Have you been harmed by negligent eye surgery such as laser surgery, a cataract operation or treatment for another condition? In our guide to eye surgery negligence claims we look at when and how you could make a medical negligence claim.
We look at eligibility to make a hospital negligence claim, and the possible causes of eye surgery negligence. In addition to this, we look at what aspects could be considered when awarding compensation. Finally, at the end of this guide there is information on how to make a claim with the support of a No Win No Fee Solicitor.
If you have any questions about claiming medical negligence compensation or to check your eligibility, please get in touch:
- Talk to us about what happened using our online chat.
- Claim online using our contact form.
Browse Our Guide
- Am I Eligible To Claim Compensation After An Eye Surgery?
- Common Reasons For Eye Surgery Claims
- Can I Make A Compensation Claim If My Laser Eye Surgery Goes Wrong?
- Compensation Amounts For Eye Surgery Negligence
- Starting Your Claim For Eye Surgery Negligence
- How Long Do Compensation Claims Take?
- How Our Solicitors Can Help You
- More Information
Am I Eligible To Claim Compensation After An Eye Surgery?
Whilst you are under the care of a surgeon or hospital, you are owed a duty of care. The surgical staff, other medical professionals and hospital must ensure that they meet minimum expected professional standards. If they fail to do so and you are unnecessarily harmed as a result of this, you could make an eye surgery claim. Those working in both the NHS and the private sector have the same duty of care to you.
However, in order to seek compensation, you must satisfy the ye surgery negligence claims criteria:
- A surgeon or other healthcare professional had a duty of care to you.
- There was a breach in this duty of care.
- You were harmed unnecessarily by this breach.
- You are within the relevant time limit.
Please contact our medical negligence team to find out if you could claim compensation.
Common Reasons For Eye Surgery Claims
Surgical errors could happen before, during or after surgery is carried out. Potential types of eye surgery negligence may include:
- Misdiagnosis or the otherwise incorrect diagnosis of an eye condition.
- Inadequate pre-operative care and assessment.
- Anaesthesia negligence.
- Surgical errors, such as the use of improper technique.
- The use of defective equipment.
- Failing to recognise and take action for surgical complications.
- Poor post-operative care leading to infection.
Any of these types of negligence could lead to a patient suffering avoidable harm and further sight loss.
What Counts As Medical Negligence?
Here we look at some examples of eye surgery negligence.
- Anaesthetic negligence could be caused by the patient being given the wrong dosage. This may lead to the patient being aware of the procedure and experiencing avoidable pain and harm.
- Failing to diagnose an eye condition in a child may lead to their vision getting worse over time and passing the point at which medical intervention could either reverse or stop this sight loss.
- Cataract surgery being incorrectly performed could lead to further damage to the cataracts and a patient needing a cornea transplant.
To find out more about eye surgery negligence claims, please contact our team.
Can I Make A Compensation Claim If My Laser Eye Surgery Goes Wrong?
Today there are several types of laser eye surgery which may commonly be performed. These surgeries use a laser directed at the retina and may be used to correct both short and long-sightedness.
Surgical errors may include:
- Poor postoperative care which causes you to contract a surgical infection.
- The use of defective laser eye surgery equipment due to insufficient safety checks being performed.
Contact us to learn more about making a laser eye surgery compensation claim.
Compensation Amounts For Eye Surgery Negligence
If you make a successful compensation claim you will be awarded damages. You may be eligible to claim two different types of compensation which could make up your final settlement. These two types are known as:
- General damages – awarded for pain and suffering. These damages compensate you for your actual injury.
- Special damages – awarded for the economic impact of the negligent surgery. These damages should put you back in a similar economic position to where you were before the incident.
In the table below, we have taken examples from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). These highlight what could be awarded in this type of claim. We should note that the highest figure was not taken from the JCG and represents an example of an award where special damages have been awarded. Please only use this table as a guide.
| Harm Suffered | Severity | Notes | Compensation Guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple forms of harm to the eye(s) | Severe or serious | Multiple forms of harm and where special damages have been awarded. | Up to £500,000+ if awarded special damages. |
| Harm to vision/ Sight | B - Total loss of sight/ blindness | Total loss of sight. | Around £327,940 |
| C - i - Sight loss in one eye, reduced sight in the other. | Serious risk of the remaining eye deteriorating. | £117,150 to £219,400. | |
| C - ii - Sight loss in one eye, reduced sight in the remaining one. | Reduced and/or double vision in the remaining one. | £78,040 to £129,330 | |
| D - Loss of sight - one eye. | Damages based on age and psychological harm. | £66,920 to £80,210. | |
| E - Loss of sight - one eye. | Scarring may also be present. | £60,130 to £66,920. | |
| F - Sight loss - one eye. | Risk of loss in the remaining one is not significant. | £28,900 to £48,040 | |
| G - Permanent, minor visual impairment. | Permanent but minor impaired vision. | £11,120 to £25,600 | |
| H - Minor eye injury. | Harm caused by exposure to fumes or smoke. | £4,820 to £10,660 | |
| E - Transient eye injury. | Recovery which takes weeks. | £2,690 to £4,820 |
Whilst various factors may be taken into consideration, your solicitor or other parties to a claim may review the JCG when checking how much you may be owed for a particular type of injury.
What Can I Include In My Claim?
Additionally, you could be awarded special damages for financial losses related to your accident. Whilst these may be awarded for a wide variety of items, some examples could include:
- Lost earnings and income. This could include income lost whilst taking time off work as well as workplace benefits such as contributions to a pension or entitlement to overtime.
- The cost of medical treatment, medication and related care costs.
- Property damage, such as the repair or replacement of personal property, such as glasses.
- Transport costs. You could be reimbursed for the cost of getting to necessary medical appointments.
In order to reclaim any of these costs as part of your claim for negligent eye surgery, you will need to provide evidence of the loss. Evidence could include your wage slips, invoices for treatment and travel receipts.
Get in touch with our team for more information on how much compensation for injuries caused by eye surgery negligence you could be owed.
Starting Your Claim For Eye Surgery Negligence
Your negligent eye surgery compensation claim must follow the medical negligence claims process. This means there are steps which you must take in order to make a claim. These steps could include getting any necessary medical care and reporting the negligent medical treatment to the relevant healthcare provider.
You should also ensure that you begin your claim within the relevant time limit. Whilst time limits may vary where claims involve those under the age of eighteen or those without the mental capacity to claim, they must generally be started within three years from the date the negligence took place.
Gathering Evidence
One of the most crucial steps in the claims process is gathering evidence. As already highlighted, to claim for eye surgery negligence, you have to show that a medical professional or organisation was responsible for the harm you suffered and it could have been avoid had the correct standards of care been met.
For eye surgery negligence claims, evidence could include:
- Medical records. These could be records from the initial healthcare provider who carried out your eye surgery as well as from any subsequent medical professional who treated you.
- They should show the harm you suffered as well as your prognosis for recovery.
- Copies of any correspondence between you and your healthcare provider. This may include any letters detailing your eye condition, referrals from your GP and letters discussing what happened to you.
- Photos of any visible harm to your eye, such as visible scars.
If you claim with one of our solicitors they may also request that you undergo a medical assessment of your eye condition with an independent medical professional. This will provide further medical evidence.
Get advice on how to make eye surgery negligence claims by contacting our team.
How Long Do Compensation Claims Take?
How long your claim for eye surgery negligence may take will depend on the individual circumstances. Factors which may affect the timescale include:
- The type of eye injury you have suffered. For example, a claim involving total loss of sight may be more complex and thus may take longer.
- Whether the defendant accepts their liability for medical negligence. If they do not, your case may need to go to court, extending the time it could take to settle your claim.
- How long your recovery is expected to take or if you are expected to make a complete or partial recovery.
- How long it takes to collect evidence in support of your eye surgery claim.
Get in contact with our team today for more information on how long eye surgery negligence claims could take.
How Our Solicitors Can Help You
If having read our guide to eye surgery negligence claims you believe you have a valid case, our medical negligence solicitors could help you. When you contact us, an advisor will listen to you and take the details of your case. If they think your case is valid, they could connect you to a solicitor.
We recognise that one factor which may prevent people claiming compensation is the cost of doing so. This is why eye surgery negligence solicitors could use a Conditional Fee Agreement when working with you on your claim. This type of agreement allows the solicitor to provide their services on a No Win No Fee basis.
The benefits of No Win No Fee claims are:
- No upfront solicitors fees are necessary to start your claim.
- No solicitors fees are payable whilst your claim is in progress.
- You won’t be charged for your solicitors work if your claim isn’t successful.
If you are successfully awarded compensation your solicitor will deduct a set percentage as their fee (often called a success fee). This fee is legally capped as a percentage of the compensation.
Get in touch with our team today to find out more about eye surgery negligence claims.
- Tell our team what happened to you via our online chat.
- Send the details of your claim and start a compensation claim online.
More Information
Please view these resources for further insights and information on medical negligence claims.
- In this guide we look at how to make a successful medical negligence claim.
- Here you can learn more about how to make a hospital negligence claim.
- Learn more about making a claim for a surgical error in this guide.
External references.
- Read more about the Royal College of Surgeons code of conduct in this resource.
- The NHS Constitution for England sets out your rights as a patient of the NHS in this government publication.
- Learn more about eye surgery and treatment for adults here in this NHS resource.
Thank you for reading our guide on eye surgery negligence claims. Please get in touch with our team if you still have any questions about how a personal injury solicitor could help you.