Ten years ago, cosmetic surgery was an advanced treatment for the elite, but in our current celebrity-focused culture, aesthetic procedures have become far more common and have risen in popularity.

Going through with cosmetic surgery is a daunting prospect, you need to make sure you find a registered clinic with qualified and experienced surgeons to ensure good standards during and after your procedure. All cosmetic surgeries should be registered with General Medical Council (GMC), who ensure proper standards in the practise of medicine. Clinics should also be registered with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman who carry out annual health and safety inspections.

Unfortunately, prior to April 2002, cosmetic surgeries did not need to be registered, therefore doctors who are not qualified in plastic surgery are still able to operate on patients. This is why medical negligence claims for cosmetic surgery are still very common today. Some procedures such as laser surgery and botox injections are non-surgical and an unqualified person could perform these. The cosmetic surgery is under-regulated in this sense and stricter rules need to be actioned to ensure aesthetic treatments like collagen injections are administered by qualified and trained professionals.

If you are in the unfortunate position of being unhappy with your cosmetic surgery or you feel the treatment you were given was below the standard it should have been, you might in the position to make a medical negligence claim. The first step you should take is to contact your surgeon or surgery. In most cases surgeries have brilliant aftercare assistance where you can address any issues. If you don’t receive this service, your next step is to contact the Healthcare Commission in writing to move the issue forward. If your clinic isn’t registered with the Healthcare Commission you should contact a medical negligence solicitor who will have expertise in cosmetic negligence and will be able to guide in you the right direction regarding your claim.

The most common plastic surgery procedures are breast enhancements and tummy tucks – the most common claims tend to involve these procedures; lop-sided breast implants, too much excess fat after a tummy tuck causing the remaining skin to shrivel and dimple, and severe scarring caused from bad surgical procedure. Other negligence claims include bad eyesight after laser surgery, unsightly scarring after a facelift, unexpected reactions to general anesthetic and infection to open wounds because of inadequate aftercare.

All patients should be well-informed of the risks of surgery before hand, giving them enough time to weigh up the pros and cons of the procedure. There have been cases where patients were told about the risks on the day of their operation, leaving them no time to consider their options – this is bad surgery malpractice.

Clinical surgery claims rarely go to court and if your claim is successful, you will be entitled to two types of compensation. General damages (or loss of amenity) cover the suffering caused due to careless surgery and special damages cover you for your financial losses – time off work, petrol money used visiting solicitors and clinics, etc.

Due to the under-regulated nature of a lot of cosmetic surgery, claims in this industry tend to be common – be sure to ask for guidance from a medical lawyer and ask for a counselling service to be provided should you need it.

Author Bio: Ian Grainger is writing on behalf of Pearson Hinchliffe Solicitors, medical negligence solicitors specialising in cosmetic surgery claims.

Category: Legal
Keywords: cosmetic surgery, compensation, medical negligence, surgeons