A Guide To Surgical Errors And Getting Assistance

Medical claims for compensation are not something to be considered lightly however general surgery, laparoscopy or keyhole surgery and cosmetic surgery often results in unintended personal injury which is usually caused as a result of medical negligence and includes:

General Surgery

Operating in the wrong place and removing healthy tissue or organs which results in the original problem not being rectified thereby requiring further surgery. Death occurs in some of these cases especially when a healthy kidney is removed leaving the diseased kidney in situ. The most recent high profile example of this type of incident occurred when the surgeon looked at the X-rays from the wrong side and did not adequately refer to his notes.

Unnecessary surgery is sometimes carried out on the wrong patient when the notes and x-rays or the patient have become mixed up.

It is not uncommon for foreign bodies introduced during surgery to remain inside the patient after the surgery has been completed. Instruments including metallic equipment, sponges and swabs have all been found to have been left in the body cavity. It is estimated that over 200 patients start medical claims after suffering in this way every year.

Keyhole Surgery

Laparoscopy or keyhole surgery has increased considerably over recent years however the incidents of negligence have also increased. Most of the unintended injuries occur when the surgeon is initially penetrating the body and damages organs that were not intended to be affected. Most laparoscopy negligence cases result from damage to the bowel and to the blood vessels and as a result of the use of electrosurgery.

Cosmetic Surgery

Over £200 million is spent on cosmetic or plastic surgery by more than 70,000 people every year. Whilst there are numerous reports of negligent surgery being carried out resulting in serious injuries and hideous deformities the majority of medical claims related to a less than satisfactory aesthetic outcome with three-quarters of the complaints relating to breast enhancements and facial surgery.

Cosmetic surgery is particularly fertile ground for lawyers due to the total failure of adequate policing by the government and the medical authorities. Whilst cosmetic surgery is a complex and difficult part of general surgery there has never, until very recently, been any requirement that practitioners should have any specialist training. Whilst NHS surgeons must have six years specialist training and be members of the British Association of Plastic Surgeons, this training regime has never been necessary for doctors operating on a privately paid basis from non-NHS clinics. The "Care Standards Act 2000” established a National Care Standards Commission, however, the training and qualification requirement for surgeons within the statute only applies to doctors registering after 1st April 2002. Inadequately trained medical practitioners who were in practice prior to that date are entitled to continue to practice without receiving recognised specialist training.

Expert Lawyers

We represent a network of specialist medical negligence lawyers operating throughout the United Kingdom. In England and Wales, our solicitors are all members of the Law Society clinical negligence panel and are franchised to make an application for legal aid for those cases that are eligible. We offer the no win, no fee scheme so by talking to us today we can assess your case and individual circumstances. Less than 1% of UK solicitors are clinical negligence specialists. If you would like to have your case assessed by a medical negligence lawyer just complete the contact form and a medical negligence expert will phone you to give free advice without any further obligation whatsoever.