Cosmetic and Plastic surgery in alls it forms has got increasingly popular over the last few years and people who would not previously have entertained it are now undergoing surgery. Inevitably then the numbers of operations that have gone wrong have also increased.

This is a particularly invasive form of surgery and the results of a badly handled operation can be dramatic and leave long lasting physical and emotional scars. There have been some well publicised cases involving celebrities like Lesley Ash for example.

Cosmetic and Plastic surgery is not just confined to women; more men are undergoing the knife in the hope of retaining or improving their looks.

Estimates vary but it does appear that over 70,000 individuals undergo some form of cosmetic surgery per year spending over £200 million in the process.

What can go wrong?

The most serious surgical errors vary from those arising in the surgery to post-operative complications, like avoidable infections or excessive scarring. Any plastic or cosmetic surgeon owes his or her patient a duty of care to ensure that any treatment is carried out properly.

There are numerous sorts of cosmetic procedures such as:

• breast enlargement or reduction
• liposuction
• facelifts
• nose surgery
• gastric balloons or bands
• tummy tucks and buttock implants

These are just a few. So many things can go wrong and it is important that your surgeon discusses the risks with you before you undergo the operation as a failure to do so could also lead to a claim. Results can be excessive scarring, punctured organs or nerve damage by way of example.

What Can I Claim For?

The results of a negligently performed cosmetic procedure can lead to intense pain and suffering, emotional distress, the costs of corrective surgery where possible and loss of earnings that result.

In a recent claim, an award of £80,000 was made to a lady who received damage to her facial nerves as a result of a failed cosmetic procedure leading to an abnormal grimace. She also ended up with uneven and lumpy breasts as a result of negligence in an operation on her breasts. She was able to prove both the physical and emotional distress caused as a result of the surgeons negligence.

Time Limits?

There is a three year time limit for making the claim from the date of the alleged negligent treatment.

Making a Cosmetic Surgery Compensation Claim

There are a number of elements to establishing that the treatment was negligent. The patient has to prove (on "the balance of probabilities") that the clinical practitioner has been negligent. The patient has to prove that the practitioner was negligent in that the standard of care fell below what could "reasonably have been expected” and that injury has resulted. It is necessary to be able to show that the sort of treatment carried out was not one that a recognised body of medical opinion might have carried out in the same way.