Cosmetic Surgery Claims

How do I make a cosmetic surgery claim

A claim would usually be brought against an individual cosmetic surgeon when they have failed to perform their duties adequately however mistakes could also have also been made by the attending anaesthetist or nursing staff.

There is usually a three-year time limit after your operation within which you can make cosmetic surgery claims. They can be as complex and demanding as any medical negligence case. The first thing to do is to contact an expert law firm like Shoosmiths which specialises in these sort of cases.

It is important that your chosen law firm has relationships with the appropriate medical and other experts who can be instructed to assess the right amount of damages you should claim. Their evidence will be absolutely crucial to the success of your claim.

Ideally, you should pursue any complaints procedures before seeking to start legal action. An NHS trust or private hospital or clinic will have their internal process and a written complaint should always be made.

If you feel you may have a case, call us for a free initial consultation. We can give you the benefit of our experience in such claims as well as an objective assessment about where you stand and the options you should consider.

How long will my cosmetic surgery claim take

It is difficult to give a ‘standard timescale’ for any case of medical negligence. We will need medical evidence from independent experts to provide a variety of reports. In the first instance, they will need to report on whether there is a case to be answered by the other side.

Even if liability is admitted quickly by the other side, it can take several months to build up a complete picture about your condition and your future health. The way the other side responds to a cosmetic surgery claim also affects the time it takes to resolve. Sometimes, they will agree things on the basis of our evidence and valuation. In other cases, they may require you to be assessed by their own expert and will value the case themselves. We will then enter into negotiations in order to try and reach a settlement although we may need to ask a Judge in Court to decide how your claim can be resolved.

We will always aim to settle your claim without delay and can usually obtain interim payments so you don’t have to wait until the end of the process for financial help.

If I have a cosmetic surgery case

Establishing whether you have a case for making a cosmetic surgery claim requires exactly the same effort and evidence as any other claim for clinical negligence.Our expert lawyers need to show that it was the breach of the duty owed to you by the practitioner or plastic surgeon which directly caused the injury you suffered.

The onus will be on our expert cosmetic surgery solicitors to prove that 'on the balance of probability' (i.e. a greater than 50% likelihood) it was those failures, before, during or after surgery, which were directly responsible for the injuries you suffered.

It is important to note that, if the end result of the cosmetic surgery is not quite what you had hoped for, you will not necessarily be able to make a cosmetic surgery claim. To have a case, actual physical or psychological harm has to have been caused by negligent treatment.

It is necessary for our expert cosmetic surgery solicitors to prove that, if properly informed and warned, you would not have gone ahead with the procedure or that the use of an inappropriate procedure or faulty surgical technique has caused you injury, loss or damage in order to make a successful claim.

More about cosmetic surgery claims

The increase in the number of cosmetic surgery procedures and practitioners magnifies the risk of harm to patients and leads to an increase in cosmetic surgery claims.

Cosmetic surgery does involve risk. Complications can include infection, bleeding, thrombosis and clotting of the veins. Good surgeons should warn patients and give them time to change their mind. Operations requiring a general anaesthetic have higher complication rates.