Cosmetic or plastic surgery is big business in the UK, where thousands of patients go under the surgeon's knife every year to enhance their physical appearance in some way or another.

Whilst the ultimate goal of cosmetic surgery is to improve aesthetics, mistakes can occur during surgery that result in extremely serious consequences. Problems can cause severe disfigurement, injury, illness or even death.

Understanding the popularity of cosmetic surgery in the UK provides some idea of the scale of the problem caused by surgical errors. According to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPs), 38,274 people in the UK underwent cosmetic surgery in 2010. This figure compares to 36,482 in 2009 and 34,187 in 2008, suggesting plastic surgery is becoming more popular by an order of 5 to 7 per cent every year.

Common Surgical Procedures

In the UK, the most common types of cosmetic surgery include breast augmentation, blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery), face or neck lift, breast reduction, abdominoplasty, liposuction and rhinoplasty. Last year, almost 10,000 breast augmentation procedures were carried out in the UK, whilst just fewer than 3,500 patients elected to undergo liposuction. As the acceptance of cosmetic surgery increases, so does the number of people willing to go under the knife in the name of beauty.

Liability and Disclaimers

Many cosmetic surgical procedures are undertaken in the UK each year without any problems whatsoever. Unfortunately, when mistakes or accidents do occur, the results can be catastrophic. Surgeons often insist that patients sign a contract to limit or exclude their liability in the event of an accident occurring during surgery or infection developing from an incision and so on.

In accordance with Section 2(1) of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, however, business contracts cannot exclude or restrict liability for death or personal injury resulting from negligence. In other words, not all contract terms are enforceable.

Clinical Negligence

The concept of clinical negligence has inspired the common law of England and Wales to formulate a standard of testing that is different from that which governs other types of personal injury claims. Whilst the claimant's legal team must still be able to establish a duty of care, breach of this duty and causation, medical professionals are subject to additional legal tests, known as the Bolam test and Bolitho test, that hold medical practitioners to a certain standard of care.

Essentially, a person may have reason to bring a clinical negligence claim against a cosmetic surgeon if they feel the doctor in question has acted negligently. The court will then determine whether the doctor reached the standard of a responsible body of medical opinion.

Why Claim for Compensation?

Negligence involving cosmetic surgery can be extremely serious. Claiming compensation not only provides the injured party with an opportunity to seek a financial remedy; it may actually save another person's life. Doctors are held to an incredibly high standard for good reason.