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Cosmetic Surgery Claim Advice

If you or a member of your family has undergone cosmetic surgery and been injured or scarred because of negligent medical treatment, our specialist personal injury lawyers may be able to help you claim compensation. Contact us today on 0800 032 8511 for claim advice, or by completing a claim enquiry form.

Cosmetic Surgery
Types of Cosmetic Surgery
Risks of Cosmetic Surgery
Cosmetic Treatment Industry Regulation
Clinical Negligence and Cosmetic Surgery
What to do if You're Unhappy With Your Surgery
Claiming Compensation for Negligent Cosmetic Surgery
Compensation

How Much Compensation am I Likely to Receive?
Our Specialist Clinical Negligence Lawyers
Successful Cosmetic Surgery Claims
Useful Contacts

Cosmetic Surgery

The term cosmetic surgery is used to describe the reshaping of the surface of the body and face, and sometimes deeper structures, for aesthetic purposes. 

Initially plastic surgery techniques were developed for the purposes of reconstruction, for example to treat someone who has been injured.  Over time however, and with advances in medical technology, it has been possible to develop techniques to enhance physical appearance and correct scars and blemishes.

The cosmetic surgery industry has seen considerable growth over recent years, with more and more people opting for procedures. Although for the most part operations are carried out carefully and correctly by skilled and conscientious surgeons, there are cases each year where the treatment of a patient is less than satisfactory. This can cause pain, severe health problems and horrific scarring.  Visit the article in our news section for more information on cosmetic surgery statistics.

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Types of Cosmetic Surgery

There are many different types of cosmetic surgery now available.  Some of the most common procedures include:

• Rhinoplasty (Nose Reshaping)
• Breast Augmentation
• Liposuction
• Facelifts
• Lip Enhancement
• Eyelid Reduction
• Mastopexy (Breast Lift)
• Abdominoplasty (Tummy Tuck)
• Chin/Cheek Reshaping
• Setting Back Prominent Ears
• Scar Reduction
• Silicone Implants (Breast, Buttock, Calf, Cheek, Chin, Pectoral etc)

In addition to surgical cosmetic procedures, there are a number of non-invasive cosmetic treatments available, such as botulinum toxin injections (botox), dermal fillers and laser treatments. As these are not considered surgical, they are sometimes carried out by establishments that are not monitored or controlled in the same way.

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Risks of Cosmetic Surgery

As with all operations, surgical cosmetic procedures carry with them a certain level of risk.  Although serious problems are rare, complications such as infection or an adverse reaction to general anaesthetic can cause serious damage, or even be fatal.

Poor surgical techniques can also leave patients with unsatisfactory results or worse, unnecessary pain and suffering.

All patients should be well informed of the potential risks of surgery, including any specific risks that relate to them (for example a person suffering a heart condition or obesity may be more likely to suffer problems with anaesthetic). 

Government regulations, enforced by the National Care Standards Commission, insist upon a pre-operative consultation with a surgeon and prohibit surgery within two weeks of the consultation, to give the patient sufficient opportunity to consider the risks.

The risks of cosmetic surgery can be higher if a patient chooses to use an unregistered clinic or specialist, where government regulations may not be followed, the clinic may not be checked or regulated and there is a chance of being treated by a practitioner that is not properly qualified.

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Cosmetic Treatment Industry Regulation

A main concern is that not all patients will check that their cosmetic surgeon is correctly qualified and the clinic they use is registered with regulatory bodies. The General Medical Council (GMC) has a register for qualified surgeons and the Healthcare Commission keeps listings of registered clinics that meet national standards. Most patients will not seek a referral or advice from their own GP, instead choosing to approach a private establishment directly.

It has been a requirement for surgeons starting out as specialists in cosmetic surgery to be registered with the GMC since 2002 and, although many established specialists may also be registered, a recent report by the Chief Medical Officer showed that those only practicing cosmetic surgery were the least likely to have done so.

If a clinic is registered with the Healthcare Commission, it must have a complaints procedure in place and the commission can be asked to review the case if the response to a complaint is not helpful.

Practices offering non-surgical treatments such as botox and dermal fillers are not required to register however which, worryingly, means that they are largely unregulated.

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Clinical Negligence and Cosmetic Surgery

All operations carry with them a certain risk of complications, which can happen without any fault on the part of medical staff. These must be fully explained to anyone contemplating surgery and treated promptly should they occur.

There are instances though where ill effects of cosmetic surgery could have been prevented, or were caused by clinical negligence. The results of surgical errors and negligent or insufficient after care can vary from unexpected levels of scarring or less than desirable results, to life threatening infections and damage.

Patients can be left with shattered confidence, not to mention serious health problems or the need for further surgery.

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What to Do If You're Unhappy With Your Surgery

Generally, the first step to take if you have undergone cosmetic surgery and are unhappy with the results is to explain this to your surgeon.  If they agree that the outcome was not as should be expected, they may be able to offer a refund of your fee or provide further surgery to correct the problem.

Alternatively you could consult another surgeon for their opinion, on whether or not you have cause for complaint and if they feel that the procedure was carried out correctly.  They should be able to advise whether the problem you have is a recognised complication of the procedure (i.e. something that naturally affects a certain percentage of patients and is not necessarily caused by surgical error) or if it was caused due to negligence.  The surgeon providing the second opinion may then be able to offer corrective surgery or recommend someone reputable to carry this out.

In most cases it is possible to resolve a problem with cosmetic surgery amicably and reasonably with good results.  If however you are not satisfied with the way in which your problem has been dealt with, you may wish to take the matter further.  Regulatory bodies such as the Healthcare Commission can often offer assistance.  See our useful contacts section below for further information.

If you feel that you have suffered unnecessarily due to negligent treatment during or after a cosmetic procedure, you should seek prompt legal advice from a specialist personal injury lawyer such as those employed by The Legal Line.  Our clinical negligence team can provide expert advice and assistance on cosmetic surgery claims.

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Claiming Compensation for Negligent Cosmetic Surgery

If you are unlucky enough to suffer adverse affects following cosmetic surgery or treatment and believe that this was caused by negligence, you may be in a position to make a personal injury claim for damages.

You need to make a written complaint first, as this helps to ensure that the matter is noted and looked into. It may even prompt a change in procedure or some other action by the hospital in an attempt to prevent recurrence of the same problem.

Whilst the initial complaint will generally give rise to a reply or explanation it is unlikely that an offer of compensation will be made. If that is what you believe should happen you need to seek legal advice from a specialist medical negligence solicitor. That should be someone who is a member of the Law Society’s clinical negligence panel.

In every case, medical evidence will be required and it is necessary to show that the person you are making a claim against owed you a duty of care, that they breached that duty of care (what is known in law as negligent), and that the injury you sustained was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of that negligence. In clinical negligence cases this means that you have to prove that the treatment fell short of accepted standards of care.

At The Legal Line, we have access to experienced medical specialists who can act as expert witnesses in any court case. Your Legal Line lawyer will be able to collate all of the necessary information and evidence to pursue your case to the best possible outcome.

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Compensation

There are two elements to a compensation award. The first is for the pain and suffering you may have gone through and what is known as loss of amenity. This is called general damages and reimburses you for any actual losses and can include an award for your inability to do things after the medical accident that you used to be able to do before, eg housework, gardening, decorating etc. The award for loss of amenity can be for a short period after a medical accident or for ever if that is what the medical evidence supports.  It will help the solicitor to assess your compensation claim if you have 'before and after' photographs.

The second element of a compensation award is for your actual financial losses and expenses and is known as special damages. This would include, for example, travel costs, loss of earnings and care costs. It is important to keep receipts for any expenditure you have related to your injuries, so that these can be reclaimed. The aim is to put you back in a position financially as if the injury had never occurred.

An award in a clinical negligence case is based on the effects that would not have occurred had the surgery or treatment had been a success. In addition there will be information available on previous awards in similar cases. Very often, clinical negligence cases are settled out of court.

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How Much Compensation am I Likely to Receive?

The details of each case are assessed individually, as a number of factors affect the amount of compensation awarded in a personal injury claim. These include the extent of the injury, recovery period, any loss of earnings and other losses related to the injury (for example medical expenses and care costs).

Awards made in previous claims of a similar nature are used as a guideline however, together with general guidelines from the Judicial Studies Board. Our ‘How Much’ section provides further information and you can find details of previous settled cases in our news and success stories sections.

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Our Specialist Clinical Negligence Lawyers

The Legal Line lawyers have extensive experience in recovering damages for the victims of negligent cosmetic surgery or treatment. They can provide expert claim advice on all areas of making a claim and offer the assistance and guidance that you need.

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Successful Cosmetic Surgery Claims

Our lawyers have assisted many victims of clinical negligence, including those harmed by negligence during cosmetic procedures. Examples of some of these cases can be found below:

• Our client had become overweight and developed severe back pain, so was offered an abdominoplasty (commonly known as a ‘tummy-tuck’) at her local NHS hospital.

  She saw the consultant plastic surgeon before the operation, but was not advised he planned to carry it out in such a way that her umbilicus, or belly button, would be removed and not reconstructed. There are alternative techniques in which the umbilicus can be retained and, had the client been informed that she would lose her belly button, she would not have agreed to proceed.

  When her bandages were removed, our client was shocked and distressed. In addition to the physical disfigurement the surgery has caused, she suffered psychologically and in particular there was a contribution to the break down of her marriage.

  Our client brought her claim because she felt there was clinical negligence on the part of the Trust, as they had failed to inform her of what was intended. She felt that by bringing her compensation claim she could bring the manner of her inappropriate treatment to their attention.

  Her cosmetic surgery claim was settled shortly after issue of court proceedings by payment of £7,500 compensation plus costs. Our client wishes to use the money towards reconstructive surgery.

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Useful Contacts

Below are links to the websites of some organisations that can help to provide advice and information about cosmetic surgery:

Healthcare Commission (The independent inspection and regulation body for NHS and private healthcare. Also the independent review body for NHS complaints)

General Medical Council (Holds details of registered general and specialist doctors in the UK)

British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) (For information about cosmetic surgery procedures and details of accredited surgeons)

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