In this guide, we discuss when you could be eligible to make a medical negligence claim and seek breast implant compensation. There are a set of eligibility criteria that need to be met in order for you to have valid grounds to proceed with your case and certain steps you can take to substantiate your claim. We will explore these further in our guide.
How To Make A Claim For Breast Implant Compensation
Medical professionals owe their patients a duty of care when they agree to treat them. This extends to surgeons. If this duty is breached, and you are caused avoidable harm, surgical negligence may have occurred. We provide examples of how a breast implant procedure could go wrong and the effects this could have on patients later in our guide.
Additionally, we discuss how medical negligence compensation is calculated and what a payout could consist of following a successful claim.
There’s also information on the benefits of working with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors and the terms under which they could offer their helpful services.
If you have any questions after reading or as you move through our helpful guide, please don’t hesitate to contact an advisor from our team. They are available 24/7 and can offer free advice on clinical and medical negligence claims. To get in touch, you can:
- Call on 0800 652 3087
- Talk to us about your claim online
- Use the pop-up live chat window below
Select A Section
- How To Make A Claim For Breast Implant Compensation
- What Is Breast Implant Medical Negligence?
- What Evidence Can Support A Claim For Breast Implant Compensation?
- How Much Medical Negligence Compensation Could You Be Awarded?
- No Win No Fee Breast Implant Compensation Claims
- Further Guidance On Claiming Breast Implant Compensation
How To Make A Claim For Breast Implant Compensation
In order to have valid grounds to pursue a medical negligence claim and seek breast implant compensation, you need to demonstrate the following criteria:
- A duty of care was owed to you – Medical professionals, including surgeons, owe their patients a duty of care. This means that they must demonstrate a certain level of reasonable skill and care.
- A breach of this duty occurred – This is when a medical professional provides care that falls below the required standard.
- You suffered avoidable or unnecessary harm – This must have occurred as a result of the breach.
If your case meets the criteria above, then it could form the basis for medical negligence.
Is There A Medical Negligence Claim Time Limit?
You generally have 3 years to begin a medical negligence claim for breast implant compensation. This medical negligence time limit can be found in the Limitation Act 1980. It typically starts from the date you suffered avoidable harm as a result of a medical professional providing a substandard level of care. However, it can also start from the date you became aware, or were expected to have known, that the avoidable harm you suffered was due to a medical professional providing care that fell below the correct standard. This is known as the date of knowledge.
There are also some exceptions that could apply to the three-year limitation period. For information on these, get in touch with our advisors today. They can also assess your case to determine whether you’re eligible to claim for surgical or hospital negligence.
What Is Breast Implant Medical Negligence?
There are several ways a breast implant procedure could go wrong. For example:
- Infections – For example, you may have developed sepsis in a hospital due to the surgeon failing to sterilise equipment before operating on you.
- Operations gone wrong – The surgeon may make a mistake, such as cutting too deeply and damaging your chest and lungs, leading to more significant scarring.
- Ruptured breast implants – The surgeon may have failed to check the implants before the surgery. As a result, one of them may have been defective and ruptured post-surgery causing the patient to experience complications.
- Retained foreign body – Something could be left inside the patient after a procedure, such as surgical equipment, leading to infection.
- Wrong patient surgery – There may be an error that means you undergo a plastic surgery procedure intended for someone else.
Get in touch today to see if what you’ve experienced could mean you’re eligible to receive breast implant compensation or if you have questions about cosmetic surgery claims in general.
What Evidence Can Support A Claim For Breast Implant Compensation?
You need to be able to support a claim for breast implant compensation by presenting evidence. We’ve compiled a short list of examples of the evidence you could gather below:
- Medical evidence – This can include copies of your medical records, such as a hospital discharge letter, post-surgical reports, and test results.
- Witness contact details – There may have been a loved one with you during an appointment or consultation. They could be asked to give a statement at a later date.
- A written account – Make sure to keep track of everything that has happened to you, including dates and times of appointments, symptoms, and other impacts on your life/health.
Get in touch today to find out more about supporting a claim for breast implant compensation.
How Much Medical Negligence Compensation Could You Be Awarded?
The pain and suffering caused by medical negligence is compensated for under general damages. This is the primary head of loss that will make up your settlement following a successful breast implant compensation claim.
Legal professionals can use medical evidence and a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help them when valuing general damages. The JCG provides a set of valuation brackets that correspond to different types of harm. The figures, whilst based on past successful court cases, are guidelines.
Compensation Table
We’ve included some figures from the latest edition of the JCG in the table below. The publication was last updated in 2022. Because each claim is unique, the value of general damages will differ on a case-by-case basis. As such, you should use these figures as a guide only and not as a guarantee of what you will receive.
| Harm Type | Severity | Notes | Compensation Bracket - Guidelines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chest | Traumatic injury to the chest | Function is impaired, and the damage will be permanent. | £65,740 to £100,670 |
| Damage to the chest | Causing ongoing disability. | £31,310 to £54,830 | |
| Single penetrating wound | Some permanent damage to tissue with no significant long-term impact on lung function. | £12,590 to £17,960 | |
| Psychological Damage (General) | Moderately severe | There will be signficant issues when it comes to the person's ability to work and generally cope with life. However, the prognosis will be more optimistic than in severe cases. | £19,070 to £54,830 |
| Anxiety Disorder | Moderate | A large recovery with any ongoing issues not causing a major disability. | £8,180 to £23,150 |
| Scarring to other parts of the body | Multiple noticeable laceration scars or one single disfiguring scar | Scars can be found on the chest. | £7,830 to £22,730 |
Can You Claim Damages For Expenses And Losses?
When making a claim for breast implant compensation, you may also be eligible to receive a second head of loss called special damages. This compensates for the financial impact of medical negligence. However, you would need to present evidence, such as receipts and payslips.
If you have relevant evidence to support your claim for special damages, you could receive compensation to reimburse the following:
- Loss of earnings.
- Medical expenses.
- The cost of care at home.
- Travel costs.
Our advisors can provide a free valuation of your potential surgical negligence claim. Get in touch today to find out how much you could be owed following a successful case.
No Win No Fee Breast Implant Compensation Claims
When you work with our solicitors, they can offer their services under a specific type of No Win No Fee arrangement. It’s called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), and it means you are not required to pay any fees to your solicitor at the start of the claims process in order to access their helpful services.
If your claim proves successful, then your No Win No Fee solicitor takes what’s known as a success fee from your compensation. However, the percentage they’re permitted to take as their success fee is legally capped. Also, this fee is not taken if your claim fails.
Contact Us About Your No Win No Fee Breast Implant Compensation Claim
It’s free to get in touch with our advisors, and they also don’t charge for the advice and guidance they offer. You can also reach out on a 24/7 basis. If they find your claim is valid, they can connect you with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors who can help you begin your claim. However, there is no obligation to start a claim just by speaking to us.
For more information, you can:
- Call on 0800 652 3087
- Talk to us about your claim online
- Use the pop-up live chat window below
Further Guidance On Claiming Breast Implant Compensation
We’ve provided some additional resources below that you may also find helpful. Follow the links to read more.
More from us:
- Learn more about providing proof of medical negligence and how a solicitor could assist you.
- Read about operation negligence claims including when you could be eligible to seek compensation following an operation that went wrong.
- Discover if you could claim compensation after receiving poor care in hospital that led to you experiencing avoidable harm.
Information from other sources:
- General Medical Council – Raise a concern about a doctor
- NHS – Breast enlargement
- GOV.UK – The NHS Constitution for England
We hope our guide on how to make a medical negligence claim for breast implant compensation has helped. However, if you have any other questions, please contact an advisor on the number above.