There is no doubt that surgery is daunting, regardless of the type and reason for it – and you are entitled to receive the best possible care and treatment. But what happens if there is a surgical error and you are injured as a result? If the mistake was caused by negligence, then you may be able to make a claim for compensation.

Fortunately, the standards of surgical treatment are high in the UK, but mistakes still happen. When mistakes happen during an operation, such as the surgeon operating on the wrong arm or accidentally hitting and injuring a nerve, the resulting injuries can be severe.

When a doctor’s care is shown to have been below a reasonable standard, then you are entitled to make a surgical negligence claim for compensation for your pain and suffering.

Is Your Post Surgery Pain Normal?

Following most operations, it is normal to experience some pain or discomfort during your recovery period. This might be swelling, temporarily restricted movement or soreness at the site of the area operated on.

However, your expectations should have been managed by the doctor prior to your surgery and you should be fully prepared for what your recovery will be like. If you suffer symptoms that are different to those discussed with the doctor beforehand or the symptoms go on for longer than they should, it may be due to a surgical error.

What Are The Types Of Surgical Errors?

There are many different types of mistakes that can be made during an operation, often leading to much suffering and discomfort.

As a guide, any of the following could form the basis of a medical negligence case:

• Poor decision making and incompetence by the surgeon, resulting in below standard surgery
• Damage to the patient’s arteries or nerves
• A lack of monitoring during and after surgery
• Operating on the wrong limb
• Providing too much or too little anaesthetic
• The surgery itself was unnecessary
• Instruments left inside the patient after surgery
• Failure to obtain full consent for the operation

How Can You Claim Against Your Doctor For A Surgical Error?

If you believe you have suffered an avoidable and negligent surgical error that has caused you pain and suffering, we will work hard to quickly establish if you have a case to make a claim – and if so, we will work with you to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve and need to fully recover.

You usually have 3 years from the date of the surgery, if you’re aged 18 and older, to make a surgery error claim.

The amount of compensation you receive depends on your injury and how much is needed to get you back to the position you should have been in had you received the correct surgical treatment.

By making a claim, you can ensure the mistake is only made once and that no one else suffers like you have during the same surgery, as lessons will hopefully be learnt by the doctors and hospital staff.

How We Can Help You With Your Surgical Error Claim

Our medical negligence solicitors have the proven track record of helping many clients make successful claims after receiving below standard care during surgery on the NHS and private hospitals, for both adults and children.

We will assess whether the care you received was sub-standard and work hard to establish whether surgical negligence took place in order to secure the compensation you deserve for your experience – and to cover any current and future medical treatment and losses sustained.

In a recent case, a local customer services advisor in her early 50s made a claim with the help of Bartletts Solicitors’ personal injury team in Chester. Following remedial surgery, the lady developed a vaginal fistula and when the hospital tried to fix the issue, they made it worse and she ended up with significant difficulties for 12 months before another consultant was able to resolve it.

Our solicitors were able to prove the original surgeon should not have carried out the second surgery and that when he did this was not in accordance with hospital protocol for this type of procedure and led to more pain. We also demonstrated that the hospital failed to pick up on the vaginal fistula for months, causing the lady many months of stress and anxiety.

The lady was awarded £35,000 in compensation for her injury and loss of earnings. Thankfully she has since made a full recovery.

Thanks to their experience and knowledge of this complex area of law, our specialist solicitors are here to help you if you have received negligent surgical treatment or suffered due to a surgical error, and will assist you at every stage of the process to make the experience as stress-free and straightforward as possible for you – and to secure the compensation you deserve.

To discuss making a surgical error claim with one of our solicitors, call Freephone 0800 988 3674  or via a Mobile 0333 200 4465 or complete a Free Online Enquiry and we will soon be in touch.

The recent celebrity-inspired trend for thicker eyebrows and eyebrow shaping has seen High Definition (HD) Brows become one of the most popular treatments at beauty salons in the UK. Eyebrows are threaded, waxed and tinted during an HD Brows treatment leaving them looking fuller and sculpted, with results lasting for up to six weeks.

One of the main risks is the variety of HD Brows products available. Salons sometimes use products that they are not affiliated with, meaning that staff may not be trained in how to use them safely. As with all waxing treatments, burns from overheated or spilled wax can cause pain, blistering and scarring, while a person’s skin may be torn if the waxing strips are pulled off too forcefully or against the grain. Tinting solutions contain chemicals which can damage the skin and the eyes, while errors during threading may cause skin damage around the eyebrows.

HD Brows clients also risk experiencing an allergic reaction to ingredients contained in threading, waxing and tinting products, with potentially serious consequences. In 2015, it was reported that a teenager had been hospitalised and potentially left scarred for life following an HD Brows treatment. She was hospitalised three days after the procedure having experienced a severe allergic reaction that left her eyes swollen shut, her eyebrow area infected, and caused her eyebrow hairs to fall out.

The standard skin patch test had been carried out two days before the treatment and no possibility of an adverse reaction was detected. The teenager’s case emphasises the fact that people should approach HD Brows treatments with caution, as both the beauty salon and product supplier could not explain why the treatment had caused such disastrous results.

If you have been injured by an HD Brows waxing treatment at a beauty salon, our female lawyers offer free and confidential advice. Our considerable experience in this area of law means that you are guaranteed the highest quality service standards and the best possible legal representation:

https://www.bartletts.co.uk/our-services/personal-injury/eyebrow-wax-gone-wrong/

Waxing treatments at beauty salons are in high demand at this time of year, with appointments booked in advance of holidays abroad and staycations in the UK. While most waxing procedures are carried out safely and successfully, a small minority of women continue to be injured every year by poorly performed waxes at salons which, apart from the physical pain and emotional distress, can completely ruin a long-awaited holiday.

Most waxing injuries are caused by therapist errors during treatments. Excessive use of force when removing the waxing strips, removing them too early or leaving them too long, applying them in the wrong place or failing to remove hair in the natural direction of growth may tear the skin, causing bleeding and potential scarring. Spilled or overheated wax may cause burn injuries with symptoms including skin rashes, blistering, scarring, ingrown hairs and infections like staphylococcus, cellulitis and folliculitis.

There is also the possibility that a client will experience an allergic reaction to ingredients contained in the wax used during a treatment. This can require emergency hospital treatment with potentially very serious consequences. For this reason, beauty salons must conduct skin patch tests on new clients 24-48 hours before a waxing procedure to identify any potential sensitivities and the possibility of an allergic reaction to the wax.

Disfiguring skin damage and scarring will require costly surgery to correct with uncertain results. In these circumstances, an injured person is likely to suffer profound emotional distress, as well as physical pain and suffering. Relationships may be damaged by this type of injury, with common side effects including loss of sexual desire, while a perception of deformity may cause extreme stress and depression.

Beauty salons are expected to perform waxing treatments in a reasonably competent manner, and if a client is injured due to an error, there will be strong grounds for claiming compensation. Find out more:

https://www.bartletts.co.uk/our-services/personal-injury/waxing-treatment-gone-wrong/

Scarring to exposed areas of the body can cause extreme self-consciousness and a perception of deformity. Laser scar removal treatments provide a fast and effective solution; the procedure is often chosen to eliminate acne scars which patients may have suffered with for many years, and to treat scars from surgery, viruses, accidents and fights. Professionals claim that laser surgery can reduce the visibility of scars by up to 80%.

The undeniable benefits of laser scar removal often obscures the fact that laser procedures are highly technical in nature, particularly the matching of laser type and beam intensity to individual scar characteristics. The skill and experience of dermatologists and laser technicians are essential to the success of the procedure, and the choice of clinic is therefore of paramount importance to the prospective patient.

Scarring is caused by an excess or lack of the supply of collagen to a wound during the healing process. Keloid scars are raised scars, resulting from concentrations of collagen, and may develop in size and surface area over time. Hypertrophic scars are similar, but will not expand beyond the site of the initial wound and will fade over time, while acne and skin disease scars are defined as atrophic scars, characterised by small, regular depressions in the skin.

While laser scar removal procedures have a high success rate, inevitably there are certain risks involved. The laser itself may cause burns and additional scarring if directed at the wound site or areas of healthy skin for fractionally too long. There are a number of contraindications that make laser scar removal unsuitable, including skin diseases such as dermatitis and psoriasis. There is also a moderate risk of either hyperpigmentation (darkening of skin) or hypopigmentation (lightening of skin) resulting from laser scar removal.

We have recently dealt with cases where laser treatments, including laser car removal, have gone disastrously wrong for clients. In the resulting compensation claims we have recovered damages for pain and suffering, as well as medical and travel expenses and loss of earnings for time off work. Contact us today for free expert legal advice:

https://www.bartletts.co.uk/laser-treatment-gone-wrong/

All laser treatments, including tattoo removal, that involve a beam being directed at and penetrating the skin have clear risks attached, and much depends on the training, skill and experience of the practitioner carrying out the procedure. With laser tattoo removal, multiple sessions are usually necessary to achieve the desired results, and this increases the possibility of something going wrong. Following deregulation of cosmetic laser treatments in 2010, procedures are now offered by a variety of providers, which has raised concerns not only about the qualifications of laser treatment practitioners, but also about the quality of the laser equipment used at clinics and salons.

Establishments offering laser tattoo removal treatments need to accurately assess a client’s skin type and sensitivity before their first procedure, most importantly to work out the intensity of the laser beam and the duration that it will be directed at the target area. Burns, associated skin damage like blistering, infections, keloid scarring and discolouration are all possibilities if the laser is set to too high a frequency or if the beam is directed at the skin for even fractionally too long. Prospective laser tattoo removal clients need to make sure that their chosen clinic or salon has an established record of carrying out laser treatments successfully, and that the pre-treatment care they receive is thorough and professional.

As with all the treatments offered at laser clinics and beauty salons, clients have the legal right to expect that their procedure will be carried out in a reasonably competent manner. Currently, no formal qualifications are required for practitioners to offer laser treatments like tattoo removal to the general public, meaning that there are inevitably some establishments that should not be offering such procedures due to their lack of training and inexperience.

We have recently dealt with cases where laser tattoo removal treatments have gone wrong, leaving clients injured and partially disfigured. In the resulting compensation claims we have recovered damages for pain and suffering, medical expenses (including the cost of corrective treatments) and loss of earnings due to time off work. Find out more:

https://www.bartletts.co.uk/our-services/personal-injury/laser-tattoo-removal-compensation/

Another relatively new beauty procedure is fat freezing (CoolSculpting), has become one of the most popular treatments at salons and clinics, mainly because it can achieve the same results as liposuction but does not involve surgery or time off to recover. Fat freezing (cryolipolysis) uses extremely low temperatures to freeze and destroy fat cells, which are then absorbed into the body, resulting in reduced fat deposits over time.

Although generally considered a safe procedure, certain side effects are still not properly understood. One rare complication is called Paradoxical Adipose Hyperplasia, with fat cells becoming enlarged rather than destroyed over time. The treatment can therefore achieve the opposite effect to that intended and result in disfigurement; in 2002, the supermodel Linda Evangelista claimed that a CoolSculpting procedure had left her ‘permanently deformed’ and ‘brutally disfigured’.

Temporary side effects of fat freezing include aching, stinging, numbness, loss of sensation, itching and bruising to the treated area of the body, CoolSculpting can also cause freezing burns, blistering and scarring if the procedure is not carried out in a competently. The CoolSculpting device needs to be used correctly, while proper pre-treatment advice and aftercare are important in reducing the risk of complications.

Ultimately, the success of a fat freezing procedure depends on the skill and experience of the professional carrying it out, as well as the quality of the equipment used. As the procedure is non-surgical, no training or qualifications are necessary to offer CoolSculpting at beauty salons and clinics, and this is the greatest risk for prospective patients.

Our solicitors (Nicola Perry and Sian Taylor) are real specialists in beauty and cosmetic injuries, each with years of experience. Call now for your free consultation. We guarantee you a warm welcome and a lawyer with the expertise that you would expect from a leading personal injury firm:

https://www.bartletts.co.uk/our-services/hair-beauty-laser-injury/hy-bartletts-how-we-can-help.html

Fibroblast is a skin-tightening beauty treatment that uses plasma to burn off the top layers of skin and improve facial appearance. The discharge of electrostatic energy onto the skin on the face and neck causes it to tighten and lift, shrinking wrinkles, skin bags and other imperfections. Plasma fibroblast procedures (also known as plasma pen treatments) have rapidly gained popularity as an inexpensive and non-surgical alternative to a facelift, with a far quicker recovery time and results that can last for up to three years.

Plasma fibroblast devices release an electrical charge just above the skin’s surface which burns tiny holes in the skin’s outer layer and stimulates collagen development. Discharging this electrical current onto areas of the face is a delicate operation, and there are a number of possible fibroblast side effects of varying severity. The skin may temporarily appear red and swollen, while pigmentation may also be altered. These side effects are normal, and as the skin heals, the results will improve over the next 6-8 weeks.

When a plasma fibroblast device is not used in the correct manner there are more serious risks involved, including penetrating burns to sensitive areas of skin on the face, infections and scarring. These injuries are normally caused by therapists using fibroblast devices on the skin for too long and/or penetrating too deeply, an error that can also cause nerve damage. Other fibroblast risks include skin punctures for plasma needle tips, allergic reactions and changes in skin pigmentation.

Most injuries caused by fibroblast are the result of errors by therapists due to lack of training, experience or simple incompetence. If you have been injured by a fibroblast procedure, contact our female lawyers today for free and confidential advice:

https://www.bartletts.co.uk/our-services/personal-injury/injured-in-a-beauty-salon/

Microblading uses a sharp tool and micropigmentation uses tiny needles to implant ink (pigment) under the skin on the eyebrows or scalp, creating the appearance of fuller hair and added shape. The most frequent complaint following these procedures is when they fail to achieve the desired results and a person is left feeling partially deformed and unnatural. In the most serious cases, a botched treatment may cause disfigurement which may persist for an extended period of time. This is usually the result of inexperienced and poorly trained practitioners failing to take the proper precautions or making errors during treatments.

Good hygiene standards at beauty salons are essential in preventing the risk of infection from unsterilized needles, contaminated ink or generally unsanitary conditions. Allergic reactions to the pigments used in the treatment are also possible, and this is why skin patch tests are routinely carried out to prevent adverse reactions. The human body may also react negatively to the ink as a foreign body, and this can result in unsightly nodules (granulomas) or keloids (raised) scars forming on the skin.

Apart from patch testing, a detailed pre-treatment consultation to identify contraindications which make microblading or micropigmentation unsuitable for an individual (e.g. pregnancy, recent Botox use and various inflammatory skin conditions) is another critical factor in making sure some customers are not exposed to an unacceptable risk of injury. At Bartletts, we have an all-female team of solicitors specialising in claims for beauty treatments gone wrong, including microblading and micropigmentation:

https://www.bartletts.co.uk/our-services/personal-injury/microblading-gone-wrong/

Lash lifts are a relatively new beauty treatment that have become a popular alternative to eyelash extensions and fake lashes due to the procedure being quicker and cheaper, with fewer potentially damaging side effects and longer-lasting results. A lash lift is often combined with a lash tint resulting in darker and thicker permed eyelashes lasting for up to three months. While the procedure is easier and less risky than eyelash extensions, much depends on the skill and experience of the beauty therapist in terms of minimising the possibility of an adverse outcome.

The keratin glue used during lash lifting poses the biggest risk, as the chemicals it contains can trigger an allergic reaction if it comes into contact with the skin with potentially very serious consequences. The pads used to protect the lash line may not serve their purpose, or else a therapist may spill the keratin glue onto exposed skin. Skin irritation including rashes, redness, blistering and inflammation are common side effects of botched lash lifts, while the lash hair can become dry and brittle with the possibility of temporary hair loss.

A further possibility is the keratin glue solution entering the eye itself, resulting in irritation and the possibility of a burn or corneal abrasion. The use of chemical formulations on the eyelashes and in the eye area has inherent dangers, and much depends on an individual’s skin sensitivity, which is why skin patch tests are essential to check for pre-existing allergies and other contraindications. When a lash lift is combined with a lash tint, the exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals increases, as does the chances of an adverse reaction, emphasising the need for thorough and efficient pre-treatment care.

Our firm offers an experienced all-female team of lawyers specialising in eyelash perming, eyelash tinting and eyelash extension injuries. Every year we help hundreds of injured women make claims for compensation against beauty salons on a no win no fee basis for botched treatments. Find out more on our dedicated eyelash injury pages:

https://www.bartletts.co.uk/our-services/personal-injury/eyelash-perm-gone-wrong/

https://www.bartletts.co.uk/our-services/personal-injury/eyelash-tinting-gone-wrong/

https://www.bartletts.co.uk/our-services/personal-injury/eyelash-extensions-gone-wrong/