Breast Surgery Compensation

By making a cosmetic breast surgery claim, we can help you get compensation to make your circumstances a little easier. Your settlement would consider your pain and suffering and could also help cover:

• Loss of earnings
• Counselling support
• Costs of any corrective treatment you need
• Expenses, such as travel costs to hospital appointments.

The amount of compensation you’re likely to receive will depend on a combination of the above factors and the severity of your injuries.

If the organisation responsible for the negligent treatment accepts responsibility early on, we could also help you get access to interim compensation payments.

Many of our cases are funded with a no win no fee agreement. This means there’s nothing for you to pay until you are successful, at which point, your opponent will pay most of our fees.

If we think you will be best supported by a no win no fee agreement, we will explain the process clearly, including setting up any insurance policies.

We‘ll set up a free initial consultation to discuss your case, whether you have a legal claim, and what funding options are available – including no win no fee agreements.

We‘ll then contact those responsible for your treatment to see if they accept the blame for your injuries or illness. If they do, we will try to secure interim compensation payments which can fund private medical care – including corrective procedures and ongoing expenses – before your claim fully settles. Any interim payments will be taken out of your final compensation award.

We will gather evidence from independent cosmetic professionals who can evaluate what care you should have received and determine any future implications to your health and the care you’ll need.

We will always try and negotiate claims out of court, keeping the claim process as short as we can. However, if your opponent doesn’t accept responsibility or doesn’t agree with the amount of compensation we feel you need, we will start court proceedings.

Even when trial dates have been set, claims are still often settled before reaching court. If your claim does need to go to court, we’ll be there to help you every step of the way.

Breast augmentation (also known breast implant surgery or breast enlargement surgery) is the most common type of cosmetic surgery in the UK and involves the insertion of breast implants to enhance the size and shape of the breast.

In the UK, there are two types of implants that are commonly used, these are:

• Silicone gel implants: These can be liquid, gel or in solid form
• Saline implants: Made from sterile salt water.

Several things can go wrong if your surgeon doesn’t check your suitability to the surgery or if they insert the implants incorrectly, including:

• Capsular contracture: When scar tissue shrinks too much, squeezing the implant and making the breast feel hard. This can cause pain and discomfort and can need further surgery to solve the problem.
• Ruptures: This is a common problem that involves the implant splitting. Signs of a rupture can include swelling, redness and tenderness. If you have saline implants, ruptures shouldn’t be too problematic, but it’s still advisable that your implants are removed or replaced. However, if you have silicone implants, a leak can cause siliconomas or a gel bleed.
• Siliconomas: These are small lumps of silicone that can be very tender. Sometimes silicone can spread to the muscles under your breast, armpit, arm nerves and lymph glands and cause more serious problems.
• Gel bleeds: If silicone molecules get into the lymphatic systems, your glands can swell and become uncomfortable.
• Seroma: This is when fluid builds up around your implant, which could need draining in severe instances.
• Scarring: All implant surgery will involve scarring, but sometimes scarring can become red, lumpy or painful.
• Creasing and folds: Kinks, folds and ripples can appear especially if you had very small breasts prior to surgery.
• Nipple sensation: Nipples sometimes become painfully sensitive and if this hasn’t resolved within six months, you should visit your doctor.
• Infections: Your implant might need removing if it becomes infected.

Breast augmentation should be performed with techniques that minimise the risk of complications. If your surgeon failed to take precautions or missed warning signs during follow-up appointments, you may be entitled to make a claim and we can help you through it.

Also known as reduction mammoplasty, female breast reduction surgery is used to reduce the weight and volume of the breasts by removing fat, glandular tissue and skin. Men can also have breast reduction, which is a procedure known as gynaecomastia.

Breast reductions are normally performed on women who experience physical discomfort due to their large breasts. However, problems can occur during this type of surgery, especially when safety procedures aren’t followed.

We could help you make a claim if errors caused you to suffer from:

• Uneven shape: After reductions, the breasts may change shape, sometimes becoming lopsided and lumpy. The nipples might also seem uneven.
• Wounds: Infections, wound separation and skin loss may happen, causing discomfort. Sometimes you can experience fat narcosis (fat in the breasts dying).
• Nipple sensation: Nerve supply to the nipple can be damaged during surgery, meaning sensation can be lost. Sometimes the blood supply to your nipple can be disrupted meaning your nipple could die and fall off.
• Haematoma: Bleeding can happen inside the breast tissue and an operation might be needed to stop it. This normally happens within 24 hours of your initial surgery.

Your surgeon should do all they can to stop any of these conditions occurring, including providing appropriate post-operative care.

If they were at fault for injuries you sustained after breast reduction surgery, we might be able to help you make a claim.

Breast uplift surgery, also known as mastopexy, involves the surgeon removing excess skin by making an incision around the nipple or in the crease underneath the breast. This tightens the remaining skin, repositioning the nipple a little higher.

Things can go wrong during breast uplift surgery, including:

• Haematoma: There’s an immediate post-surgical risk of this condition that involves a swelling of clotted blood.
• Scarring: Excessive scarring can occur caused by incisions.
• Unsymmetrical breasts
• Fat necrosis: Fat in the breast can die off, leaving them red and lumpy.
• Nerve supply: The nipples can lose sensation and/or the ability to become erect. The blood supply can also be disrupted, causing the nipple tissue to die off.

While some complications can occur naturally, others are the result of medical errors. Before surgery, your doctor should assess your risk of these conditions and explain them clearly. They should also take steps to prevent problems, including providing thorough pre- and post-operative care.

If you have suffered due to avoidable mistakes during breast uplift surgery, we can help.