Minor surgery injury
compensation claims

If a surgical injury has set you back, we'll help you move forward

If your life, or the life of a loved one, has been affected by a negligent surgical procedure, we can help. If your injuries were caused by the negligence of a doctor, nurse, midwife or other medical professional, you may be entitled to claim compensation.

You can make a No Win, No Fee compensation claim with the help and support of a specialist clinical negligence solicitor.

You are not alone

Every patient is entitled to expect a reasonable standard of care in the treatment provided to them by healthcare staff, including minimising risk and rectifying errors when they occur.

If a mistake was made, such as an organ being cut or damaged during surgery, and this was not an inherent risk, it may be said that the standard of care has fallen below what was reasonably expected and is therefore negligent.

A 2022/23 report from NHS England noted over 13,000 clinical negligence claims, although this figure encompasses a range of medical negligence issues, not exclusively surgical negligence.

If you are looking for information about having an operation, visit: surgery (nhs.uk).

Do I have a minor surgery injury claim?

If you received treatment from a medical professional that fell below the accepted standard of care, and you were harmed as a result, you can claim compensation for medical negligence.

Use our injury claim calculator to find out if you can claim. Alternatively, you can speak to a claims advisor on 0800 376 1001 and find out if you have a claim in minutes.

How long after a minor surgery injury do I have to claim compensation?

For a minor surgery injury claim, you usually have 3 years to make a claim from the date you became aware of the negligent treatment (date of knowledge).

If you are under 18, a parent, guardian or adult 'litigation friend' can make a claim on your behalf. Once you turn 18, you have until your 21st birthday to start a clinical negligence claim.

How much compensation can I claim for a minor surgery injury?

The amount of money you could claim for your injury will depend on:

• the seriousness of your injury, and
• any financial losses or costs you have incurred.

At the start of your claim, your solicitor will consider the many ways your injuries have affected your life. Your solicitor will take these considerations into account to calculate the correct compensation award.

General damages

General damages are awarded for pain, suffering and loss of amenity (PSLA).

Awards for general damages are set by the Judicial College (judiciary.uk) and published in their guidelines for personal injury awards.

How is compensation calculated if I have multiple injuries?

Special damages

Special damages are awarded to compensate you for any costs or losses you've incurred or might incur as a result of your accident. These costs might include loss of wages, commission and any other income, damage to your car, or any other out of pocket expenses.

Special damages may also be awarded for medical treatments or procedures that you might need to treat your surgical injury, including corrective surgery, pain medication and psychological support.

Read more:

A complete list of recoverable losses in a personal injury claim

Informed consent

Informed consent can only exist when the patient has been fully informed about the details of the procedure, including its risks, benefits, and alternatives, and the patient has explicitly agreed to proceed.

Surgical procedures may carry certain "inherent risks" and these should always be fully explained to the patient before being performed. For instance where there is a risk that certain organs may be cut or damaged during major internal surgery, then the consequences of this happening should be explained to the patient beforehand.

A patient can only give consent to a surgical procedure one they have a proper understanding of the potential risks. If you believe that the risks were not fully explained to you before the procedure, see:

Lack of consent negligence compensation claims

When may claims be brought for medical negligence?

All surgical procedures come with some risk. Wound infections and scarring can occur without any medical negligence having taken place. Similarly, dissatisfaction with the results may be no-one's fault.

If it can be demonstrated that the medical professional was negligent in his care of the claimant and that suffering was caused as a result, then the claimant may be able to pursue a claim for medical negligence.

In the case of a patient receiving minor cuts and injuries during a surgical procedure a claim may be brought where one of the following has occurred:

• He was not informed of the risk of such an incident occurring
• He was not informed of the extent of the damage that such a risk could cause
• Inherent risks were not spotted where they should have been done
• Inherent risks were not rectified at the earliest opportunity

Any medical negligence can have a detrimental effect on a person. A procedure that was expected to improve health and well-being may instead have become a source of pain or poor health or psychological trauma.

Clinical negligence claims

Minor surgery injuries are usually categorised as clinical negligence. Click on the icon below for more information.

Medical negligence Other accidents

Author:
Gaynor Haliday, Legal researcher

About the author

Gaynor Haliday is an experienced legal researcher and published author. She has had numerous articles published in the press and is a legal industry commentator.