Trauma to the eye can result in blurred vision, partial sightedness, headaches, bloodshot eyes, damage to the lens of the eye, and even blindness.  

 

Unsuccessful eye surgery may not always be negligent, and surgeons will often rely on a consent form, signed by yourself, prior to any operation or surgery, including laser eye surgery, detailng the risks that you have agreed to. Such consent forms often include headings such as ‘expected risks or complications of surgery’ and can include such side effects as infection, blurred vision, or even the surgery not working at all. However, despite the risk of complications often being consented to, injuries do happen during eye surgery and if it can be proven that any of the following apply, you may have a valid claim for eye injury compensation: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and failure to properly treat treatable cataracts; 

 

 

The likelihood for adverse outcomes is often higher in patients who have certain pre-existing risk factors, such as diabetes, and medical practitioners must, in order for any defence they may raise relating to issues of consent, have explained the increased risk to the patient, and have screened patients for these risk factors, before going ahead with the procedure. Should such informed consent not take be given, and the potential risk to the patient not have been explained, then any defence in relation to consent would be negated, and you may have a valid claim for medical negligence compensation arising out of your eye surgery procedure. 

The time limit to bring any personal injury claim is usually 3 years from the date of the incident or accident that caused you to suffer a personal injury. Subject to the Limitation Act 1980, if you have been injured as a result of eye surgery you have three years from the date of negligence, or the date you know about the negligence, to pursue a claim for personal injury. So, if your surgeon makes a clear error on the day, and you are made aware of this a the time of your operation, for example, of you went blind, or suffered loss of sight, your three years would start straight away. However, if everything appears ok to start with and then you later find out about an issue, for example a detached retina, delayed blurred vision, is later found to be damaged or the work is substandard and fails long before it is expected to, your three years starts from the day you find out this information. 

 

There are exceptions, for those under 18 years old at time of the injury, in that minors have three years from their 18th birthday within which to make a personal injury claim. So, if you are 17 at the time you are injured, then you have 4 years within which to make a claim for personal injury compensation- this being 3 years after you have reached the age of majority. Time limits may differ if you are acting on behalf of someone with limited mental capacity, if you are acting as guardian or subject a lasting power of attorney. If you have any questions or queries, then please do not hesitate to contact one of MG Legal’s personal injury experts, here. 

In a world full of personal injury lawyers, and accident management companies, as seen on TV, MG Legal only employ fully-qualified expert medical negligence solicitors to work on your case. Our office locations mean that our clients can easily access, and attend our offices from 8am to 6, or 7pm, most days, and all medical negligence personal injury claims that we accept, are handled on a no win no fee basis, with no financial risk to our injured clients. The service all of the personal injury team at MG Legal offer our clients is second to none. We are small enough to care about all of our clients, yet big enough to get the job done. Our personal injury experts handle all personal injury and medical negligence compensation claims, from minor injuries to catastrophic , life-changing injuries, we are here to help, and take great pride in doing so.