such as scans, test results, doctor reports and hospital reports.
- Contact details of any witnesses, such as those who have attended appointments with you.
The Bolam Test
The Bolam Test might also be carried out, however this is decided on a case-by-case basis and is not something you need to organise yourself. This is where a panel of relevantly trained medical professionals decide whether the care delivered met the correct standard. If their findings support your case, these could be used as evidence to strengthen your claim.
If you would like help gathering evidence and building your case, you could benefit from working with a solicitor. Our solicitors have experience handling plastic surgery negligence claims and could assist you throughout the different stages of the claims process.
To find out whether you’re eligible to have a solicitor begin working on your case, call our team on the number above.
How Much Could I Claim For Negligent Plastic Surgery?
There are potentially up to two heads of loss that could be awarded for successful plastic surgery negligence claims.
Firstly, general damages will be awarded if a claim succeeds. This head compensates for the pain and suffering that has resulted from the plastic surgery negligence.
To help them work out the potential value of your general damages, solicitors can look at the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) and the records from your medical assessments. The JCG documents several types of harm at varying levels of severity. Each injury has a corresponding guideline compensation bracket.
Compensation Table
We have included some possible injuries relating to plastic surgery negligence from the JCG. The compensation brackets are to be used as a guide only.
| Harm Type | Compensation Bracket - Guidelines | Level Of Severity |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries + Special Damages | Up to £500,000+ | Severe |
| Brain damage | £267,340 to £344,150 | Moderately severe (b) |
| £110,70 to £183,190 | Moderate (c) (ii) | |
| Facial disfigurement | £36,340 to £118,790 | Very severe scarring (a) |
| £21,920 to £59,090 | Less severe scarring (b) | |
| £11,120 to £36,720 | Significant scarring (c) | |
| £4,820 to £16,770 | Less significant scarring (d) | |
| Kidney | Up to £78,080 | Significant (b) |
| £37,550 to £54,760 | Loss of one kidney (c) |
Further Types Of Compensation For Negligent Plastic Surgery
Secondly, special damages may be awarded. This head of claim makes up for the finances you have lost due to the medical negligence. For example:
- Loss of earnings
- Travel expenses
- Domestic care costs
- Medical costs
Keeping hold of any payslips, receipts, bank statements, invoices, and travel tickets as evidence of financial losses is vital.
If you would like a free and personalised estimate of how much compensation could be awarded for a successful medical negligence claim, please call our team on the number above.
How To Make No Win No Fee Plastic Surgery Negligence Claims
If you are connected to our panel of solicitors, they can offer to represent you on a No Win No Fee basis under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
Under a CFA, you do not have to pay any money for your solicitor’s services before or during the plastic surgery negligence claims process. If your claim is unsuccessful, there is still no need to pay money for your solicitor’s work.
Your solicitor will take a ‘success fee’ if your claim is successful. This is where they can take a legally capped percentage of your awarded compensation. This cap ensures you still receive the greater part of your compensation.
Get In Touch With Our Team
If you get in touch with our team, they can carry out a free case assessment to determine whether you’re eligible to make medical negligence claim. If you are, they could connect you with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors.
Alternatively, you may have more questions about plastic surgery negligence claims.
Either way, our advisors can help. To reach out, you can:
- Phone on 0800 073 8804.
- Enquire about your claim online.
- Talk to an advisor via the live chat function below.
Related Medical Negligence Claims
For more of our helpful guides:
- See our medical negligence claims calculator.
- Learn more about facial scar compensation claims.
- Find out more about how a cosmetic injury claims is calculated.
Other resources that could help:
- A helpful guide exploring safety in surgery by The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS).
- A helpful guide on cosmetic procedures from the NHS.
- Read about a nurse’s duty of care from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
Thank you for reading this guide on plastic surgery negligence claims. If you have any other questions, please contact an advisor on the number above.
