What is medical consent? (PDF 71KB)
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Surgical negligence claims
If you have suffered because of a mistake made during surgery, our specialist surgical negligence solicitors can help.
Surgical error claims
In most cases, surgery will go as planned. But unfortunately no surgical procedure has a 100% success rate. Surgeons do occasionally make mistakes which result in injury or a poor outcome. When this happens, it may be possible to make a claim for operation compensation.
Examples of surgical negligence and operation claims include:
- delay in performing surgery
- failing to get medical consent from the patient
- retained surgical instruments
- performing the wrong type of operation
- wrong-site surgery (such as amputating the wrong limb)
- not properly sterilising instruments
- not properly executing the surgery
- not providing the right aftercare
- failing to stitch the wound correctly
- administering too much or too little anaesthetic
- contaminating blood during a blood transfusion
A variety of injuries can arise from surgical mistakes, depending on the type of surgery. These could include:
- damage to organs
- perforated bowel or bladder
- nerve damage
- infections
- viral infection
- adverse reaction to blood transfusion or transplant
- loss of sight
- paralysis
What type of operation qualifies for a surgical negligence claim?
Surgery is performed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In the vast majority of cases surgery will go as planned, but unfortunately, no surgical procedure has a 100% success rate.
There will be patients whose procedure is unsuccessful or who experience complications during or following surgery. If no mistakes have been made and the patient has been adequately taken through the consent process, there are unlikely to be grounds for bringing a surgical negligence or operation claim.
The most common types of surgery include:
- elective surgery (planned surgery)
- eye surgery
- emergency surgery
- open surgery
- keyhole surgery
- laparoscopic surgery
- cosmetic surgery
Each surgical procedure carries recognised risks, such as:
- pain
- bleeding
- infection
- incisional hernia
The surgical negligence claims process
Free initial assessment of your case
When you contact us, our specialist team will provide a free, no obligation assessment of your case.
Gathering evidence
If we take on your case, your medical negligence solicitor will gather the evidence and contact the person or organisation you are bringing a claim against (the defendant).
Expert reports
If the defendant does not admit fault, your solicitor will instruct independent experts to prepare reports on your case.
Valuing the claim
Your solicitor will work out how much compensation you should get based on the impact the negligence has had on your life.
Recovering compensation
Your solicitor will start negotiations with the defendant. The next steps will depend on the defendant’s response. If appropriate, they might seek to settle the claim at this stage.
How long does it take to make a surgical negligence claim?
A surgical negligence claim could complete within a few months if it's simple, but a more complicated claim could take years to complete. Evidence will need to be gathered, supporting documents and medical records will need to be obtained and there could be negotiations, which also take time.
How long it takes to get surgical negligence compensation will depend on a few factors, including the seriousness of the personal injury, the value of the claim and whether the other side admits fault.
What is medical consent and why is it important?
All adult patients of sound mind are entitled to decide whether to undergo any medical treatment, and their informed consent must be obtained before this treatment begins.
All medical procedures have recognised risks, even if excellent care is provided. The risks usually relate to certain complications, the treatment not working or some other poor outcome. The level of risk can also be higher or lower for different treatment options.
For a patient to give valid consent, they must be made aware of any risks, material to that patient based on their characteristics, and of any reasonable alternative treatments. This falls under the professional duty of the medical staff performing the treatment.
If this information isn’t provided, the treatment will have been carried out without the patient’s informed consent. If the treatment then causes an otherwise avoidable injury, this could be grounds for a medical negligence claim.
Examples of surgical claims and payouts
These two surgery negligence cases show how medical negligence solicitors can secure compensation and rehabilitation support in surgical negligence claims.
Male hernia surgery gone wrong
Mr V was 48 years old when he underwent keyhole surgery to repair a hernia. After the operation, fluid was leaking from the site of the surgery. He began to suffer abdominal pain and was unable to pass urine. He was given intravenous antibiotics.
An ultrasound scan was carried out to check for free fluid in the abdomen. The scan didn't reveal any so Mr V was discharged. The next month, Mr V went to A&E because of blood in his urine. Mesh from his hernia repair was protruding through the bladder wall. He underwent urgent surgury.
Mr V was left with a 25% loss of bladder function.
His surgical negligence solicitors found the bladder damage had been caused by surgical mistakes.
Surgery claim compensation awarded - £27,500
Childbirth injury claim
Ms D was a 31 year old city banker when she had her first child. During labour, a surgical incision to assist delivery was inappropriately performed, causing a third-degree tear.
Ms D was not informed of the tear but a repair was carried out. There was no proper examination carried out post-delivery.
About two weeks later, Ms D was in constant pain, passing a lot of blood and having difficulty controlling her bowels.
She was referred to a Colorectal Surgeon at her 6 week check-up, when she first became aware of the tear. An ultrasound revealed the extent of it.
Ms D subsequently underwent repair and reconstruction surgery. Afterwards, she was in severe pain and was bedbound for several weeks. She was left with significant ongoing symptoms.
Surgical negligence solicitors found that the care provided to Ms D had been unacceptable and the claim went to trial.
Surgery claim compensation awarded - £1,148,882.
The compensation included awards for: - pain, suffering and loss of amenity £65,000 - interest on pain, suffering and loss of amenity £2,600 - future surgical costs £22,000 - future psychiatric care £25,400 - for all remaining heads of past loss besides loss of earnings £5,500 - loss of future earnings £946,882 - loss of congenial employment £6,500
Negligent nasal surgery claim case
Miss C suffered with an ongoing nasal obstruction. When she was 11 years old when she was admitted to hospital for an elective procedure to:
- Remove her tonsils (tonsillectomy)
- Remove her adenoids (adenoidectomy)
- Pass a probe (diathermy) emitting heat energy just below the surface of the turbinate bones to shrink these (sub-mucosal diathermy to inferior turbinates).
The diathermy was still engaged whilst it was withdrawn after the surgery and, as a result, caused burns to both nostrils.
Miss C was treated in a burns unit and underwent reconstructive surgery 4 months after the negligence.
She instructed specialist surgical negligence solicitors, who advised her on bringing an NHS surgery claim and helped her secure a compensation payout
Surgery claim compensation payout - £9,159.
Neck laceration during birth case
Master P suffered a 3-5cm laceration to his neck at birth as a result of the improper use of forceps. The laceration was full thickness through the subcutaneous layer, revealing the muscle below.
Master P underwent closure of the wound under general anaesthesia the following day. He was left with a permanent, visible scar that was approximately 5.5cm long. The scar had adhered to the underlying muscle, causing it to dimple when he moved his head. During the next one to two years, he would require revision surgery under general anaesthetic to excise the scar and remove its tethering to the underlying muscle.
Surgery claim compensation awarded - £11,500.
Personal injury solicitor's comment
Until recently, in medical negligence cases involving scarring, females would recover more for the same injuries. The Judicial College (who issues the guidelines for general damages) now suggest that the distinction between male and female can no longer be justified and, as a result, the different ranges have now been merged.
The cases detailed above were not dealt with by Co-op Legal Services, but reported in the Personal Injuries Quantum Database of LexisNexis.
About Co-op Legal Services
As part of the largest Co-operative organisation in the UK, Co-op Legal Services works to ensure that our clients receive the best legal advice and support services available from our teams of personal injury and clinical negligence solicitors, legal executives and staff.
We are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and several of our Personal Injury Solicitors are members of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).
Co-op Legal Services has over 800 staff working in different businesses with offices in Manchester, Bristol, Stratford-upon-Avon, Sheffield and London.
