By Danielle Jordan. Last Updated 14th February 2023. This guide explains everything you should know about filing breast augmentation claims. If you have had breast augmentation surgery and something has gone wrong, it can be devastating. Your confidence can take a massive knock, and the injuries can be upsetting, unsettling, and painful.
If something has gone wrong due to such a procedure, then it is worth seeking legal advice to determine whether you claim for breast surgery compensation. Why should you have to fund your recovery process if the injury was not your fault? You shouldn’t. We can advise on how to secure the maximum amount of personal injury compensation you are entitled to if you have evidence to support a breast augmentation claim. If our advisors find you have strong grounds to make such a claim, we may also be able to connect you to one of our No Win No Fee solicitors.
You can contact Legal Expert and speak to our advisors either online or on the phone by calling 0800 073 8804. To reach us online, you can use our contact form or 24/7 live chat service.
Select A Section:
- What Is Breast Augmentation (Enlargement) Negligence?
- What To Do If You Suffer A Breast Augmentation Injury
- Botched Breast Jobs – Is There A Claim Time Limit?
- What Can You Claim Through A Breast Augmentation Injury Claim?
- The Most Common Types Of Breast Augmentation Injuries
- Breast Implants Compensation
- No Win No Fee Breast Augmentation Claims For Negligence
What Is Breast Augmentation (Enlargement) Negligence?
Before we look at how to make breast enlargement claims, let’s look at what negligence is.
You may be wondering what constitutes medical negligence in regards to breast augmentation surgery. The following usually applies:
- Your surgeon has done something incorrectly or carelessly.
- It has resulted in you suffering an injury as a consequence, whether physical,
breast enlargement claims
mental or both.
If you can establish these points with evidence, then you should have the basis for a breast augmentation negligence claim. As an example, your surgeon may have failed to explain things to your property, or perhaps, they made an error during the surgery itself. What matters is that your surgeon was to blame for what has happened.
When a medical professional provides surgical treatment or other types of treatments to a patient, there is an element of risk that the patient could end up suffering harm from it. This could end up happening even if the medical professional made no mistakes whatsoever. In such a scenario, the medical professional would not be considered negligent. To have the grounds to make a negligence claim, you need proof which shows that the medical professional that provided your treatment failed to take reasonable steps which could have prevented or reduced the harm you suffered.
Please read on for more information about making breast augmentation claims.
What To Do If You Suffer A Breast Augmentation Injury
At this point in our breast enlargement claims guide, let’s look at what you could do if you suffer an injury in this context.
If you have been involved in an accident caused by breast augmentation surgery, it is important to take the necessary steps to gather all of the evidence you need. This involves the following:
- Visiting a medical professional – It is important to see a doctor determine what injury has occurred. This is necessary for your health, but the medical report that the doctor puts together will be used to decipher how much compensation you are entitled to.
- Gather details – It is important to gather as much detail as possible about your injury. You should also find any documents or reports you have about the initial surgery. Anything that can be used to strengthen your case should be kept a hold of, no matter how insignificant you feel it may be.
- Photographs – If your injuries are visible, you should take photos of them, as this will help strengthen your breast augmentation claims.
- Proof of expenses – You will be able to claim for special damages. This is basically a payout for any out of pocket expenses you have experienced. This includes the likes of counselling costs, loss of income, travel expenses, and childcare costs. However, you are going to need proof of these costs. So, keep a hold of your receipts and any other documents that will serve as proof.
Botched Breast Jobs – Is There A Claim Time Limit?
If you’ve suffered due to medical negligence associated with a breast implant, compensation could be owed to you. However, it’s important to be aware of how long you have to start a claim.
As per the Limitation Act 1980, you typically have 3 years from the date of the injury to begin your claim. If you only become aware of your injury at a later date, then you may be able to start the time limit from this date. It’s known as the date of knowledge.
If the claimant suffers from a reduced mental capacity, then the time limit is suspended too. However, it would begin if the claimant made a recovery to the extent of being able to claim by themselves. Before this date, a litigation friend must be appointed if a claim is to be made.
To find out if you are still within the allotted time claim to claim for an implant gone wrong, get in touch with our advisors today.
What Can You Claim Through A Breast Augmentation Injury Claim?
If you’re interested in making breast enlargement claims, you may be wondering what you could be compensated for.
When launching any personal injury claim, we aim to secure our clients’ maximum amount of compensation. When claiming a breast augmentation injury, you will be able to claim for the following:
- General damages – This represents the payout for the pain and suffering you have experienced.
- Care claim – If you have required help around the house while you recover, the person that has cared for you will be able to make a care claim.
- Medical expenses
- Travel expenses
- Loss of earnings – If you have suffered a loss of earnings due to your inability to work, you can claim for this. You can also claim for loss of expected earnings in the future.
The Most Common Types Of Breast Augmentation Injuries
After breast augmentation surgery, a tight feeling in the chest area is expected, as is temporary bruising, swelling, and pain. However, there are some injuries that you should not expect and could be able to make breast augmentation claims for. This includes the following:
- Obvious, thick scarring
- Leakages
- Excessive swelling
- Deflation
- A blood clot forming in the deep veins
- An allergic reaction to the anaesthetic – You would be able to claim for this if it had not been previously tested for.
- Persistent pain
- An infection
- Excessive bleeding
- Not being able to breastfeed or producing less breast milk than you would if you did not have implants.
- Nerve problems in the nipples – Your nipples may become complete desensitised, less sensitive, or more sensitive. This can be permanent or temporary.
- A rippling of the implant happens when there is only a think layer of tissue covering the implant. This tissue sticks to the surface of the implant, and it is incredibly difficult to treat.
- Abnormally shaped breasts – This can happen when the implant rotates.
- Folds or creases in the implant
- A ruptured implant. This can cause siliconomas, which are small tender lumps.
- Capsular contracture – This is when the scar tissue around the implant has shrunk, making the breast tissue feel hard.
Please continue this guide for more information on breast enlargement claims.
Breast Implants Compensation
If you suffered a breast implant illness due to a breach in the duty of care owed to you by your surgeon or another liable party, you might be eligible to claim compensation. You may have accessed our compensation calculator to learn what you could receive. However, as each claim is assessed on an individual basis, this may not be able to give you the most accurate representation of your breast implant compensation should your claim be successful.
A successful claim will include general damages for your pain and suffering. Additionally, some claims may recover special damages.
General Damages
To help calculate general damages in medical negligence claims, legal professionals use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This considers the severity of the injury along with loss of amenity. Listed alongside the injury are compensation brackets.
Our table below contains figures from the latest update for injuries that might occur due to faulty breast implants. As each claim is different, we provided it to give you guidance rather than a definitive figure of what you will get.
| Reason for compensation | Typical compensation amount | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Severe psychiatric damage | £54,830 to £115,730 | This relates to cases whereby the prognosis is very poor and there are problems with regards to future vulnerability, the extent to which the treatment would be successful, the effect on the injured person’s relationships, and the injured person’s ability to cope with life and work. |
| Moderately severe psychiatric damage | £19,070 to £54,830 | This payout relates to the one above, yet there will be a much more optimistic prognosis. |
| Moderate psychiatric damage | £5,860 to £19,070 | There will be some factors associated with the cases above, however, prognosis will be good and there will be marked improvement by the trial. |
| Less severe psychiatric damage | £1,540 to £5,860 | The impact on the person’s sleep and daily activities will determine the payout in this case. |
| Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | £59,860 to £100,670 | Permanent effects preventing normal function. |
| Moderate Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | £8,180 to £23,150 | Largely recovered from trauma. |
| Scarring | £7,830 to £22,730 | The number of noticeable laceration scars will often determine how much money is paid out. |
| Scarring | £2,370 to £7,830 | This payout is for cases where there are several superficial scars or one noticeable scar. |
| Mental anguish | £4,670 | Fear of impending death. |
If you would prefer our advisors give you an estimation of what compensation you could claim, please call us on the number above.
No Win No Fee Breast Augmentation Claims For Negligence
If you want to make breast augmentation claims, you’ll be pleased to hear that all of our breast augmentation solicitors work on a No Win No Fee basis. This means that you do not need to worry about the financial side of making a claim. With a No Win No Fee claim, you are only going to need to pay legal fees if your case is a success. This means that you will have your breast augmentation compensation to cover the cost.
However, if for some reason we are unable to secure compensation for you, you will have nothing to pay. Not only does this mean you will not need to make a large payment upfront, but also it ensures you do not find yourself in the dreaded position of having a huge legal bill to pay, yet not compensation to fund it with. This could easily happen if you went for a solicitor that charged per hour.
Also, if you went down that route, there would always be the risk that the solicitor was merely taking on your case in order to take your money. After all, win or lose, they are still going to earn the same amount. You do not need to worry about this when you use our service to make breast enlargement claims. You can have complete peace of mind that we only take on cases that we believe have a genuine chance of securing compensation.
Call For Free Advice And To Start A Claim
If you have any queries regarding breast augmentation claims or you are ready to start a claim, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
breast augmentation claims
Our friendly and professional team are always on hand to take your call. We will be more than happy to assist you in any manner we can. All you need to do is ring 0800 073 8804. We will answer your questions, talk you through the claim process, and begin the process of ensuring you get the payout you deserve.
We hope you now have a greater understanding of filing breast augmentation claims. If you still have any questions about breast surgery compensation or other kinds of personal injury compensation, then feel free to contact the Legal Expert advisors today.
