Ten years ago, cosmetic surgery was an advanced treatment for the elite, but in our current celebrity-focused culture, aesthetic procedures have become far more common and have risen in popularity.

Going through with cosmetic surgery is a daunting prospect, you need to make sure you find a registered clinic with qualified and experienced surgeons to ensure good standards during and after your procedure. All cosmetic surgeries should be registered with General Medical Council (GMC), who ensure proper standards in the practise of medicine. Clinics should also be registered with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman who carry out annual health and safety inspections.

Unfortunately, prior to April 2002, cosmetic surgeries did not need to be registered, therefore doctors who are not qualified in plastic surgery are still able to operate on patients. This is why medical negligence claims for cosmetic surgery are still very common today. Some procedures such as laser surgery and botox injections are non-surgical and an unqualified person could perform these. The cosmetic surgery is under-regulated in this sense and stricter rules need to be actioned to ensure aesthetic treatments like collagen injections are administered by qualified and trained professionals.

If you are in the unfortunate position of being unhappy with your cosmetic surgery or you feel the treatment you were given was below the standard it should have been, you might in the position to make a medical negligence claim. The first step you should take is to contact your surgeon or surgery. In most cases surgeries have brilliant aftercare assistance where you can address any issues. If you don’t receive this service, your next step is to contact the Healthcare Commission in writing to move the issue forward. If your clinic isn’t registered with the Healthcare Commission you should contact a medical negligence solicitor who will have expertise in cosmetic negligence and will be able to guide in you the right direction regarding your claim.

The most common plastic surgery procedures are breast enhancements and tummy tucks – the most common claims tend to involve these procedures; lop-sided breast implants, too much excess fat after a tummy tuck causing the remaining skin to shrivel and dimple, and severe scarring caused from bad surgical procedure. Other negligence claims include bad eyesight after laser surgery, unsightly scarring after a facelift, unexpected reactions to general anesthetic and infection to open wounds because of inadequate aftercare.

All patients should be well-informed of the risks of surgery before hand, giving them enough time to weigh up the pros and cons of the procedure. There have been cases where patients were told about the risks on the day of their operation, leaving them no time to consider their options – this is bad surgery malpractice.

Clinical surgery claims rarely go to court and if your claim is successful, you will be entitled to two types of compensation. General damages (or loss of amenity) cover the suffering caused due to careless surgery and special damages cover you for your financial losses – time off work, petrol money used visiting solicitors and clinics, etc.

Due to the under-regulated nature of a lot of cosmetic surgery, claims in this industry tend to be common – be sure to ask for guidance from a medical lawyer and ask for a counselling service to be provided should you need it.

How To Make A Medical Negligence Claim For Cosmetic Surgery Malpractice is a post from: WiredWriter

Hundreds of thousands of peope are treated in hospitals by the NHS each year and in most cases the treatment they receive is perfectly acceptable. However, it can and does occur that some patients are poorly treated or mistreated by NHS doctors and nurses, whether that is through a lack of knowledge, time or attention to detail – or worse. Either way, it boils down to medical negligence on the part of the NHS and you ARE entitled to claim for compensation if you suffer it.

There are certain things that need to be determined before a medical negligence solicitors can act and progress a case against the NHS for compensation.

Firstly, it has to be established that the NHS had a duty of care towards you. In other words, that they were duty bound to look after you whilst you were in their care. This is the simplest thing to establish as, for example, if you were in hospital for an operation it is up to the hospital that you receive the right and proper treatment before, during and after the operation for a reasonable amount of time.

Secondly, it has to be established that the hospital breached that duty of care in some way. This is one of the most difficult part to prove as this is the basis of any medical negligence case. Did the care or treatment of you fall below acceptable standards, was there medical negligence involved? This could be either by an act – removing the wrong organ for example – or through lack of action, such as keeping the hospital free of superbugs. Once it has been detrmined that you were mistreated, misdiagnosed or otherwise neglected the solicitor can move on to the final requirement.

That is that the negligence led to some sort of injury or illness. This can be even harder to prove than the fact that there was some kind of medical negligence – how did that negligence directly lead to your injury or illness? In most cases this is the bit that will determine just how much compensation you get should your claim prove to be successful. Many judges will set levels of compensation based on the level of suffering of the patient, as well as the type of negligence that was proven.

If you and your solicitor are confident then you can proceed with suing the NHS.

However, you may be struggling with the moral dilemma of suing a hospital or doctor, asking yourself what will happen to them. You might be worried that the doctor in question could lose their job. In most cases this is unlikely. However, if the medical negligence was life threatening it is possible – but in continuing your claim you could be saving a life or preventing suffering for other patients by stopping that doctor from practising further.

If you are suing a hospital rather than an individual you might be concerned that you will be costing the NHS vital money and therefore putting other patients at risk. You should know that the NHS sets aside a certain amount of money each year for claims such as yours and the more genuine claims that are brought against them, the more likely they are to improve their services and practices, leading to better care for everyone.

It can be a difficult decision to take, but you ARE entitled to compensation for any suffering you have felt resulting from medical negligence and your actions COULD prevent others from suffering the same. Your chosen medical negligence solicitor will be able to help you decide if you have a claim to make and will advise you on the moral dilemma based your individual circumstances.

How To Sue The NHS is a post from: WiredWriter