Cosmetic Surgery Claims
If you have been injured or left suffering physical pain or emotional trauma following substandard cosmetic surgery, it can have a significant negative impact on your life, as well as potentially leaving you with substantial costs to put the damage right.
If you believe the treatment or general care you received with cosmetic surgery was negligent, you may be able to claim compensation. This can help to cover any out-of-pocket costs arising from errors made with your cosmetic surgery, pay for corrective surgery, if appropriate, as well as compensating you for your pain and suffering.
Wolferstans’ medical negligence solicitors have particular experience with cosmetic surgery negligence claims, having helped many clients to secure substantial compensation payments over the years.
With our invaluable legal expertise and strong skills in non-confrontational dispute resolution, we can typically achieve a positive outcome for your claim quickly and cost-effectively without the need for you to attend a court hearing.
Crucially, our experience means we can value your claim much more accurately than many less experienced firms, meaning we can help you to avoid the risk of settling for less than you may have been entitled to.
We offer a free initial no obligation consultation during which we will be able to tell you if you have a claim worth investigating further.
To arrange your consultation please contact the new client team on 01752 292204.
Our cosmetic surgery negligence claims service
We support clients in making cosmetic surgery negligence claims throughout England and Wales, including those related to:
- Failure to provide sufficient information about the risks involved in cosmetic surgery
- Substandard cosmetic surgery treatments
- Use of defective products
- Failure to provide appropriate aftercare
- Post-surgical infections
How cosmetic surgery compensation claims work
Our clinical negligence lawyers have the experience and skills to make guiding you through the process of pursuing a cosmetic surgery claim as simple and straightforward as possible.
A typical cosmetic surgery negligence claim will involve:
- Building your case e.g. applying for medical records, collecting witness evidence and consulting independent medical experts.
- Contacting the relevant healthcare provider with the details of your claim.
- Ensuring the defendant responds to your claim in a timely fashion.
- Assessing the defendant’s response and advising you of your options.
- Negotiating with the defendant and/or using alternative dispute resolution (ADR), such as mediation or independent evaluation, to secure a suitable settlement.
- Submitting your claim to the relevant court and representing you at a court hearing where required to resolve the matter.
Find out more about the process of making a clinical negligence claim.
Funding a cosmetic surgery claim
Many of our clients choose to work with us using a ‘conditional fee agreement’ as this allows them to avoid paying anything towards their legal fees or expenses when starting a claim.
This kind of ‘no win, no fee’ cosmetic surgery claim means that you only need to make a contribution towards our legal fees if your claim succeeds, with the amount you pay being based on a percentage of the compensation secured. This gives you complete transparency over the costs involved and means you will always keep the majority of your compensation.
Another option for funding a cosmetic surgery negligence claim is legal expenses insurance. This is frequently offered as an optional extra with home insurance, as well as some bank accounts and credit cards, meaning it may be a better solution for those with this type of cover, depending on the circumstances.
Whatever your situation, we want to assure you that, as long as we believe you have a claim with a realistic prospect of success, we will help you find a way to fund it that works for you.
To discuss your options for covering the cost of a cosmetic surgery negligence claim, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Find out more about funding a medical negligence claim.
Our expertise in cosmetic surgery claims
We have a proven track record of success with cosmetic surgery claims, including securing substantial amounts of compensation for our clients over the years. Our medical negligence solicitors know exactly what is needed to secure a fair result, so can ensure no detail is missed when helping you to pursue your claim.
Wolferstans is accredited by the Law Society for Clinical Negligence, recognising our particular expertise in this area. We are also Lexcel accredited by the Law Society for excellence in legal practice management and client care.
Various members of our medical negligence team are also on the Law Society and AvMA (Action against Medical Accidents) Specialist Clinical Negligence Panels and have been accredited by APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) as Clinical Negligence Specialists and Brain Injury Specialists.
Common questions about cosmetic surgery claims
With cosmetic surgery claims, as with any type of medical negligence claim, the standard time limit to bring a claim is 3 years. Depending on the situation, this may be counted from when the negligence occurred or when you became aware of it.
If the claim is for someone who was under 18 when the negligence occurred, their parents or guardians can bring a claim for them until their 18th birthday. After this, the victim will have until their 21st birthday to bring a claim themselves.
If a loved one has died due to complications from negligent cosmetic surgery, the standard 3-year time limit will apply from the time the negligence occurred or was identified for the representatives of the deceased’s estate bringing a claim. However, if the death occurred within 3 years of the negligence happening, you will normally have an additional 3 years to bring a claim from the date of death.
Knowing what the relevant time limit is and therefore whether it has expired or not can be tricky, so we strongly recommend speaking to one our specialist medical negligence lawyers no matter how long ago the incident in question happened.
The compensation for cosmetic surgery negligence will usually be based on how serious the injury you experienced was and what impact this has had on your life, including financially.
There are two main types of damages you can claim:
Special damages – For specific financial losses incurred up to the date of settlement e.g. the cost of medical treatment and remedial cosmetic surgery to correct the damage caused.
General damages – For non-financial losses e.g. pain and suffering and changes to your lifestyle, as well as likely future financial losses, such as paying for more surgery or having to miss work.
To show that cosmetic surgery was negligent, you need to demonstrate that:
- You were injured as a result of the surgery.
- This was due to the care you received being below medically acceptable standards.
Proving this will normally rely on various pieces of evidence, including:
- Medical records
- Witness evidence
- Evidence from independent medical experts
Further information about cosmetic surgery negligence claims
For more information about cosmetic surgery compensation claims and all types of medical negligence claims, please take a look at our news, blogs and our series of helpful leaflets covering specific issues.
Start a cosmetic surgery claim with us today
To arrange a free initial no obligation consultation and find out more about starting a cosmetic surgery negligence claim:
To arrange your consultation please contact the new client team on 01752 292204.