How To Complain About Surgery Gone Wrong And Claim Compensation

This guide explains how to complain about a surgery gone wrong. You may want to complain if you’ve suffered complications from a surgery that was not performed correctly. However, the procedure you follow will differ depending on where you had the operation. Therefore, we will look at different bodies you could complain to throughout this guide, as well as how we could help you with your complaint.

how to complain about surgery gone wrong

How To Complain About Surgery Gone Wrong

In addition, this guide will explore when you could make a medical negligence claim. Medical professionals owe a duty of care to their patients to provide care that meets the correct standard. If there is a failure to do so, and your operation has been performed incorrectly as a result, medical negligence may have occurred. However, certain criteria need to be met in order to make a claim of this nature. We will explore these further in our guide, as well as give scenarios of how a breach of duty could occur.

We also discuss the compensation that could be awarded following a successful medical negligence claim, and how payouts may be calculated.

To conclude, we will look at the benefits of instructing a solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis.

Contact our team of advisors now to find out the validity of your medical negligence claim. You can get in touch by:

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  1. How To Complain About Surgery Gone Wrong
  2. How To Take Legal Action After Complaining About Surgical Negligence
  3. What Surgical Errors And Mistakes Could You Claim For?
  4. What Compensation Could You Claim For Surgery Gone Wrong?
  5. Check If A No Win No Fee Solicitor Could Help You Claim For Surgery Gone Wrong
  6. Learn More About How To Complain About Surgery Gone Wrong

How To Complain About Surgery Gone Wrong

You may be wondering about how to complain about a surgery gone wrong. There are several bodies you could raise your concerns with, including the service provider. 

Additionally, you may consider complaining to:

  • General Medical Council (GMC) – You can raise your concerns with the GMC, an independent regulator for UK doctors. They may investigate your concern and take action if necessary.
  • The Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS) – The ISCAS can handle complaints in regard to the private healthcare sector.
  • The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) – The PHSO make the final decisions on any complaints that have been left unresolved by NHS England, UK government departments and other public organisations.

The way in which you make your complaint can depend on where it is being directed. However, our team of advisors can assist you with the process, and answer any questions you might have.

How Our Team Could Help You Make A Complaint

As well as having the right to make a complaint about poor surgery, you could also be eligible to make a medical negligence claim, provided the relevant criteria are met.

Our team of advisors can help with both. They can advise on where you may need to direct your complaint and help you understand the process involved, as well as guiding you through making your complaint.

Additionally, they can provide a free case assessment to determine whether you have a valid medical negligence claim. If you do, they could pass you over to a solicitor from our panel who, as part of their service, could assist you in seeking compensation.

How To Take Legal Action After Complaining About Surgical Negligence

In addition to making a complaint, you may want to claim for surgical negligence. Medical professionals owe their patients a duty of care, which includes providing the correct standard of care when treating them. To make a medical negligence claim, you need to ensure that you satisfy the eligibility criteria. As such, you must be able to show that:

  • A duty of care was owed to you by a medical professional.
  • There was a breach of this duty.
  • Due to this breach, you suffered unnecessary or avoidable harm.

Limitation Periods

Furthermore, to be eligible to claim medical negligence compensation, you must adhere to the time limits established in the Limitation Act 1980. Generally, you will have three years from the date the medical negligence occurred to start your claim. In other circumstances, it could begin from the date of knowledge. This is when you were made aware of, or would have been expected to know about, a breach of a medical professional’s duty of care causing you avoidable harm.

There are some exceptions to this three year time limit, like if someone lacks the mental capabilities to claim compensation individually. Here, a litigation friend could be appointed by the courts, and no time limits would apply. However, if a person gains the mental capabilities to act for themselves, and no claim has already begun, the claimant would have three years to begin a claim.

Contact our team of advisors today to learn more about other exceptions that could apply to the time limits, the validity of your medical negligence claim, and how to complain about a surgery gone wrong. Providing your case is valid, they may offer to pass you over to a solicitor from our panel.

What Surgical Errors And Mistakes Could You Claim For?

Below we outline some examples of how an operation could be performed incorrectly:

  • A never event could have occurred, this is an incident that should never occur.  For example, a surgeon operating on the wrong part of your body, resulting in the incorrect arm being amputated.
  • Your surgeon might make a mistake during your knee replacement operation, inserting the wrong prosthesis, leaving you with considerable pain following surgery until it’s resolved.
  • A foreign body could have been left in your body following surgery, meaning you suffer an infection, or a perforated bowel and require further treatment to fix the error.

These are just some of the ways you could suffer avoidable harm due to surgery gone wrong. Contact our team of advisors today to find out if you’re eligible to make a medical negligence claim. If your case is valid, a solicitor from our panel could help with your surgical negligence claim. You can also get further advice from our team on how to complain about a surgery gone wrong.

What Compensation Could You Claim For Surgery Gone Wrong?

Successful medical negligence claims will have settlements that could consist of up to two kinds of damages. The first is general damages, compensating you for the pain and suffering you’ve endured because of medical negligence. The amount you’re awarded could depend on factors like:

  • The severity of the avoidable harm you have suffered and how it has impacted your quality of life
  • The time it takes you to recover, including the treatments you’ve required
  • Any loss of enjoyment you’ve experienced

To help a solicitor work out how much your medical negligence claim could be worth, they may turn to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document provides guideline valuation brackets for different types of harm. Your medical records could also be used alongside the JCG.

Below you will find a table of JCG amounts. However, these should only be used as a guide, as the level of compensation you could be awarded cannot be guaranteed due to the unique nature of each case.

Compensation Table

HarmSeverityCompensation GuidelinesNotes
KidneySerious£169,400 to £210,400Damage of a permanent nature to both kidneys, or where both kidneys are lost.
Arm AmputationLoss of One Arm (ii)£109,650 to £130,930An amputation of one arm above the elbow.
BladderSerious£63,980 to £79,930
Impairment of control alongside pain and incontinence.
KneeSevere (iii)£26,190 to £43,460A less severe disability, with ongoing pain, discomfort and limited movement.
SpleenLoss of Spleen£20,800 to £26,290There is an ongoing risk of internal infection and other disorders due to the immune system being damaged.
BowelsPenetrating Injury£12,590 to £24,480Causing permanent damage but with an eventual return to natural function and control.

Compensation For Financial Losses

The second kind of damages you could be awarded is special damages, compensating you for reasonable past and future losses you incur due to medical negligence. For example, you may have needed to take time off work as a result of the operation that went wrong, causing you to suffer a loss of earnings. To ensure you’re fully compensated for your losses, you should keep evidence like:

  • Receipts
  • Invoices
  • Payslips

A solicitor from our panel could help gather evidence to support your case as part of their service if you have an eligible medical negligence claim. Contact one of our advisors for a free case assessment.

Check If A No Win No Fee Solicitor Could Help You Claim For Surgery Gone Wrong

You may want to claim compensation with the help of a solicitor to ensure your case runs smoothly. If so, you could consider appointing a solicitor under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement. This would mean working with them on a No Win No Fee basis. The terms of this contract typically mean:

  • You have no upfront costs to pay in order for a solicitor to begin working on your case.
  • No fees would be required for the solicitor’s services whilst the case was in progress.
  • The solicitor wouldn’t charge you for the services they have provided if your claim is unsuccessful.
  • You would pay a success fee, which is a legally capped portion of the compensation you were awarded, if your claim succeeds.

Our panel of medical negligence solicitors offer this type of No Win No Fee service and have years of experience. Contact our team of advisors now to find out more about how they could help.

Alternatively, you can get in touch for more information about how to complain about a surgery gone wrong. You can get in touch by:

Learn More About How To Complain About Surgery Gone Wrong

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We hope this guide has helped advise you on how to complain about a surgery gone wrong. If you have any other questions about the process involved with making a complaint, or whether you could make a medical negligence claim, please call an advisor on the number above.

Guide by Will

Edited by Meg