Cosmetic surgery in general is a common thing for people to undertake. Breast implants in particular are very common nowadays, with prices in the region of £5,000 from the private sector. All invasive surgery carries with it potential risks, and breast implant claims come with the same risks most surgery comes with. But aside from the inherent risks, you are putting yourself in danger of suffering due to negligence.
With the PIP breast implant scandal still ongoing, we learned a great deal about just how unregulated the cosmetic surgery industry is here in the UK. A total of around 40,000 women in the UK alone are thought to have received the implants privately, which were filled with none medical grade standard silicon and are likely to rupture. Apparently, for almost a decade nobody knew that the PIP Company were putting people’s lives in danger.
So when you go for cosmetic surgery, there are serious risks and unknowns that you should always consider. How do you know that the implants you are being given are safe? How do you know that your surgeon is going to do a good job? Given the poor regulation in the industry, at present, you don’t. So what happens when things go wrong?
If it’s the implant itself that is defective, like the PIP ones, you may have a claim for compensation. Whilst quality regulation may not be in place, the ability to take legal action if something goes wrong is. The claim is normally pursued under the Clinical Negligence Protocol as a Supply of Goods and Services Act claim. This important piece of legislation states that the supplier of a product (i.e. the implant) has a duty to make sure that the implant is as expected and is fit for purpose. If it’s not, the supplier, i.e. the clinic or the surgeon, are in fact responsible by law. You may have a claim against the manufacturer in any event, but this could prove difficult if the manufacturer is foreign or no longer trading (again like the PIP Company).
So by law you are entitled to redress from the clinic or surgeon, depending on who the contract is with. They cannot just use the argument that they had no idea the implant was defective; the law is clear, and they are responsible.
If your claim arises from the poor work of the surgeon, say they made a mistake or you received a less than satisfactory outcome, your claim could be either against the surgeon directly or the clinic, which again can depend on contracts or insurance. Commonly the surgeon will have their own insurance in case anything goes wrong. The problem though is that you must prove that you have suffered as a result of negligence as oppose to an inherent risks. Your body may reject the implant, or you may suffer an infection; two things that are known to be common with any surgical procedure involving a foreign implantation.
If you have had breast implant surgery and it has gone wrong, get in touch with our Clinical Negligence Team for advice about making a claim for compensation on 0800 634 75 75.
It’s helpful if you have copies of your paperwork for the procedure as this can help us quickly identify the correct company or person to pursue.
