Can You Claim If You’ve Undergone Unnecessary Surgery?

You may be able to claim after unnecessary surgery if it occurred because a medical professional breached the duty of care they owed you. This guide will provide information you may want to know before beginning a claim for compensation. For instance, we’ll explain the time limits that may affect your eligibility to start a claim. We’ll also provide insight regarding the evidence that you could collect to strengthen your case.

unnecessary surgery

Unnecessary surgery medical negligence claims guide

Our guide will also discuss the benefits of working with a solicitor under the terms of a No Win No Fee agreement. This type of contract could allow you to benefit from a solicitor’s services without having to pay upfront fees.

To learn about claiming, read on. In addition, our advisors can provide you with free advice about your circumstances. Use the following details to get in touch:

Choose A Section or Browse Our Guide

  1. Can You Claim If You’ve Undergone Unnecessary Surgery?
  2. How Could Unnecessary Surgery Happen?
  3. What Compensation Could You Receive From Hospital Negligence Claims?
  4. Potential Evidence That Could Be Used In Medical Negligence Cases
  5. Claim For Unnecessary Surgery Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor From Our Panel
  6. Learn More About Claiming Compensation For Surgery Gone Wrong

Can You Claim If You’ve Undergone Unnecessary Surgery?

All healthcare professionals owe a duty of care to their patients. This includes nurses, doctors, pharmacists, surgeons, and others. In order to fulfil this duty, medical professionals must provide a minimum standard of care to those they treat. If they breach this duty of care, a patient could suffer harm that was unnecessary or would have been avoided if the correct level of care had been administered.

You may be eligible to seek compensation for harm caused by medical negligence. This can include surgery that isn’t needed. However, you must be able to show that the harm occurred because a medical professional breached their duty of care.

Call our advisors using the banner above for more information on starting the claims process for unnecessary surgery. They will be able to give you a free assessment of your case and may be able to connect you with a laywer if you have a valid claim. 

How Could Unnecessary Surgery Happen?

Below are some examples of unnecessary surgery:

  • A GP misdiagnosis means that you receive surgery for a condition you do not have.
  • An administrative error means that your test results are swapped with those of another patient. As a result, you receive a surgical procedure meant for the other patient.
  • A doctor sends you for an emergency appendectomy despite the fact that your symptoms don’t indicate that this is required. This medical misdiagnosis means you undergo surgery that you don’t need and there’s a delay in diagnosing your actual condition.

It should be noted that not every unneeded surgery will automatically entitle you to a claim. Unless the surgery occurred due to medical negligence, you would not be eligible to claim.

If you have further questions about the process of making medical negligence claims, call our advisors using the information in the banner at the top of the webpage.

Is There A Time Limit To Making Surgery Compensation Claims?

While we cannot give an idea of how long your claim will take to conclude, we can give information on time limits. When claiming for unnecessary medical treatment in a medical negligence claim, you have 3 years to begin a claim. This time limit could begin from the date medical negligence took place, or it may start from the date you realised that a breach of duty of care was the cause of the harm you experienced. This is called your date of knowledge.

This time limit is outlined in the Limitation Act 1980. Some exceptions may apply, depending on the circumstances of a particular claim.

For example, if the injured person is under 18, the time limit will remain suspended until they turn 18. It will resume when they come of age. Before this, a court may appoint a litigation friend to claim compensation on their behalf. 

Our advisors can help you understand the time limits in place, so call our helpline today to learn more about unnecessary surgery claims. They can also advise you on other exceptions that could apply to the time limit. 

What Compensation Could You Receive From Hospital Negligence Claims?

If you have experienced unnecessary surgery because a medical professional breached their duty of care, you may be wondering how much you could claim. For medical negligence claims, you may be awarded compensation that includes up to two heads of claim.

First, general damages aim to compensate you for the avoidable physical or emotional harm you suffered as a result of an unnecessary medical procedure. Solicitors use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) when valuing this aspect of a claim. This publication displays compensation brackets for different injuries, to be used as a guideline of what your claim could be worth. 

You can see examples from the JCG in the table below as an alternative to using a medical negligence calculator. You can also contact our advisors for a personalised valuation of your case.

Compensation Guidelines

Type of HarmCompensation BracketNotes
Reproductive (Male) In excess of £153,870
Complete loss of sexual organs.
Reproductive (Male)£20,070 to £22,580
Orchidectomy and psychological impact with no impact on sexual function.
Reproductive (Female) £43,010 to £102,100
Permanent sexual dysfunction in someone who has children or would not have had them in any event.
Reproductive (Female) £56,080 to £71,350
Infertility without aggravating features and no sexual dysfunction where the claimant is young and childless.
Facial disfigurement£29,780 to £97,330Very severe scarring in someone relatively young. The scarring causes a severe psychological reaction.
Facial disfigurement£17,960 to £48,420Substantial disfigurement with severe reaction.
Kidney £30,770 to £44,880
One kidney is lost and the other remains undamaged.
Spleen £20,800 to £26,290
Loss of spleen and an ongoing risk of internal infection.
ScarringIn the region of £8,640Where an exploratory laparotomy has been performed but there's no injury found.
Scarring £2,370 to £7,830One noticeable, or several superficial, scars on the legs, arms or hands. Some minor cosmetic impact.

Special Damages In Surgery Compensation Claims

You may also be eligible to seek a settlement for financial losses in the form of special damages. Examples of the losses that can be recouped through his head of claim include:

  • Loss of earnings and future loss of earnings
  • Care costs
  • Alterations to your home, such as widening doorways for wheelchair access and fitting a stairlift
  • Travel expenses, such as the cost of getting to and from hospital appointments

You must provide evidence in order to claim for the financial losses caused by unnecessary surgery. This could include receipts, bank statements, and payslips. You can also see further details about gathering evidence for your claim below.

Potential Evidence That Could Be Used In Medical Negligence Cases

Evidence is vital for medical negligence claims. You must be able to show how a healthcare provider breached the duty of care they owed you and how it caused you unnecessary suffering. For example, it may benefit your claim to provide:

  • A diary that outlines your physical and mental state throughout the process
  • Details of witness contact details
  • Copies of your medical records, such as scans, doctors’ notes and hospital admissions
  • Photographs of your injuries

You may also find it useful to take legal advice. Our advisors can answer the questions you may have about claiming for medical negligence. Call today for more information.

Claim For Unnecessary Surgery Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor From Our Panel

One of the No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitors on our panel could represent you with a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) in place. This is a form of No Win No Fee agreement, meaning you’re generally only required to pay your solicitor in the event of a successful claim; this is done through a success fee that is deducted from your settlement. A legal cap is in place for this success fee to ensure you aren’t overcharged.

If your claim fails, you typically don’t have to pay for the solicitor’s services. Also, you would not be required to pay any of their service charges while the claim is still ongoing.

One of our advisors can connect you with a solicitor on our panel if they feel your claim is valid and you wish to proceed with the claims process. To learn more about the terms of a CFA and to see if you could begin a claim for unnecessary surgery, reach out to our team today:

Learn More About Claiming Compensation For Surgery Gone Wrong

You can find more of our medical negligence guides below.

Use the following links for further research.

Thank you for reading our guide regarding making a medical negligence claim for unnecessary surgery. Call our advisors today to ask about the process.

Writer Morgan Filly

Publisher Fern Smith