This guide contains information on how to make a complaint about unnecessary surgery. If you have recently undergone surgery that wasn’t necessary, you may wonder if you could make a complaint, or report the incident, to help you understand why the mistake was made. Depending on where you received care, who you make your complaint to will differ, as will the procedure you may need to follow. However, there are several bodies that you could bring forward your concerns to, which we will explore further throughout our guide.
How To Make A Complaint About Unnecessary Surgery And Claim Compensation
Our guide also discusses the duty of care a medical professional owes you. In cases where unnecessary surgery caused you avoidable harm due to a medical professional not upholding their duty of care, it may be possible to make a claim for medical negligence. We will discuss the eligibility requirements that need to be met in order to have valid grounds to seek compensation later in this guide.
Additionally, we provide examples of unnecessary surgery, including how it could occur and the impact it could have. We also discuss the compensation for a surgical error that could be awarded following a successful claim.
Finally, we offer information on the benefits of claiming with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors who has experience handling cases of medical negligence.
Get in touch to ask our advisors anything regarding making a complaint or to determine whether you could be owed compensation. You can do so on a 24/7 basis. To reach them, you can:
- Call on 0800 073 8804
- Use the pop-up chat window in the corner
- Talk to us about your claim online
Browse Our Guide
- How To Make A Complaint About Unnecessary Surgery
- Could I Claim For Unnecessary Surgery?
- What Is Unnecessary Surgery?
- Examples Of Payouts For Unnecessary Surgery
- Check How To Claim For Unnecessary Surgery On A No Win No Fee Basis
- Further Guidance On How To Make A Complaint About Unnecessary Surgery
How To Make A Complaint About Unnecessary Surgery
You may be wondering how to make a complaint about unnecessary surgery. It’s important to be aware that where you direct your complaint will depend on where the surgeon and treatment team, who were responsible for your care, are based. Also, the complaints procedure you need to follow may also differ depending on who the complaint is made to. The method you take to make your complaint could involve sending a letter, email or telephoning.
There are also other bodies you can approach to make a complaint, such as:
- NHS Resolution – This body ensures concerns and disputes regarding the NHS are resolved in a fair manner.
- General Medical Council (GMC) – The GMC are an independent regulator of UK doctors. You can approach them if you have a concern regarding a doctor, as they may investigate.
- Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman – This body can make final decisions on any complaints that haven’t been resolved by the NHS in England, or other UK organisations.
Get Help Making A Complaint
If you want help or advice regarding making a complaint about unnecessary surgery that you have undergone, our advisors can help. They can also advise on whether you’re eligible to make a claim for medical negligence.
Call our team to discuss your specific case. If you are eligible to claim, they could connect you with one of our experienced solicitors who could help you seek compensation as well as assist you in putting forward your complaint.
Could I Claim For Unnecessary Surgery?
In order to be eligible to make a medical negligence claim following unnecessary surgery, you need to prove the following:
- You were owed a duty of care. Medical professionals owe a duty of care to their patients. This means they need to deliver care that is of the correct standard.
- There was a breach of this duty. This means a medical professional has provided care that fell below the correct standard.
- The breach resulted in avoidable or unnecessary harm.
If the criteria above are met, you may have valid grounds to seek medical negligence compensation.
Surgical Negligence Claim Time Limits
In addition to meeting the criteria listed above, you need to ensure you begin your medical negligence claim within the relevant limitation period.
The Limitation Act 1980 states that you generally have 3 years to begin the process of claiming. This often begins from the date that you experienced harm due to medical negligence, such as an unnecessary operation. It can also start from the date you connected the harm you experienced to medical negligence. This is called the date of knowledge.
However, exceptions can be made in certain circumstances. For more information on how long you could have to take legal action, and whether you’re eligible to do so, please speak with an advisor.
What Is Unnecessary Surgery?
There are several ways you could undergo surgery that wasn’t necessary. For example:
- You may have been misdiagnosed, and given surgical treatment that wasn’t necessary.
- Your patient files may have been mixed up resulting in you receiving surgery that was meant for another patient.
The harm that could be experienced as a result of receiving unnecessary surgery can include, for example, scarring, surgical amputation, and organ removal.
To discuss your specific case and find out whether you could make a surgery negligence claim, get in touch with our team on the number above. An advisor could also provide additional assistance regarding how to make a complaint about unnecessary surgery.
Examples Of Payouts For Unnecessary Surgery
If you’ve experienced avoidable harm caused by a negligent surgeon, the compensation you receive following a successful claim will account for the pain and suffering you’ve experienced as a result. The head of claim that compensates for your pain and suffering caused by medical negligence is called general damages.
When the legal professionals are valuing the general damages portion of your claim, they can make use of different resources to assist them. One of these is medical evidence, and another is a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG contains guideline award brackets that are based on past court cases that were successful.
Although they should only be used as a guide, we’ve included some example figures from the JCG in the table below. Please note, every claim is unique, so the settlement you could potentially receive will differ from these figures depending on the unique circumstances of your case.
| Injury | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Arm Amputation | Both arms are loss. | £240,790 to £300,000 |
| Kidney | Loss of or serious damage of a permanent nature to both kidneys. | £169,400 to £210,400 |
| Kidney | No damage to one kidney but the other has been lost. | £30,770 to £44,880 |
| Hand | One hand is effectively or totally lost. | £96,160 to £109,650 |
| Spleen | The spleen is lost, and there is an ongoing risk of internal infection and other disorders caused by a damaged immune system. | £20,800 to £26,290 |
| Bowels | Permanent damage caused by a penetrating injury, but natural function and control will eventually return. | £12,590 to £24,480 |
| Male reproductive system | An orchidectomy, a procedure carried out to remove one testicle, is performed. There are some psychological consequences but no sexual function loss or impotence. | £20,070 to £22,580 |
A successful unnecessary surgery claim could also include a head of claim called special damages. This can reimburse you for financial losses and costs caused by the medical negligence. For example:
- Medical expenses.
- The cost of prosthetics or walking aids.
- Loss of earnings.
- Travel costs.
- The cost of additional care at home.
It’s important that you keep hold of evidence such as receipts and payslips to help prove any losses.
For further guidance on how much medical negligence compensation you could potentially receive for a successful claim, please contact an advisor on the number above.
Check How To Claim For Unnecessary Surgery On A No Win No Fee Basis
If you are eligible, and wish to instruct a solicitor, you may find it beneficial working with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors. They have experience handling unnecessary surgery claims, and can offer services such as help gathering evidence to support your claim.
Additionally, they can offer these services in a No Win No Fee capacity. This means they can represent your claim under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
As per the terms of a CFA, generally you can access their services without paying an upfront or ongoing fee. Your solicitor takes a success fee from your settlement if your claim succeeds. However, you don’t pay this success fee if your claim fails.
If you have any other questions about how to make a complaint about unnecessary surgery, as well as when you could potentially be eligible to make a medical negligence claim, please contact an advisor. You can do so by:
- Calling on 0800 073 8804
- Using the pop-up chat window in the corner
- Talking to us about your claim online
Further Guidance On How To Make A Complaint About Unnecessary Surgery
For more helpful guides:
- Hospital negligence claims
- My operation has gone wrong – How do I claim compensation?
- Dental negligence claims
For more external resources:
- General Medical Council – Professional Standards For Doctors
- NHS Resolution – Annual Statistics
- GOV – NHS Constitution For England
Thank you for reading through our guide on how to make a complaint about unnecessary surgery, and when you could be eligible to seek compensation for medical negligence. If you have any other questions, call our team on the number above.
Written by Bibby
Edited by Mitchell
