When cosmetic procedures go wrong – can you make a claim?

If you have undergone a cosmetic procedure that has not gone as planned, we understand the devastating impact this may have on your life. A cosmetic procedure gone wrong such as lip fillers, botox, liposuction, breast augmentation, or dental surgery, can cause significant damage to your health, your confidence, and your wellbeing. However, you may be able to make a claim for compensation. This article looks at how to make a claim if a cosmetic procedure has gone wrong.

Cosmetic procedures gone wrong: first steps

If you have instructed a professional to carry out a cosmetic procedure, you are entitled to a certain level of care. If you believe the professional has done something wrong or acted negligently, you may be able to bring a claim. In the first instance, we would recommend trying to resolve this with the organisation that carried out your procedure. The practitioner may recommend a further procedure to rectify what you are unhappy with, and they should have a formal complaints procedure. However, in some cases, patients are left with chronic pain or lifelong injuries, including scarring.

If you have suffered a significant injury due to a negligent cosmetic procedure, we would advise that you contact an experienced medical negligence or personal injury solicitor.

Informed consent

When you undergo any medical procedure, including rhinoplasty, breast augmentation, a gastric band operation or liposuction, the medical professional has a duty to obtain ‘informed consent’. Informed consent means that they made you aware of all of the risks of the procedure, before it was carried out. If you were not aware of what could go wrong and you then suffered such complications, you may be able to bring a claim for lack of informed consent.

Making a claim for a cosmetic procedure gone wrong

There are various elements to making a successful claim for a cosmetic procedure gone wrong which are set out below.

Time limit

There are strict time limits for bringing a claim. You must bring a claim within three years of the date of the procedure or within three years of realising that you had suffered an injury.

You must have suffered an injury

It is not enough that the practitioner acted negligently; you must have suffered an injury to claim compensation. An injury does include scarring, burns, or infection.

You must be able to prove the practitioner acted negligently

The professional must have exercised the standard of care that could be reasonably expected of a person in that role. Whether or not a mistake was ‘negligent’ is often the key factor in cosmetic injury cases.