Recently the General Medical Council (GMC) listed what we consider to be sensible and long awaited changes to the cosmetic surgery industry which has been badly regulated for many years now. We have advised and acted for thousands of women in the PIP breast implant scandal and we know all too well just how badly protected patients and victims are.
We welcome the changes suggested by the GMC – but where do you turn to for help now if you are having, or have had, problems?
What are the problems?
Some practitioners don’t even need to be qualified or properly checked to practice high street procedures that can be invasive and can go terribly wrong. Products being used are not always properly tested (which was a huge issue in the PIP scandal) and some clinics are using aggressive marketing techniques and hounding people with offers to drive up business.
Insurance is one of the huge problems. Did you know that the vast majority of the PIP victims will not receive a single penny for what they have had to go through? The reason is that clinics didn’t have insurance which was good enough to protect them, yet the insurance they did have was acceptable to hold. They weren’t in essence breaking the law with such poor insurance, but it has turned out to cover very few people.
The clinics themselves have been able to liquidate and set up new companies under different names meaning the liabilities rest with the former company which is closed with no money or assets. Whilst we can hold them liable in law, there is no money for people to actually receive, and no insurance to pay people out.
It’s a real problem and the PIP victims are a testament to how bad the current system is. You may have heard that the big legal action in France against TÜV Rheinland has also now been jeopardised which can also be put down to poor regulation as well.
Big changes need to be made to protect people!
So how do I get help?
You may be best simply seeking legal advice from cosmetic surgery negligence experts like The Injury Lawyers. With millions of pounds recovered for our clients over decades of fighting for their rights to claim, we can try our best to assist you.
The major issues above may of course affect your claim so it is best to seek advice and initiate a claim as soon as possible so we can investigate what ways there are of properly and fairly compensating you.
You can call our helpline for confidential advice on an entirely no obligation basis – 0800 634 7575.
