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Surgery Compensation Claims

Trustpilot

Services in: Surgery Compensation Claims

    • Amputation Claims
    • Anaesthetic Awareness Claims
    • Contaminated Blood Claims
    • Eye Surgery Claims
    • Nerve Damage Claims
    • Sorin Stockert 3T Heater-Cooler Claims
    • Spinal Surgery Claims

We put a lot of trust in medical professionals who operate on us. When mistakes happen, they can leave you with unnecessary pain and sometimes leave you unable to work or enjoy your hobbies.

If you’ve sustained an injury after surgical negligence, our lawyers could help you claim compensation from the NHS Trust, private hospital, or clinics.

Our solicitors help many people claim surgical negligence. We understand the issues you may be facing, and our team will work hard to get a positive outcome for you and your family.

If you’d like to know whether you can make a claim after a negligent operation, contact our team and tell us more about what’s happened to you.

We may be able to take your surgery negligence claim on a no win no fee arrangement. These are offered on a case-by-case basis, but means you’ll pay nothing should your claim be unsuccessful.

We can also assist you with Never Events claims. These are incidents that should never happen because of the guidance and safety recommendations set out. We’ve decades of experience handling Never Events claims and can help you claim compensation.

What constitutes surgical negligence?

Surgical negligence happens when surgeons or other medical professionals make mistakes during your operation, leaving you with further problems or injuries. Your surgery and care should meet certain clinical standards, but sometimes mistakes are made.

We could help you make a claim if your surgeon or medical professional:

  • Performed the wrong operation or operated on the wrong body part
  • Left foreign objects in the body
  • Caused infection from poor hygiene
  • Didn’t inform you about the risks of surgery or check your suitability for surgery
  • Injected too much/too little anaesthetic
  • Caused nerve damage or injury to your organs.

This list isn't exhaustive. If you've sustained another injury after surgical negligence, contact our team to see if you can make a claim.

Why choose Irwin Mitchell to help with your surgery negligence claim?

Our medical negligence team is the largest of any law firm in the UK. Their unrivalled experience has helped us secure more compensation for our clients year after year than any other law firm in the UK.

We understand how traumatic surgery negligence can be. That’s why we’ll handle your case with sensitivity, offering support throughout.

We’ll always explain everything to you in plain English. This is to make sure you can make fully informed decisions every step of the way.

While our expert lawyers work on building and settling your claim, you’ll be assigned a Support and Rehabilitation Coordinator. They’ll be a trained medical expert and will be able to identify and find the support you need. This support will always be local to you and could be physical, financial, or psychological help.

After your surgery claim, our Asset Management team will be available to help you with managing and investing your compensation. They’re financial experts and can help make sure your money is there when you need it.

We can also help set up a personal injury trust that’ll help make sure your compensation doesn’t impact any benefits you might be entitled to.

Whenever you need to meet any of our experts, we’ll always work in a way that best suits you. That could be you coming to one of our UK offices, our experts meeting you at an appropriate location, or arranging phone or video calls.

No Win No Fee*
In-depth medical knowledge
Free initial consultation
Largest medical negligence department in the country

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0800 121 6567

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Julie Lewis Profile
Julie Lewis Partner Meet our experts

Surgery Negligence Claims - More Information

The first step to making a claim is contacting our team and arranging a free initial consultation. There’s no obligation to continue with us after this consultation, but it’s an opportunity for you to tell us what’s happened to you. We’ll advise you whether we believe you can make a claim and discuss funding options.

If you do decide to use our teams, we’ll start by gathering evidence to build your case. This could be:

  • Medical records
  • Statements from those in the operating theatre or hospital
  • Any images available of your injuries.

We’ll also use an independent medical expert, who’ll examine the medical care you received and assess your care needs going forward. Their expert opinion can be crucial evidence when settling your claim.

Once we’ve gathered the evidence for your case, we’ll take it to the Trust or individual responsible. If they accept fault and agree with our compensation amount, we’ll work to get you interim payments. These are taken from your final settlement amount but can be used to cover any loss of earnings and expenses while your claim is ongoing.

If they don’t accept fault or disagree with our compensation amount, we can take your claim to court. Although this is always our last option, it can be beneficial in some cases. However, we’ll always work under your instruction and advise what we think is best at each step.

Every surgery claim is unique, which means we can’t give you an exact time frame for your claim without knowing more about what’s happened to you.

More complex cases might take longer as we gather evidence to build your case. If the other party doesn’t accept fault or doesn’t agree with our compensation amount, this can also delay your claim.

We’ll be by your side no matter how long it takes.

We calculate each claim based on the client’s individual needs. This means we can’t tell you how much you could claim until we know more about what’s happened during your surgery.

When valuing your claim, we’ll consider:

  • Your pain and suffering
  • Any loss of earnings, now and in the future
  • Medical expenses
  • Personal expenses, such as taxis or trains
  • Future care and medical needs
  • Rehabilitation costs.

You’ve got three years from the date of your surgery or the date you found out your surgery caused further injury.

There are some exceptions to this time limit, these are for:

  • Claims on behalf of children – these can be made any time before your child is 18. Once they’re 18 they can make their own claim until their 21st birthday.
  • Mental capacity – there are no time limits to make a claim on behalf of someone who doesn’t have the mental capacity to claim themselves.

We can explain more about time limits when we meet with you to discuss your claim.

I cannot fault the service I have received from Irwin Mitchell”

5* Trustpilot review

Client Story – Stephen Onley

Stephen's Story Stephen Onley

Going into hospital for a routine operation is normally a straight forward procedure, but unfortunately there are instances when such operations can go wrong. Social worker Stephen Onley was left paralysed after doctors failed to monitor him correctly following a routine hip operation in 2010.

Following the surgery, Stephen suffered a severe drop in blood pressure that was not detected, even though the doctors caring for him would have been well aware that this was possible. By the following day, Stephen’s blood pressure had fallen dangerously low, resulting in a lack of blood to his spinal cord, which caused irreparable damage.

Stephen is now permanently paralysed from the waist down and relies on a wheelchair. With our help, Stephen has been able to purchase a lightweight wheelchair to help getting around and has carers come to his home. Stephen also has access to a personal injury trust which we helped him set up to ensure that he has access to funds throughout his life.

Stephen Onley


"Irwin Mitchell was able to get me an interim payment to pay for home carers.”

Stephen Onley


“Over the last two and a half years, I couldn’t have got to where I am now without the support of Irwin Mitchell.”
- Stephen Onley

Read More Client Stories

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can I claim against following an operation gone wrong?

We’ve the expertise to help you claim against the NHS, private hospitals, clinics, or individual surgeons. Sometimes, many people could be involved in your operation going wrong.

Our solicitors will make sure the correct people are held responsible so you can get the compensation you deserve.

Can I make a no win no fee surgery negligence claim?

Many of our surgery negligence claims are made using no win no fee claims. These are offered on a case-by-case basis, and sometimes we might be able to advise you of a more appropriate funding option.

During your free consultation, we’ll discuss all funding options and help you decide what’s best for you.

Read More FAQs

Related Information - Surgery Claims

Spinal Surgery Claims - we can help if you’ve suffered a life-changing spinal injury due to negligent surgery
Vaccine Damage Payment - our factsheet provides information on this one-off payment if you've suffered serious injury following a vaccine
Rehabilitation - discover how compensation can help with your rehabilitation
Support and Rehabilitation Coordinators - our Support and Rehabilitation team can help you access a variety of care and support services

Scottish Flag All Scottish cases will be handled by the Scottish law firm with which we are associated, Irwin Mitchell Scotland LLP. The law relating to funding is different in Scotland and you will receive separate advice about what that means as well as a separate funding agreement.

 

About Irwin Mitchell

Founded in Sheffield in 1912, Irwin Mitchell has always been a bit different. Our advisers really get to know the people and business that we help.

We have offices around the UK so wherever you are, our experts can help.

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