Anaesthesia Compensation Claims

This guide will explain how to make an anaesthesia compensation claim if you’ve been harmed by medical negligence. Anaesthetics are medications that cause a loss of sensation. They can be used during surgery to reduce the pain and discomfort felt, allowing medical procedures are carried out.

When you are provided with medical care, the person administering this care needs to make sure that it meets a minimum standard. If it doesn’t, then this is an example of negligence. If the negligence of a medical professional harms you, and this could have been avoided by providing the right level of care, then you could be entitled to claim.

Anaesthesia compensation claim

If you’d like free legal advice on your potential claim, speak with our team of advisors today. A solicitor from our panel may be able to handle your case on a No Win No Fee basis. Please contact us using the details below:

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What Is An Anaesthesia Compensation Claim?
Common Side Effects Of Anaesthesia
Types Of Anaesthetic Negligence
How To Claim Anaesthetic Compensation
Anaesthesia Compensation Claim Settlements
Talk To Us About Your Anaesthesia Compensation Claim

What Is An Anaesthesia Compensation Claim?

Doctors give patients anaesthetics to spare them pain and discomfort during a medical procedure. It can be administered in many different ways, for example, as an ointment, an injection into the bloodstream, or gas.

Anaesthetists are specially trained doctors who administer anaesthetics. They’re responsible for your safety and well-being while you’re undergoing surgery.

Sometimes, you can be harmed by anaesthetic in a way that is not caused by negligence. For example, some side effects can be felt after anaesthetic. This would be considered necessary harm, provided you required the anaesthetic to undergo the surgery you needed.

Furthermore, sometimes complications will arise in the course of your medical treatment that the medical professional could not anticipate but that are not an indication that negligence has occurred. For example, you could have an allergy to the anaesthetic that was unknown and experience an allergic reaction while on the operating table. This may not result from negligence as the doctor was unaware of your allergy.

For more information on making an anaesthesia compensation claim, speak with an advisor today.

How Anaesthetic Works

Anaesthetics work by blocking nerve signals to the brain. Doctors use local anaesthetics during minor procedures, as you stay awake and just a small area of the body loses sensation. While you can’t feel pain, you might still feel pressure or movement.

On the other hand, a general anaesthetic will cause you to lose consciousness. Normally doctors give patients general anaesthetics for a serious operation. You can either be given it through a liquid in your veins or a gas that you breathe in.

Common Side Effects Of Anaesthesia

Different types of anaesthetics produce side effects in some people. Before an operation, your anaesthetist will discuss the potential side effects of your medication with you.

Possible side effects of anaesthesia include:

Nausea and vomiting
Feeling dizzy or faint
Shivering or feeling cold
Bruising and soreness
Finding it difficult to urinate
Achiness
Itchiness
Headaches

Usually, these side effects will not form the basis of a claim. One exception could be if you were mistakenly operated on as a result of negligence (for example, because you were misdiagnosed). In this case, the side effects that you experienced from the anaesthetic could be included in your claim.

Types Of Anaesthetic Negligence

You may be eligible to make an anaesthesia compensation claim if you have experienced anaesthetic negligence that has harmed you.

Below are some examples of anaesthetic hospital negligence that can occur:

You have a known allergy to the anaesthetic, but your medical records are not checked. As a result, you suffer an allergic reaction to the drug.
Your doctor notes down your wrong weight and height because of a lapse in concentration. As a result, you receive the wrong dosage of the drug.
While administering an epidural, the healthcare professional in question is distracted and therefore makes an error that damages your spinal cord.

Below, we will look at some of the injuries you could sustain as a result of this kind of medical negligence in surgery. However, if you don’t see your injury type mentioned, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. You may still be able to claim.

Permanent Nerve Damages

You could experience temporary or permanent nerve damage if a doctor does not administer the anaesthetic properly. Some nerve injuries are temporary or treatable, but other types of nerve damage are permanent. If you experience a spinal cord injury, you could become paralysed.

Awareness

You may recover consciousness if you receive the wrong dosage of an anaesthetic. This might mean that you experience unnecessary physical pain. The trauma of this incident might cause ongoing psychological injuries such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Oxygen deprivation

If you experience oxygen deprivation, this can cause brain injuries resulting in permanent cognitive impairment. This can permanently affect your interaction with your environment, degree of insight and ability to live independently.

If you’d like to know if you have a valid anaesthesia compensation claim, speak with a member of our team today.

How To Claim Anaesthetic Compensation?

If you have been harmed by anaesthetic clinical negligence, then there are certain steps that you can take in order to add strength to your claim. For example, you could:

Get medical attention for your injuries. This means that your medical records can be used as evidence to support your claim.
If you can, gather additional evidence to prove what happened, such as photographs of any visible symptoms you have and how they progress.
Ask anyone who saw the negligence take place to provide their contact details. They might then be able to provide a statement supporting what happened.

For more information on how you could support an anaesthesia compensation claim with evidence, speak with one of our advisors today.

Anaesthesia Compensation Claim Settlements

You could receive the following heads of claim if your anaesthesia injury claim is successful:

General damages compensate you for the pain and suffering your injuries caused.
Special damages can be awarded to reimburse you for any expenses your injuries have caused you to incur.

We have chosen to include the table below in lieu of a medical negligence compensation calculator. You can look up your injuries in the table to see the associated compensation bracket.

We based the compensation payment amounts in the table on guidelines from the Judicial College. Legal professionals use these figures to help them value claims; we’ve used figures from the 16th edition in the table below. However, the final compensation payout you receive will depend on many factors that are unique to your case.

Type of injury suffered	About The Injury	Damages
Very severe brain damage	At the higher end of the bracket, the person could open their eyes and have a sleep and waking pattern. They could also follow some basic instructions.	£282,010 to £403,990
Moderately severe (B) brain damage	They may be very disabled and rely or be dependent on other people.	£219,070 to £282,010
Moderate (i) brain damage	There will be a severe to moderate intellectual deficit as well as changes to or affects on personality.	£150,110 to £219,070
Moderate (ii) brain damage	There will be a moderate to modest intellectual deficit. The ability to work is either lost, or it has been reduced.	£90,720 to £150,110
Moderate (iii) brain damage	The ability to concentrate as well as memory have been impacted and the person has a reduced capacity to work.	£43,060 to £90,720
Less severe brain damage	This person could recover to a good degree and may go back to work as well as participate in social activities.	£15,320 to £43,060
Minor head injury	If there is any brain damage present, it will be minimal.	£2,210 to £12,770
Epilepsy	Established grand mal seizures	£102,000 to £150,110
Epilepsy	Established petit mal seizures	£54,830 to £131,370
Epilepsy	Other epileptic conditions	£10,640 to £26,290

You should provide evidence of the financial impact of your injuries in order to be fully compensated. For example, this could include bills and invoices showing the amount you have spent or a payslip demonstrating a loss of earnings.

For a valuation of your case by an expert advisor, speak with our team today.

Talk To Us About Your Anaesthesia Compensation Claim

Please contact us today if you want to see if you have a valid claim for compensation for anaesthesia negligence. If there is adequate evidence to prove your claim, one of the lawyers from our panel may be able to offer you the option to fund legal representation with a No Win No Fee agreement in place. A popular kind of No Win No Fee agreement is a Conditional Fee Agreement.

This kind of agreement means that you won’t pay an upfront solicitors fee or anything as the claim progresses. Furthermore, you will not have to pay your lawyer for their services if your case is unsucccessful.

Instead, your lawyer will take a success fee if you’re awarded compensation. This fee is subject to a legal limit, meaning that you cannot be overcharged by your lawyer.

Please use the details below to contact us about making an anaesthesia compensation claim: