Unnecessary surgery compensation could be warranted if you’ve undergone a procedure that wasn’t needed. This could happen because doctors make an error at the diagnosis stage of your treatment, or they simply operate on the wrong person. As an example, when a doctor diagnoses a patient with a medical condition that does not really need surgery.
The outcome can be devastating when a cancer patient’s condition is misdiagnosed. Patients may have organs removed in error, and even simple procedures can leave them with permanent scars. They may have to undergo further surgery to correct the problem.
Unnecessary surgery compensation medical negligence claims guide
Patients who undergo unnecessary surgery can suffer life-changing disabilities – or they could even die.
A patient may suffer severe disability and utter devastation following incorrect limb amputation, for instance.
Call today on 0800 073 8801 if you would like a free claim evaluation. In addition, you can write to us about your case through our contact page and an adviser will call you back without delay.
Select A Section
- What Is Considered Unnecessary Surgery?
- Types Of Unnecessary Surgeries
- Unnecessary Surgery Caused By Medical Misdiagnosis
- Unnecessary Surgery Caused By Inappropriate Procedures
- Duty Of Candor And Not Getting Informed Consent
- What Is Surgical Negligence?
- How Negligence Could Lead To Unnecessary Surgery
- Why Are Unnecessary Surgeries Carried Out?
- Valuing Unnecessary Surgery Compensation Payouts
- How Are Special Damages Valued?
- Claim Unnecessary Surgery Compensation With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Talk To A Claims Expert
- Related Medical Claim Guides
What Is Considered Unnecessary Surgery?
Unnecessary surgery is “a surgical intervention that is:
- Not required
- Is ineffective
- Is not beneficial when compared to other treatment options
The sort of injuries that could result from undergoing unnecessary surgery includes:
- Pain, suffering, and discomfort
- Infection
- Limb amputation
- Losing an internal organ
- Permanent disability
- Nerve damage
- Spinal injury
- Eye injuries
- Scarring
We can provide you with all the advice you need. All you have to do is contact one of our experts today. We will provide free legal advice and can connect you with our specialist solicitors who can provide assistance.
A No Win No Fee service may be available to you if you have a valid claim too. It allows you to obtain unnecessary surgery compensation without having to pay the solicitor up front.
Types Of Unnecessary Surgeries
Examples of unnecessary surgeries carried out in the UK include the following:
- Amputations
- Back/brain/spine surgery
- Cancer surgery
- Endocrine surgery
- General surgery
- Heart surgery
- Orthopaedic surgery
- Reproductive organ surgery
- Reconstructive surgery
If you’ve been impacted by any of these incidents, contact one of our experienced advisers today. They will provide free legal advice and connect you with our specialist solicitors who will be able to help you make a compensation claim.
We might be able to offer you a No Win No Fee service too. It allows you to receive unnecessary surgery compensation without worrying about having to pay upfront for legal representation.
Unnecessary Surgery Caused By Medical Misdiagnosis
As a rule of thumb, most patients receive a diagnosis and appropriate treatment for their symptoms. That said, you may have grounds to seek compensation for harm you have suffered because of a misdiagnosis.
Here are the more common types of medical misdiagnosis:
- The misdiagnosis of a less serious condition that caused a delay in your treatment
- A wrong diagnosis leading to unnecessary treatment, such as surgery
- Told you’re terminally ill which results in serious psychological damage
- No diagnosis is made at all, meaning you receive no treatment and your condition deteriorates
In the event you have been injured as a result of a misdiagnosis, a No Win No Fee agreement may provide you with the means to seek medical negligence compensation.
Get in touch with one of our experienced advisers today and they will be able to provide you with all the advice you need. Furthermore, they will connect you with a solicitor who specialises in recovering unnecessary surgery compensation.
Unnecessary Surgery Caused By Inappropriate Procedures
A lot goes into providing correct treatment to patients. It begins with triage, or screening. This information needs to be accurately fed back to other healthcare professionals who may be involved in your treatment. It may involve a half-dozen or more people. And these individuals may be caring for a large number of people as well as you.
With so many people involved in providing you with care, it’s vitally important that the correct procedures are in place and are followed. A failure to do so could lead to a breakdown in communication. The wrong information could be given and that could lead to an incidence of unnecessary surgery.
If you believe you underwent an inappropriate surgical intervention, please get in touch. One of our advisers can review your case and connect you to our No Win No Fee lawyers if you have good cause to sue.
Duty Of Candor And Not Getting Informed Consent
Whenever something goes wrong with a patient’s treatment or care, or it has the potential to cause harm or distress, a healthcare professional must be open and honest (Duty of Candour) with the patient. Therefore, healthcare professionals must:
- When something goes wrong, inform the patient (or, if appropriate, the patient’s advocate, carer, or family)
- Give an apology to the patient (or, if appropriate, the patient’s advocate, carer, or family)
- Provide a suitable remedy or support to put things right (if possible)
- Offer the patient with a full explanation of what happened and the short and long affects
Additionally, healthcare professionals must maintain open, honest communications with their colleagues, employers, and other organisations. They should participate in reviews and investigations when requested.
It is also important for them to be open and honest with their regulators, and raise any concerns they may have. They must not be stopped from raising any concerns they have.
The Principle of Consent
The principle of consent is fundamental when it comes to providing treatment. Every patient has the right to participate in decisions about their treatment and care. If patients are capable of doing so, they must be allowed to make informed decisions. To make good decisions, doctors and patients need to exchange information.
Treatment or care cannot be provided until a doctor believes they have the patient’s consent. If consent is not provided, no treatment or care should be provided unless it is an immediate life-threatening medical emergency.
What Is Surgical Negligence?
The term surgical negligence refers to situations where surgeons or other medical professionals make mistakes during an operation. These errors result in additional injuries or complications.
Clinical standards should be followed during surgery and care, but sometimes errors do occur. You could file a claim if any of the following apply to your case:
- The wrong surgical procedure was carried out on you
- The operation was carried out on the wrong part of your body
- Foreign objects left inside your body
- Poor hygiene caused an infection
- You were not told of any risks involved
- A medical professional did not check if you were a good candidate for the surgery
- Nerves or organs were damaged during the surgery
If any of these situations apply to your case, you could be entitled to unnecessary surgery compensation. Get in touch today to receive free legal advice.
How Negligence Could Lead To Unnecessary Surgery
Negligence could lead to unnecessary surgery in a variety of different ways. This includes:
- Carlessness
- Fatigue
- Lack of communication
- Inadequate planning
- Incompetence
Sometimes, a combination of all the above could contribute to negligence. Healthcare professionals often work long hours and are placed under great pressure. Mistakes naturally do happen. A simple breakdown in communication can lead to a patient undergoing unnecessary surgery.
If the surgery you underwent wasn’t required, causing you avoidable harm, you may be eligible to make a claim for unnecessary surgery compensation. A member of our team can answer any questions you have and offer free legal advice.
Why Are Unnecessary Surgeries Carried Out?
There are a number of reasons why unnecessary surgery is carried out, some of which we’ve covered above. To reiterate the point, it could arise because of:
- A breakdown in communication between healthcare professionals, meaning the wrong information is passed on.
- A medical misdiagnosis.
- A failure to fully explore all treatment options
If you can relate to any of these incidents, please get in touch today to find out more about your legal rights and whether or not you could seek unnecessary surgery compensation.
Valuing Unnecessary Surgery Compensation Payouts
You may wonder how much negligence compensation you could receive. To give you an idea, we’ve created the table below which provides compensation payouts taken from the Judicial College Guidelines. This is a document used by lawyers to help value injuries.
Please call us if you do not see your injury below and we will be able to provide you with further information after taking some details about the unnecessary surgery you underwent.
| Type of injury | Potential Compensation Awarded | Further notes |
|---|---|---|
| Injury to the bladder | £21,970 to £29,380 | Claimant is expected to make a complete recovery although there could be some residual long-term damage to function |
| Injuries to the spleen | £4,080 to £8,110 | Claimants suffers damage to spleen but there is only a small risk of an infection occurring or complications |
| Failed sterilisation in a woman which results in an unwanted pregnancy | In the region of £9,570 | Claimant does not suffer severe psychological harm caused by the medical error |
| Injury to bowels (Penetrating) | £11,820 to £22,970 | Claimant suffers harm to bowels but function and control are expected to return |
| CRPS (Severe Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) | £49,270 to £78,840 | Claimant’s ability to carry on working is drastically impacted |
| CRPS (Moderate Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) | £26,300 to £49,270 | The prognosis is better than above and the claimant is expected to be able to return to work |
| Laparotomy scar | In the region of £8,110 | Claimant suffers no significant internal injury |
| Disfiguring scars | £7,350 to £21,330 | Claimant suffers visible laceration scars or single disfiguring scar on their limbs or hands |
| Minor scars | £2,220 to £7,350 | Claimant suffers a visible scar, or several superficial scars on their limbs, or hands |
The amounts listed above represent general damages, which compensate you for your suffering and pain from your injuries. They do not account for financial losses, known as special damages, which we’ll explore next.
How Are Special Damages Valued?
Special damages relate to the financial losses that stem from the incident in which you were harmed. In a successful unnecessary surgery compensation claim, you could recover costs such as:
- Care costs if someone had to look after you while you recovered
- Travel expenses relating to healthcare or legal appointments
- Medical costs, such as painkillers and prescriptions
- Lost earnings if you had to take time off work to recover
- Loss of future income if you’re unable to work again in the future, particularly relevant in amputation cases.
You must provide proof of your expenditure and evidence of your losses. This could be in the form of receipts, bank statements and other relevant documentation.
One of our expert advisers can offer you free advice if you would like to find out how you can proceed. Moreover, they are also capable of answering your questions regarding unnecessary surgery compensation.
Claim Unnecessary Surgery Compensation With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
If you are still recovering from an unnecessary surgery procedure and want to see if you can claim compensation, we recommend speaking with a medical negligence solicitor who could help you through the process of making a claim.
Moreover, if you have a valid claim, a solicitor who works on a No Fee No Win basis could represent you. This means signing a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) which sets out the terms of the contract. Essentially, you only pay your solicitor a fee on the condition that they achieve a successful outcome. This fee represents a small percentage of your compensation award. It’s capped by law.
You would not have to pay the fee if your lawyer was unable to successfully settle your claim.
If you’d like to find out how to proceed, one of our expert advisers can offer you free advice. Furthermore, they are able to answer your questions regarding unnecessary surgery compensation.
Talk To A Claims Expert
Would you like more information on filing an unnecessary surgery claim? Please feel free to contact us. We can offer you a free assessment of your case.
Call 0800 073 8801 today or contact us in writing.
An adviser will provide free advice on how best to proceed. All calls are free of charge and you can reach a member of the team 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Related Medical Claim Guides
Below, you can read more about medical negligence claims:
- Go here to learn more about medical negligence claims
- Head here for more questions and answers on medical negligence
- Click here to learn more about dry needling claims
- Go here to learn about clinical negligence at University Hospital Wales
- Or head here to learn about claims against Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospital
- This guide is all about Whiston Hospital negligence
- Here’s a guide on hospital infection claims
- This guide’s all about breast reduction negligence
- Here’s a guide on negligent cosmetic surgery
- Learn all about claiming compensation for GP or doctor negligence here
- To learn about MRSA negligence claims, go here
- Or head here to learn about breast implant negligence
If you have any more questions about seeking unnecessary surgery compensation, please get in touch.
