Negligent Cosmetic Surgery Claims Guide

Last updated 13th December 2024. Welcome to our guide to negligent cosmetic surgery claims. If you’re considering making a claim for harm caused by a failure to provide a proper standard of care during cosmetic surgery, this guide could help.

We will start by explaining what a medical negligence claim is and how it works in the context of cosmetic surgery. The key concept to understand here is a duty of care, so we will spend a moment explaining this in clear terms. This definition applies to every stage of the treatment process, from your first consultation to your recovery afterwards.

We will then discuss the different ways in which cosmetic surgery negligence might occur. Indeed, this guide applies to both private cosmetic surgeries and facilities run by the National Health Service (NHS).

If you’re reading this guide, you are likely reviewing your prospects for seeking cosmetic surgery compensation. We will set out your options for doing so and provide examples of how much compensation has been claimed in the past in similar cases.

Finally, we will explain the benefits of making a claim with the help of a No Win No Fee cosmetic surgery solicitor. One of these benefits is that you won’t have to pay for their services if your claim doesn’t succeed.

Keep reading to learn more, or if you prefer, contact our expert advisors directly for a free initial consultation. There’s no obligation – just advice and the chance to start your claim:

Surgeons perform cosmetic surgery on patient

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What Is Negligent Cosmetic Surgery?

All negligent cosmetic surgery claims have the same three requirements:

  • A medical professional has a duty of care to you as their patient.
  • They breach their duty by failing to meet an appropriate standard of care.
  • This breach harms you.

A duty of care is a legal obligation to provide a certain standard of care. It can arise from certain laws or because certain professions require a certain level of competence to avoid unnecessary harm.

The following sections of this guide will explore in more detail how this can happen. If you have any questions at this stage, please call our advisors using the details above. They can resolve any queries you may have.

Common Causes Of Negligent, Botched And Harmful Cosmetic Surgery

Here are some examples of cosmetic surgery negligence:

  • Complications during surgery include the surgeon cutting in the wrong place or slipping with a scalpel.
  • Errors made by the anaesthetist, such as administering too much anaesthetic or one that the patient has a known allergy to. Such errors can cause significant harm or even death to the patient.
  • Ineffective pre-op examination, say, where the examiner misdiagnoses a condition that then leads to complications with the surgical procedure itself.
  • Lacking post-op care, such as the patient contracting a hospital-acquired infection due to poor hygiene standards.
  • Giving the wrong advice, i.e. advising a patient to undergo a specific procedure that is not suitable for them.

All of these are issues that can lead to a patient coming to harm. Not all mistakes turn out to be harmful. However, when they do, the injured party may have the basis for a cosmetic surgery compensation claim. If this has happened to you, our claims team can help you find out if you are eligible to make negligent cosmetic surgery claims.

Categories Of Negligent Cosmetic Surgery Claims

When it comes to making plastic surgery negligence claims, there are a number of different categories of negligence. Each category encapsulates a specific kind of negligence, and these are:

  • Gross negligence – The fault entirely with the medical professional involved. They will have clearly made a mistake that resulted in a patient coming to harm. If the claimant can prove gross negligence took place, a claim could be possible.
  • Vicarious liability – Where the healthcare provider is held to be responsible, and this can be either the NHS or a private cosmetic clinic. In this case, it would be the healthcare provider that is pursued for damages.
  • Contributory negligence—The victim contributed to the harm they suffered in some way. For example, the harm was exacerbated because the patient failed to follow the instructions regarding caring for the area that had been operated on at home.

In the first three categories, the patient could have the ability to make a cosmetic surgery compensation claim if negligence can be proven. If you need to find out which category your claim falls into, speak to a member of our claims team today.

What Steps Should I Take If My Plastic Or Cosmetic Surgery Has Gone Wrong?

In this section, we provide steps you can follow to ensure you are well-prepared for your claim. Before we continue, we need to answer the question: How do you file a complaint against a doctor? You would need to make a complaint to the General Medical Council (GMC).

  1. Gather photographic evidence, especially before and after photos of how you looked before the botched surgical procedure and how you looked after it.
  2. Get a second opinion. Have yourself examined by another doctor. The report they write could be submitted to support your claim.
  3. Begin to document the pain and suffering you go through.
  4. Keep all receipts, bills and invoices for expenses you incurred due to your injuries.
  5. Make a complaint about the negligent doctor.

Steps such as these are good preparation for making a claim. The next step would be to talk to us and find out how we can help with your claim. You can do this by calling our claims team.

Could I Claim On Behalf Of Another Person Harmed By Negligent Cosmetic Surgery?

If the injured party is unable to manage their claim, it can be possible for a family member or friend to handle the claim for them, as what is known as a litigation friend. This is also the case for victims who are under the age of 18 and cannot legally pursue a claim themselves.

If you believe you need to act as the litigation friend for a victim, please speak to our claims team about negligent cosmetic surgery claims today. They will explain how we can provide you with a team of cosmetic surgery negligence solicitors to process the claim for you.

How Much Time Do I Have To Claim For Negligent Cosmetic Surgery?

There is a personal injury claims time limit in place, that you must make your cosmetic surgery medical negligence claim by. The time limit that applies depends on the circumstances of the claim, and can include:

  • 3 years from the date of knowledge of the injuries.
  • 3 years from the date that a medical condition caused by prior negligence was first diagnosed.
  • In the cases of young people under the age of 18, 33 years from the date of their 18th.

All medical negligence claims are complex due to the seriousness of the accusations against a medical professional, and the impact that being found guilty of negligence could have on their career. Therefore, it is unlikely that a claim will be completed rapidly. In general, it takes around 8 months for a claim to reach its resolution. You can talk to our claims team to find out if you have a valid claim or not, and what the time limit would be in your case.

Negligent Cosmetic Surgery Compensation Examples

It is very difficult to give an average figure for cosmetic surgery compensation. Each claim has unique aspects that affect the overall settlement a person is offered. However, the table below is based on the actual judicial guidelines used by the UK legal system to value injuries. It shows possible compensation ranges.

Scar TypeSeverityCompensationNotes
Multiple Injuries Plus Special DamagesVery SevereUp to £250,000 or moreNot a JCG figure.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)Severe£73,050 to £122,850Permanent effects preventing work or functioning like pre-trauma level.
Moderately Severe£28,250 to £73,050Significant disability for foreseeable future.
Moderate£9,980 to £28,250Continuing effects will not be grossly disabling.
Facial ScarringVery Severe Scarring£36,340 to £118,790Very disfiguring injuries with severe psychological reaction.
Less Severe Scarring£21,920 to £59,090Substantial disfigurement with significant psychological reaction.
Significant Scarring£11,120 to £36,720Some cosmetic disability where, given corrective surgery, psychological reaction has become minor.
Body ScarringA Number of Noticeable Laceration Scars or One Single Disfiguring Scar£9,560 to £27,740Noticeable scars or a single disfiguring scar of torso or appendages.
No Significant Internal InjuryIn the region of £10,550Operation that leaves no significant internal injury.
Single Noticeable Scar Or Several Superficial Scars£2,890 to £9,560A noticeable scar or several superficial scars causing minor cosmetic deficit to appendages.

If you would like a more accurate estimate of how much compensation you might be able to claim, please speak to our claims team today. One of our claim advisors will arrange for a medical negligence solicitor to value your claim for you.

Special Damages Which May Be Claimed In Negligent Cosmetic Surgery Compensation Cases

When personal injury claims are successful, whether an out-of-court settlement is reached or the courts have awarded a settlement, the overall level of compensation the claimant receives will be made up of a number of different types of damages. For example:

  • To compensate for physical pain and suffering (general damages):
    • For the initial pain at the time of the accident or whilst receiving emergency treatment.
    • For the shock and trauma of being involved in an accident.
    • If you have developed a psychological condition such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety or depression due to the accident and your injuries, you may be compensated for this.
    • If you had to undergo repeated, painful, traumatic treatment during your recovery, you could be compensated for it.
    • If the prognosis for a full recovery is unlikely, you will be left with some form of disability.
  • To compensate for financial and other losses (special damages):
    • To reimburse you for out-of-pocket travel expenses.
    • To cover the cost of having to hire a nurse to care for you at home.
    • To pay for the cost of any private medical treatment you needed that was not available for free on the NHS.
    • If you were forced to take time away from work and lost out on your salary/wages, you may be able to claim this back.
    • If your medical condition negatively affects your ability to work in the future or prevents you from working at all, you could be compensated for this.

These are some of the most commonly claimed types of damages for any negligent cosmetic surgery claims. If you would like to know which kinds of damages you could claim in your case, please speak to a member of our claims team.

No Win No Fee Claims For Negligent Cosmetic Surgery

Have you considered engaging a No Win No Fee solicitor to help make your claim? Under this kind of fee agreement, the financial risks of making a claim are limited, if not entirely mitigated. You will not be expected to pay your solicitor to start working on your claim for you or during the time they are processing it, even if this takes many months. You also don’t pay anything if the claim is unsuccessful, and you receive no cosmetic surgery compensation at all. The only time you will need to pay your solicitors fees, is when they have received a compensation payment on your behalf. When this happens, the fee is automatically deducted from this money. You will be given what is left over.

If you have any questions about the progress of a No-Win, No-Fee agreement or the fee structure, please don’t hesitate to contact our claims team. A claim advisor will answer your questions and provide you with any additional information you may need.

How Our Medical Negligence Solicitors Could Help You With Cosmetic Surgery Compensation Claims

If you have been the victim of medical negligence during plastic surgery, we could be able to help you procure any compensation you may be eligible for. One of our team of expert accident and injury solicitors can process your cosmetic surgery claim for you. The solicitor will use simple English, without needless legal jargon, to explain exactly what they are doing on your behalf.

The negligent cosmetic surgery claims process

If your claim for negligent cosmetic surgery is accepted, your solicitor will begin work right away. They’ll start by booking a medical assessment locally so both the psychological and physical impact of your injuries can be determined. Then, they’ll prepare your claim concisely and professionally before filing it with the defendant.

An important part of our service is that your solicitor will deal with everything when it comes to communicating with the defendant’s insurers. That means you won’t have to struggle with complex legal or medical discussions. They’ll use additional evidence where needed to help counter any objections. As the case continues, you’ll be able to ask questions and you’ll be provided with regular updates.

The main role of your solicitor will be to work effortlessly to try and make sure you receive the correct level of compensation for your injuries.

If you have any questions about the service that we offer, please talk to a member of our claims team today. They will answer them for you.

Start Your Claim For Negligent Cosmetic Surgery

We could help in most plastic surgery negligence cases by providing the victim with a vehicle for processing their claim in a way that mitigates most of the financial risks.

A solicitor who is an expert in cosmetic surgery negligence claims sits at his desk.

Essential Resources For Cosmetic Surgery Compensation Claims

These external web pages could contain information that may be of use to you:

It may also be of use to read these other guides:

Thank you for reading our guide to negligent cosmetic surgery claims.