Botched cosmetic surgery can leave patients feeling depressed about their appearances and worried about the future. They decided on surgery because they wanted to improve their appearances or perhaps get rid of scar tissue. To know that their surgeons have actually damaged their bodies, or perhaps have caused some sort of worsening injury can truly make a victim of botched surgery feel like they have nowhere to turn. No one deserves to lose confidence because of botched surgery. This is where Gowing Law Solicitors can step in to help you.
You will be happy to hear that we are specialists in medical negligence claims, especially when it comes to getting compensation. We understand that it can be difficult to get compensation if you are recovering from your injuries. That’s why we would be happy to represent you in court and help you understand exactly what you are owed. Visit our medical negligence page for more information!
What is cosmetic surgery?
It is always good to start with the basics of a negligence claim. That way, we can build up your understanding of why you may be owed compensation for your claim. Cosmetic surgery is where a certain part of the body is enhanced or changed to fit someone’s expectations of themselves. Usually, these procedures can be quite expensive, but this does depend on the type of procedure you have. Some treatments may only be small, for instance it could be for covering over a scar or injecting dermal fillers. However, in other cases the surgeries may be more extensive. Take a look at some examples below:
As you can see there are many different types of surgeries that you can undergo to change, improve or alter your body. However, each of these surgeries do come with their risks. You have to remember that the success of these surgeries does depend on your body. Each body is individual and may reject the procedures put in place. For instance, if you had breast reduction surgery, there is a chance that any staples or stitching may become undone and create wounds as the breast re-expands.
That’s why if you are the victim of a botched cosmetic surgery, you need to understand whether it has come from the fault of a surgeon or if it is just due to an unlucky mistake or reaction from your body. This will affect how much compensation you get, if any at all.
What can happen if I am the victim of botched cosmetic surgery?
No one wants their surgery to go wrong. When you undergo treatment, there is a chance a mistake could happen. This could result in scars, wounds or even infection if the surgery incisions are sterilized or the tissue is rejected by the rest of the body. If this does happen then it may even require additional surgery to be corrected. You don’t deserve to go through any additional pain, especially if you have spent a lot of money on the surgery.
If you do have physical damages, you may need to get them assessed by a medical professional. They can put you on a course of antibiotics. There may even be a chance that you could get corrective surgery re-scheduled by the NHS if you speak to your doctor about it. However, throughout these observations, make sure to get a copy of your medical records. These can show the extent of your injuries and can prove the losses you have suffered. If you can prove that your medical practitioner was at fault for your botched cosmetic surgery, these will be extremely valuable to prove your damages. This is the same for any type of beauty treatment compensation
Botched Cosmetic Surgery: Proving you are not at fault
Now, if you have been hurt by botched cosmetic surgery, the first thing you need to do is prove that you were not at fault for the accident. In other words, you need to show that your surgeon breached their “duty of care” towards you.
Before you went in for your surgery, your surgeon must have explained the risks of the procedure and what was to be expected from the surgery itself. They may have also given you a booklet of information to read or asked you to sign a waiver. This waiver was to show that you acknowledged the risks of your surgery, so if anything did go wrong then it could be treated quickly and efficiently. However, if this was never done for you then it is a clear sign that the practitioner has been negligent. This is where you can proceed to ask for compensation for your damages and losses.
Examples of medical negligence
Medical negligence can come in many forms. It does not have to be just through physical injuries or botching up a surgery. As sponsors of Botched! and experts in cosmetic damages, we know that there are many other ways a cosmetic surgery may have let down their patients. This may have included:
- Operating on the wrong patient
- Leaving surgical equipment in the patient’s body
- Using the wrong type/amount of anaesthesia
- Damaging nerves, muscles or tissue during the surgery
- Infections around the area of surgery
- Surgery on the wrong area of the body/organ
- Fatality of the patient/Death
Negligent Hospital Environments
Another thing that you have to remember is that there are more ways that you could experience an accident than during the surgery. Your procedure may have gone fine. However, as you tried to recover in hospital, there may have been some complications that interfered with your treatment. For instance, you may have been given the wrong medication after surgery that could have led to an overdose. Other examples may include:
- Broken medical equipment or products used to help you recover from surgery
- Unhelpful aftercare which may have resulted in blood clots, infection or bed sores
- Problems with breathing apparatus, feeding tubes or chest tubes
You must consider the entirety of your treatment before, during and after the surgery. That way you can provide evidence about your losses and how your body was damaged by your surgeon.
Proving liability in botched cosmetic surgery
Now that you have understood the type of injuries you have had due to your surgeon’s negligence, you need to figure out how you can have a successful cosmetic negligence claim. When you work with a solicitor, they will process the validity of your claim through the following categories:
1. Negligence Proof
You will need to show how the NHS or your private surgeon was negligent or that the level of care you experienced fell below your expectations. It also seemed less than what was to be expected from a medical professional. In order to back this up, you will need someone in a medical field to back up your claim. This can be the doctor who assessed your injuries or tried to fix them.
2. Consequences
Your injuries and losses came directly from this negligent treatment. In other words, you only got hurt because of the surgery you experienced. For instance, you may have had a breast enlargement scheduled but the doctor gave a breast reduction. This shows that the surgeon misunderstood your surgery and botched the treatment.
3. Damages & Losses
The extent of your losses go outside of just your injuries. You need to consider what other types of losses you experienced due to your surgery. For instance, if you were too ill to go to work after the treatment, you may have lost out on wages. This means that you have suffered a financial loss.
Evidence & Compensation
You have analysed the type of losses you have made that could make up compensation. However, to prove that these losses did affect you, you need to prove that they actually happened in the first place. This means that you need to have evidence to back up your claims. If you do not have any evidence it will simply become a case of “he said, she said.” This will mean that you do not have a strong enough case to get you the compensation you deserve for your losses.
Having a good amount of evidence can back up your injuries and show why you deserve compensation. Compensation is mainly to get you back into the position that you would have been in if you were not injured. That’s why if you have more losses, with evidence, then you can claim for more compensation. Make sure to find the following evidence:
- Photos and videos of your injuries
- Photos and videos of the negligent environment
- Communication between you and your medical practitioner- Or the lack of it.
- Proof that you were not given any documentation that would show the risks of your treatment
- Witness statements
- Diary entries made about your losses (i.e. Being too embarrassed to leave the house because of your appearance would count as an emotional damage)
- Medical reports
- Rehabilitation costs and reports
You will also want to keep notes about any correspondence you have with insurance companies or your surgeon. That way if you are offered a settlement, you can bring this correspondence to your lawyer. They can let you know whether or not you could be due more than what is being offered. You can also bring this evidence to the court about your claim and why you believe that you are a victim of negligence.
How much could I claim from medical negligence compensation?
This depends entirely on the injury you have received from your surgery and how bad your losses are. Every compensation case is different. If you have had a life-changing botched surgery that has affected your quality of life, you could be owed thousands in compensation. It simply depends on how much evidence you have that you were the victim of medical negligence. If you speak with a solicitor they can help you estimate the total of your compensation pay-out/.
How long do I have to make a claim?
You will have three years from the time the botched surgery occurred. We would recommend that you get in contact with a professional lawyer as quickly as possible. That way you can speak to us before your wounds get any worse. You do not want to lose vital evidence by waiting, which is you should speak to a solicitor today if you are a victim of medical negligence. Do not wait any longer, seek professional help!
Gowing Law Solicitors can help you with your botched cosmetic surgery claim
Gowing Law Solicitor is a professional Manchester law firm that specializes in cosmetic negligence claims. If you decide to work with our professional lawyers then you will know that your claim will be in safe hands. We can work remotely to protect you from Covid-19 and can offer helpful advice and free consultations. If you decide to work with us then we can offer our services on a “no win-no fee” basis. That means you will never need to pay any hidden fees for our help. If we do not win your case then you will not need to pay any fees at all. So, what’s stopping you from making a claim?
Contact Gowing Law today by calling 0800 041 8350, emailing info@gowinglaw.co.uk or by using our direct messenger on our contact page. One of our friendly team members will be in contact as quickly as possible to answer any additional questions you may have about your claim.
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