What is my surgeon’s duty of care?

Throughout all stages of a surgery, medical practitioners are bound by a legal duty of care to all their patients. These implications are to minimise the risk of surgery and avoid preventable complications. These duties include:

• Before eyelid surgery, your surgeon must give you clear, accurate information so you can make an informed decision. This includes assessing your suitability for the procedure, explaining the realistic outcomes, setting expectations about scarring, outlining all potential risks, and discussing alternatives that may be safer or more appropriate for your needs. You should be given enough detail to understand every stage of the process before giving consent.
• During surgery, the surgeon must use appropriate techniques, maintain strict hygiene and carry out the procedure to the standard expected of a competent professional. This involves careful planning, precise incision placement and correct tissue handling to reduce the chance of avoidable complications.
• After the procedure, their duty of care continues. They should give clear aftercare guidance, arrange follow-up appointments and monitor your healing. This includes checking for signs of infection, poor healing or complications such as implant movement or tissue problems, and taking prompt action when needed.

Should you experience complications because your surgeon failed to undertake any of these measures, you may be entitled to seek compensation.

What are the signs my eyelid surgery has gone wrong?

Following a procedure to remove excess skin from your eyelids, you can expect a certain amount of pain and discomfort in the affected area for several weeks, including swelling or itchy and watery eyes.

As with all surgeries, there is always the risk of surgical complications, which may include:

• Removal of too much skin, leaving eyelids unable to close.
• Lopsided appearance, or noticeable differences in the appearance of both eyes.
• Removal of too little skin or tissue.
• Inappropriate scarring.
• Droopiness of the lower lid - known as ectropion.
• Tired appearance even after refreshing sleep.
• Bruising around the eyes.
• Over-correction of a drooping upper lid, resulting in damage to the cornea.
• Blurred or impaired vision, in extreme cases leading to acute glaucoma.
• In very rare cases, partial or complete blindness.

While some of these complications can happen despite a surgeon’s appropriate due diligence, inexperienced surgeons can cause these issues by removing too much fat, not paying attention to facial symmetry and leaving the essential parts of your eyelids in the wrong place.

Corrective surgery is often required after negligent blepharoplasty and can be costly, particularly if multiple procedures are needed. Bringing a claim can help recover these expenses, and patients affected by double blepharoplasty gone wrong may be able to seek additional compensation. Cosmetic Surgery Solicitors supports clients pursuing claims for negligent eyelid surgery, get in touch today on a no-win, no fee basis.

How do I know if I can make an eyelid surgery claim?

The surgeons and clinics responsible for carrying out blepharoplasty procedures have a duty of care to ensure patients’ safety and wellbeing. This means they operate with a high degree of accountability, as botched eyelid surgeries can result in significant and long-lasting physical and psychological damage.

As such, clinics and surgeons are not only responsible for managing all of the potential risk factors that would be classed as reasonably preventable but also for giving their patients information about any potentially unpreventable complications, allowing the patient to give informed consent.

If you feel that your clinic or surgeon has not fulfilled this duty of care, you may be eligible to make a claim for blepharoplasty compensation.

What is the process of making eyelid surgery compensation claims?

If you have had eyelid surgery that has gone wrong due to medical negligence, the first step is to get in touch with our team. We will assess your case and let you know whether you are eligible to make an eyelid surgery claim.

If you are eligible and choose to pursue the claim then we will review the clinical records that detail your eyelid surgery. Following this, we will arrange for an independent, specialist surgeon to discuss the surgery with you and prepare a report on this. With the report, we will be able to determine the level of physical damage you have suffered as a direct result of negligence. The report will help us to determine how much compensation you could be awarded for your botched eyelid surgery.

The next step following this will be to get in touch with the surgeon responsible for the procedure. This is an opportunity for the negligent professional to accept responsibility for the botched blepharoplasty, and they have up to four months to respond to this.

If they do not respond or accept responsibility, the next stage is normally to commence court proceedings. However, the vast majority of clinical negligence cases are resolved before this becomes necessary.

How much compensation could I claim for negligent eyelid surgery?

This depends upon the unique circumstances of your situation. Compensation is determined by examining the severity of the injury, the circumstances in which it occurred and any financial losses you have incurred as a result of the botched procedure.

As a rough guide, compensation for your physical and psychological injuries could amount to circa £50,000 or more. In addition, you could recover your financial losses, including the costs of any corrective surgical procedures, therapy and loss of earnings.

How much does it cost to make an eyelid surgery claim?

The fee we charge you for making an eyelid surgery claim totals a maximum of 30% of the damages recovered, which includes a success fee and unrecovered costs. Because of our no win, no fee arrangement, you will not have to pay our fees if your case does not succeed.

How can making a claim help?

If you have suffered an impact on your quality of life as a result of blepharoplasty complications, then it may be worth pursuing a legal claim. In our experience, compensation can transform the lives of those who have been left with physical and psychological pain when eyelid surgery goes wrong.

Not only can financial recompense contribute to the cost of reconstructive surgery and further treatment, but it can also alleviate some of the financial burden resulting from being unable to work due to the botched eyelid surgery.

If you'd like to find out more about your legal rights, read our report: Cosmetic Surgery: Knowing Your Rights if Something Goes Wrong.

Additionally, if you have suffered further eye surgery negligence, visit our Eye Bag Surgery Claims page for more information about further compensation that you could be entitled to.

FAQs about botched eyelid surgery claims

How much compensation could I claim for negligent eyelid surgery?

This depends upon the unique circumstances of your situation. Compensation is determined by examining the severity of the injury, the circumstances in which it occurred and any financial losses you have incurred as a result of the botched procedure.

As a rough guide, compensation for your physical and psychological injuries could amount to circa £50,000 or more. In addition, you could recover your financial losses including the costs of any corrective surgery or therapy and loss of earnings.

Do I need to get revision eyelid surgery?

If you have suffered from a botched eyelid procedure, you may be considering revision surgery. In many cases, this can help to improve the function and look of your eyelid. However, it is important to note that revision surgery can be expensive and comes with risks, just like any other surgery. Before making your decision, make sure to consult a medical professional and find a surgeon who is trustworthy - avoid making the same mistake of working with a surgeon who has a chance of letting you down. If you are worried about the costs of your revision eyelid surgery, claiming compensation can help.

Is there a time limit on making a blepharoplasty compensation claim?

The law in England states that a person has up to three years to make a medical negligence claim, including eyelid surgery claims. This time period begins from when you underwent the surgery, or the date on which you realised (or should have realised) the eyelid surgery had gone wrong. There is a period of time following the surgery when you are healing, so it may not be immediately obvious whether the symptoms you are experiencing are a normal part of the healing process, or whether it is a sign that something has gone wrong.

If you have had eyelid surgery go wrong, we would urge you to get in touch with us promptly, so we can start the eyelid surgery claims process as soon as possible.