Surgical errors can have life-changing consequences, especially in cases where it can result in severe harm. Many surgeries in the UK occur without problems, but if you have suffered substandard care that has resulted in a surgical error and subsequent harm, we may be able to help you.
Continue reading to learn more about how our surgical error compensation calculator can give you a rough estimate of the amount awarded in successful claims.
What You Need To Know
- You could make a No Win No Fee compensation claim if you suffered avoidable harm.
- Generally, medical negligence claims must be made within 3 years.
- Medical negligence occurs if a medical professional causes you to suffer avoidable harm.
- You will need evidence to strengthen your claim.
- Compensation in successful cases can consider the pain and suffering caused, as well as the psychological and financial impact of the harm you suffered.
Contact Us
To discuss how our surgical error compensation calculator works, or to learn more about how to claim, you can contact our advisors by:
- Calling us on 0800 408 7826
- Filling out our online contact form
- Using our live chat
Jump To A Section
- Surgical Error Compensation Calculator
- What Else Can Surgical Error Compensation Cover?
- What Surgical Errors Can Compensation Be Claimed For?
- What Should Be Done To Minimise The Risk Of An Error In Surgery?
- Is There A Time Limit For Claiming Surgery Error Compensation?
- What Evidence Will Support My Surgery Error Claim?
- Get Help From Compensation Calculator UK
- More Information
Surgical Error Compensation Calculator
A surgical error compensation calculator is a tool that could assist in providing you with a rough estimate of your potential compensation figure in successful medical negligence claims. Some online calculators may consider the type of harm you suffered, whereas others will look at the type of harm in addition to any out of pocket expenses this harm caused.
Successful settlements can include two types of compensation: general and special damages. Your general damages consider the intangible impact of the harm you have experienced, taking into account the pain, suffering, and loss of amenity felt as a result of your harm. If you’ve been left unable to contribute to hobbies that you could before the surgical error, this will be considered in your general damages.
Your special damages, however, are a head of loss concerned with the financial implications caused by experiencing harm. They can consider the economic impact, including factors such as loss of earnings or childcare costs.
When your general damages are being valued, the professionals responsible may make reference to frameworks such as the Judicial College Guidelines. This is a document that contains categories of harm and brackets of compensation.
Our table below provides some indicative figures for what you could be awarded. Our medical negligence compensation calculator uses the same document to estimate claim values. Please note that the top entry has not been sourced from the JCG, and these figures do not guarantee compensation.
| Harm | Notes | Compensation Guideline |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple forms of severe harm and special damages | A number of forms of harm as well as special damages such as home adaptation costs or lost earnings | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Very Severe Brain Damage | Although there's some ability to follow basic command's, the patient has little to no environmental responses and needs full-time care. | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Total Blindness | Complete loss of sight | In the region of £327,940 |
| Kidney Injuries a) | Serious and permanent damage to or loss of one or both kidneys | £206,730 to £256,780 |
| Bowels a) | Double incontinence namely total loss of natural bowel function and complete loss of urinary function | Up to £224,790 |
| Established Grand Mal Epilepsy | The following will impact the amount awarded: whether attacks are successfully controlled by medication and the extent to which the need for medication is likely to persist as well as he extent to which the appreciation of life is blunted by such medication | £124,470 to £183,190 |
| Loss of One Arm (i) | Arm amputated at the shoulder joint. | Not Less Than £167,380 |
| Below-Knee Amputation of One Leg | Factors such as phantom pains; pain or other problems with a stump; age; the success of any prosthetics; associated psychological problems; and the increased chance of developing osteoarthritis in the remaining joints of both limbs will also be important in determining the appropriate award | £119,570 to £162,290 |
What Else Can Surgical Error Compensation Cover?
As we briefly discussed above, your compensation could include special damages, which act as financial compensation for the economic effects of suffering harm. Special damages can cover a range of different costs, as it is unfair for you to now face financial consequences due to someone else’s negligent actions.
When your special damages are being calculated, they could consider:
- Loss of earnings: this could be current and future earnings
- Travel expenses: you might’ve had out of pocket expenses, including travel costs, if you’ve had to pay to attend medical appointments or therapy sessions
- Care costs: suffering harm might’ve now meant you require round-the-clock care, which can be costly
- Home or vehicle adaptations: depending on the harm suffered, you might now need vehicular or home adaptations to accommodate your accessibility needs
- Rehabilitation costs: this could include expenses for physiotherapy, physical therapy, or occupational therapy.
However, in order to claim special damages, you must hold evidence which demonstrates these financial losses. This could include:
- Payslips to show lost earnings
- Bank statements to show medical costs
- Invoices or receipts from travel costs
Our panel of solicitors are committed to advocating for you to achieve a settlement that accurately reflects the physical and psychological impacts of your harm. Contact an advisor today to learn what else your compensation could cover and how our panel can help you make a No Win No Fee claim.
What Surgical Errors Can Compensation Be Claimed For?
There are a lot of surgical errors that can be claimed for. However, in order for you to be eligible to make a surgical error claim, you must satisfy the following requirements:
- A medical professional owed you a duty of care.
- They breached this duty.
- The breach led to you experiencing avoidable and unnecessary harm.
The duty of care owed to you as a patient is that any healthcare professional who treats you shall do so by reaching the minimum expected standard of them in their role.
For surgeons specifically, the Royal College of Surgeons outlines a professional code of conduct that guides surgical healthcare professionals. As per this guidance, they should:
- Ensure they are up to date and comply with all relevant clinical advice
- Make informed decisions
- Put the needs of their patients at the forefront of their practice and decision-making.
- Communicate openly, clearly and compassionately with patients.
Despite this guidance, medical negligence claims for surgical errors can arise in various ways. Below, we discuss a few examples of how negligence might lead to a surgical error:
Wrong Site Surgery
A surgeon might perform surgery on the wrong site, for example, if you were scheduled to have a procedure on your left arm and they fail to review their pre-operative notes, thus leading to a wrong site surgery on your right arm.
Here, it could be argued that the medical professional breached their duty by failing to properly assess the pre-operative notes, which then led to the surgical error.
These types of surgical errors are considered ‘Never events’, as they are largely preventable in most situations.
Anaesthesia Issues
During surgery, it is common for patients to be administered anaesthetics. Usually, this will not pose issues, but if there are any dosage-related issues, it can cause detrimental harm. If your surgeons administer too much anaesthetic, patients could suffer respiratory failure or even severe brain damage. If too little anaesthetic is administered, patients could be awake or aware of the surgery, potentially leading to psychological harm or trauma.
Foreign Objects Left In Surgical Site
In some situations, medical instruments such as swabs, tissues, or maybe even bits of gloves could be left inside the operating site if proper checks aren’t carried out. This could ultimately lead to internal bleeding, damage or serious life-threatening conditions. These surgical errors are largely preventable in most cases as well and fall into the same category as wrong site surgery.
Unsterile Conditions Or Poor Hygiene
All operating theatres should be sterilised frequently to prevent the occurrence of hospital acquired infections, such as MRSA or sepsis. If you receive substandard post-operative care or the surgeons responsible for performing your surgery fail to sterilise their equipment, this could lead to harm from infections. These hospital acquired infections can have life-changing health implications.
Incorrect Surgery
An incorrect surgery could occur if you are scheduled to get a stomach surgery on your small intestine, and your surgeons fail to properly check the pre-operative instructions and operate on your appendix instead. This could ultimately lead to health deterioration and the need for further surgeries, potentially even reconstructive surgery.
These are not the only ways in which surgical errors can occur, so if you believe you experienced substandard care, which led to you experiencing harm as a result, contact an advisor today. Our advisors can assess the validity of your claim free of charge as well as provide advice for using our surgical error compensation calculator.
What Should Be Done To Minimise The Risk Of An Error In Surgery?
The Royal College of Surgeons produced a document examining how preventive measures could be implemented to minimise the risk of surgical errors. They found that poor communication is a significant contributing factor to NHS never events, including wrong-site surgery or retained swabs.
There is a range of preventive measures that surgeons can implement to minimise the risk of surgical errors. A few of these can include:
- Clear concise communication
- Encouraging surgeons to take more frequent breaks to ensure performance
- Minimised distraction
- Utilising tools such as a safety checklist or swab counters
- Clearly marking the surgical site
- Ensuring the theatre or the operation site is sterile, and following all appropriate hygiene procedures
If you’ve suffered surgery negligence and wish to discuss whether you have good grounds to claim, speak to an advisor today.
Is There A Time Limit For Claiming Surgery Error Compensation?
Yes, there is a time limit imposed on surgical error medical negligence claims. Under the Limitation Act 1980, claimants have 3 years from either:
- The date of the negligent treatment
- The date of knowledge, otherwise known as the date you realised substandard treatment was the cause of your harm.
There are, however, 2 exceptions to these time limits for specific claimants:
- Claimants who are under 18 will have 3 years from the date of their 18th birthday, as a minor can’t legally bring a claim.
- Claimants who lack the mental capacity to make a claim. Their time limit will resume if a full recovery is made, and will run from 3 years following the date of recovery.
In both of the circumstances above, a litigation friend could also be used. This is a role where you are able to claim on behalf of either claimants who are under 18, or mentally incapacitated claimants.
If you’re unsure whether your claim would still fall within the limitation period, or if you’d like to learn more about claiming on behalf of someone else, contact our advisors today, who will be happy to discuss any questions you may have. An advisor can also advise you on using our surgical error compensation calculator for a child or patient without the mental capacity to claim.
What Evidence Will Support My Surgery Error Claim?
Evidence in surgical error compensation claims can be used to help demonstrate how the harm you have suffered is a result of a medical professional’s negligent actions. It could be documentation such as:
- Medical records or GP records to show any treatments, allergies or diagnoses
- Contact information of anyone who might’ve witnessed your treatment, so a witness statement could be obtained at a later stage. For example, a friend who visited post-surgery.
- Copies of your prescription forms or any packaging
- Any correspondence with the medical institute where you received treatment, such as letters detailing your surgery date
- Results of scans, x-rays or tests
Please don’t worry if you haven’t gathered this information, as a solicitor from our panel could assist you in compiling your evidence.
If you have any questions about how evidence can strengthen the basis of your claim, call or message today, and our advisors will be happy to explore this with you. They can also talk you through the surgical error compensation calculator and explain what evidence you need to recover your out of pocket expenses.
Get Help From Compensation Calculator UK
Here at Compensation Calculator UK, our panel of solicitors work on a No Win No Fee basis, through the use of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
This can be a beneficial way of starting a claim because it means that there are no upfront fees for your solicitor’s services, as the claim is ongoing or if the claim is unsuccessful. Meaning the financial risk is minimised when claiming this way.
Instead, a small fee would be taken from your compensation following a successful claim. This percentage is limited under the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 to ensure that you receive the majority of your compensation.
If you decide to work with a solicitor from our panel, you could expect:
- Support and guidance throughout every step of the claims process
- Personalised, clear and concise advice about your case
- Working alongside you to develop a recovery plan that suits your personal needs
- Assistance in gathering evidence which supports your claim
- Arranging an independent medical assessment if required
- A solicitor from our panel to advocate for you with the hopes of achieving a suitable settlement amount
We understand that after suffering harm, it can seem stressful or daunting to make a claim. That’s why both our advisors and our panel of expert personal injury lawyers are here to help you with anything you might be facing.
Contact Us
To learn more about our surgical error compensation calculator, you can contact our advisors by:
- Calling us on 0800 408 7826
- Filling out our online contact form
- Using our live chat
More Information
Why not read our other guides on:
- Pancreatic cancer misdiagnosis claims
- Endometriosis medical negligence claims
- Cosmetic surgery claims
Helpful External Resources
- How to claim Statutory Sick Pay from GOV.UK
- Advice for claimants from NHS Resolution
- The General Medical Council’s advice around decision making and consent
Thank you for reading our surgical error compensation calculator guide. Please get in touch if you have any questions or if you would like to discuss the estimate it gave you.
