Facelift Surgery Negligence Claims Guide

By Marlon Rudy. Last Updated 15th August 2022. This online guide provides essential reading on making a compensation claim for facelift surgery medical negligence, why people make such claims, and why you could be entitled to seek compensation yourself.

Facelift surgery medical negligence

The following sections provide valuable information on how to proceed with your own claim. If you have questions not answered in this guide, you can call our claims hotline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 0800 652 3087.

One of our team can answer any questions you have, and also explain how we can provide you with a solicitor to process your personal injury claim for the harm you suffered due to a botched facelift.

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A Guide To Facelift Surgery Medical Negligence Compensation Claims

We have created this online guide to claiming for facelift medical negligence, to help people who believe they have been harmed by a cosmetic surgeon, or any other member of the medical team involved in the process of performing a facelift. The guide starts off by taking a look at what a facelift entails and how it should be performed.

We look at how private medical facilities and cosmetic clinics are regulated, and why a failure to comply with these regulations could result in a patient being able to make a claim if they are harmed unnecessarily by a cosmetic procedure.

The next part of this guide looks at some of the main side effects and injuries that could be caused by a botched facelift. We also look at the risks of undergoing such a treatment and go into detail about specific injuries such as nerve damage and scarring.

This guide then moves on to look at certain facts that pertain to making a claim. We will look at how it could be proven that negligence has taken place, and why you could be able to claim against a private cosmetic clinic. We cover the broad topic of eligibility as well in this part of the guide, as well as provide some key statistics related to cosmetic surgery negligence.

The last sections cover the process of making a claim and provides a table that shows the general claim time limits that will apply to negligence claims. You will also find a list of many of the most frequently received kinds of damages if a claim is successful.

Lastly, we explain the service we offer, and how we can provide you with a medical negligence solicitor to process your claim for negligent facelift surgery for you. If you need any extra information, or have questions about what you have read in this guide, please talk to a member of our claims team.

What Are Facelift Procedures?

In this section, we to take a look at what facelift surgery entails, and how the procedure is performed. This will answer questions such as, is a facelift dangerous? and how painful is a facelift?

The term facelift is actually a slang name for a surgical procedure known as a rhytidectomy and it aims to leave a patient with a younger-looking face. Several surgical methods are available, and often they are combined to achieve adequate results.

Primarily, a facelift involves removing excess skin from the face. This leaves the upper layer of the skin looking younger and with fewer wrinkles. A facelift can also involve surgical procedures to tighten up the underlying facial tissue, and to recraft, or re-drape skin across the face. An important part of the facelift process relies on the patient sticking to specific facial exercise routines to both prepare for surgery, and to achieve optimal results following an operation.

A facelift is obviously and intrusive surgical process, and one that could be very painful. Therefore, it is almost always performed while the patient is under general anaesthetic.

Although the physical process used to perform a facelift is not in itself particularly dangerous, there are some possible side effects and risks involved in undergoing this procedure which we cover later in this guide.

How Are Private Clinics Regulated?

Generally, unless there are extenuating circumstances, the NHS will not perform a facelift for a patient. Therefore, the chances of needing to make a claim for NHS negligence for a botched facelift is very low. This guide is focused primarily on making claims against private healthcare facilities.

Every cosmetic clinic in the UK has to be registered with the Care Quality Commission. This is a legal requirement and therefore mandatory. The rule was introduced in the Health and Social Care Act 2008. The Care Quality Commission is responsible for policing compliance issues, and ensuring that every cosmetic clinic conforms to all safety and quality-related rules and regulations.

The Care Quality Commission is very strict, and yearly inspections of every cosmetic clinic are carried out, alongside regular reviews of the clinic’s quality and safety records. Any failure in compliance protocols can result in the clinic being issued a warning, a fine, or in extreme cases where multiple warnings have been issued in the past, the clinic could lose its operating licence.

If a patient is injured due to a failure in safety and quality compliance, it could mean that a personal injury lawyer may be able to process a compensation claim for them.

Bad Face Lift – Injuries From A Cosmetic Surgery Gone Wrong

Plastic surgery can fail or go wrong in a number of ways. This type of cosmetic surgery can carry the risk of:

  • Blood loss: As the procedure involves incisions, there is the risk of damage to blood vessels. Hematoma, which is a build up of blood outside of a vessel, is a common risk in facelifts
  • Nerve damage: The incisions could also lead to damage to facial nerves, which can cause conditions such as facial paralysis.
  • Facial disfigurement: Cosmetic surgery going wrong, either as a result of an error during the procedure or a lack of competence by the physician, could result in cosmetic or functional damage to a person’s face

If you have suffered injuries from a cosmetic surgery that had gone wrong, please get in touch with our advisers to see if you are eligible to claim compensation. However, if you felt you had a bad face lift but there were no physical or psychological repercussions, you may be unable to claim.

What Are The Potential Complications Of Facelift Surgery?

Every patient who undergoes a facelift should have been warned of the risks, and also that they will likely suffer from some level of discomfort during recovery. However, this discomfort should only last for a short time. Any longer-term problems could be an indication of additional health issues such as:

  • Haematoma – trapped blood that pools under the skin, causing an unsightly blemish
  • Damaged nerves – that could cause paralysis, numbness or tingling in general, or of specific parts of the face
  • Infections – that are contracted due to lax care in the post-op stage of the treatment
  • Facial scarring – a greater level of scarring than the fine scars that a facelift will always lead. These can range in severity from minor to severe
  • Allergic reactions – caused by anaesthetic used during the operation, or by pain medication and anti-inflammatory medication administered afterwards

If you were to suffer this type of injury, or a medical condition following a facelift, and it can be proven that the cosmetic clinic was to blame through facelift negligence, we may be able to help you to claim compensation for a negligent facelift

Facelift Facial Nerve Injury Claims

One of the possible ways that a patient can be harmed during a botched facelift, is if they suffer some form of facelift nerve injury. When one or more of the facial nerves are damaged, cut or severed, it could cause side effects such as:

  • Not being able to close one or both eyelids fully
  • A tingling sensation in parts of the face such as the cheeks or lips
  • General immobility of the face, and potentially a facial droop
  • A general loss of feeling, this can be in the face, the forehead or the scalp
  • Some level of numbness in areas not touched by the facelift such as the neck or ears

If you have been harmed by a facelift facial nerve injury that was caused by facelift surgery negligence, then it could be that you have a valid basis to make a compensation claim for the injuries you have suffered.

Scars Or Bruises Caused By Negligent Facelift Surgery

One of the main complications of a facelift, is bruising. Every patient can expect to suffer some degree of bruising following a facelift, especially around the eyes. This bruising, however, should begin to clear up within a few days. Additionally, some level of scarring is always a side effect of a facelift, but in most cases, the scars are trivial and will fade almost completely over time.

However, if scarring does not reduce to an acceptable level within a few months of the facelift having been performed, this could indicate that the cosmetic surgeon made mistakes during the procedure which resulted in excessive, noticeable scarring.

If this scarring has a negative effect on the life of the patient, for example, causing anxiety and depression, then it could be possible for a personal injury solicitor to process a medical negligence claim on behalf of the patient.

How Could I Prove I Have Been Affected By Facelift Surgery Medical Negligence?

The task of proving that clinical negligence has taken place during some kind of cosmetic surgery is not always straightforward. There are two reasons why people will generally make a claim, and these are:

  1. Actual physical injuries and medical conditions caused by the cosmetic process. Such as those covered in the previous section
  2. Claims made for cosmetic procedures that fail to deliver on the client’s expectations

In the first case, there is a tangible injury or medical problem that the claim can be built around. Therefore, the process of proving liability is quite straightforward. However, in the second case, we are dealing with intangibles. The opinion of the patient with regards to the quality of service and the results achieved are subjective in nature.

If the clinic gave specific guarantees on the level of results that would be achieved, and this guarantee is not met, then yes, the patient could have a valid basis for a claim. If no guarantee was made, then it is very hard for the patient to pursue a claim based on their own subjective evaluation of the quality of results.

The onus is on the claimant to prove that negligence took place. In the case of actual injuries caused by negligence, this should be quite easy to do. In the case of a failure to meet the results that a patient was hoping for, the process of making a claim becomes much more complicated.

We would recommend that anyone who believes that they have been harmed by negligence at a cosmetic clinic calls our hotline and speaks to one of our claim advisers. We can explain how a medical negligence lawyer could be able to help you make a claim for unacceptable facelift results.

Could I Claim Compensation For A Negligent Facelift At A Private Clinic?

Anyone who is injured by facelift medical negligence has the right to attempt to pursue a claim. However, as we explained in the previous section, the onus is entirely on the claimant to prove that negligence took place. This could either be a very straightforward process, or very difficult, depending upon the facts surrounding a case.

When we provide you with a solicitor to process your claim for you, one of the things your solicitor will insist on is that you go for an impartial medical examination. This helps the solicitor value your claim, as it will demonstrate how bad your injuries are, and also indicate any long-term or permanent effects of the harm you have suffered. This is the only way to get an accurate valuation of your claim, although a personal injury claims calculator might be able to give you a rough estimate.

The results of the medical examination can also help with proving liability as well. If you would like us to go ahead and arrange this for you, please speak to one of our claim advisers.

UK Cosmetic Surgery Statistics

According to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), in 2018 over 28,000 cosmetic procedures were performed in the UK. This represented only a minor increase of 0.1% over 2017 statistics. Of all of the cosmetic procedures carried out, 92% of them were performed on women. The three most commonly performed cosmetic procedures were breast enlargement/augmentations, breast reduction, and eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty). However, the number of liposuction procedures that were performed grew by 12% in 2018, and the number of facelifts grew by 9%.

Eligibility To Claim If Affected By Negligent Facelift Surgery

In order for you to be eligible to make a facelift injury claim, specific things must have happened. The following three must have taken place:

  1. The cosmetic clinic and its staff, surgeons, doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals had a duty of care towards the patient (as all medical professionals do, both private and NHS)
  2. There was a failure to fulfil this duty of care, and this resulted in a physical or psychological injury to the patient, either directly or indirectly
  3. The harm that was caused to the patient could have been avoided had the medical professionals involved taken alternative actions

If all of these three situations ring true in your own case, then it could be that you would be eligible to make a negligence claim. Have a talk with a member of our claims team, to learn how to move your claim forward.

Are There Time limits In Which To Claim Compensation?

There will be a personal injury claims time limit that will be in place within which you must begin your clinical negligence claim. The most common being:

Circumstances of the ClaimTime Limit
For symptoms that manifest immediately3-years from the date the facelift was performed.
For symptoms that manifest at a later date.3-years from the date the symptoms are diagnosed

These time limits can differ in certain circumstances, so we recommend that you have a talk with one of our claims team to check which time limit would apply to your case.

Negligent Facelift Surgery Compensation Settlements

If you make a claim for cosmetic surgery negligence, and you are successful, then the compensation payment you receive will be made up of several kinds of damages, and these include:

  • General damages:
    • Mental trauma – for the shock caused by the accident, and also the mental trauma of having your injury treated
    • Pain and suffering – of the initial accident, and also the treatment of your injury at the hospital or clinic
    • Long-term recovery – if you are severely limited in your life by your injuries for quite some time until they are healed properly
    • Psychological damage – if you develop any psychological problems due to the accident or injury, such as depression, anxiety or PTSD
    • Permanent disabilities – if your injury will never heal fully and will leave you with a permanent disability
  • Special damages:
    • Travel costs – relating to the treatment of your injury and also travelling related to the compensation claim itself
    • Medical fees – if you have had to pay any expenses for either treatment or medication related to your injury
    • Loss of current earnings – to make up for any financial losses due to having to take time off work for your injury
    • Ad-hoc losses – such as having to cancel a holiday that you had already paid for, and not receiving a refund
    • Loss of future earnings – if your injury once healed, will leave you with a reduced capacity for earning a living

To find out which kinds of damages you could be able to claim, just speak to one of our claim advisers.

No Win No Fee Facelift Surgery Medical Negligence Claims

We can arrange for a No Win No Fee solicitor to process your claim for you. This would mean no initial fee to start your claim, and no ongoing fees while your claim is processed. You also wouldn’t be expected to pay any fee at all if the claim is unsuccessful. If it is successful, your solicitor will automatically take their fee out of the compensation they receive for you, and then give you the rest.

How The Team At Medical Negligence Assist Could Help You

Have you had a facelift that left you injured in some way? Or perhaps your cosmetic surgeon didn’t deliver results that were in parity with the guarantees the clinic made you? If you think you could have a valid claim, speak to our claims team any time of the day or week, 365 days a year, on 0800 652 3087.

Negligent Cosmetic Surgery Resources

These external links could have relevant information:

NHS information about facelifts

NHS information about plastic surgery in general

Care Quality Commission

Below, you can find links to all of our medical negligence claims guides:

Article by MW

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