Laser Eye Surgery Claims – How Much Compensation Can I Claim?

As with all surgery, laser eye treatment has some associated risk factors. While minor side effects are expected after treatment, if you experience serious complications following surgery, you may be entitled to compensation by filing a laser eye surgery claim against the responsible party. As such, this article on claiming laser eye surgery compensation, we’ll explain when a negligence claim could be made and what process you’ll need to follow to be compensated.

Our team of specialists can help if you’ve been affected because of surgical negligence during laser eye surgery. We start by offering a free consultation to review the merits of your claim. Whatever you decide to do, you’ll receive free legal advice about your options. If the claim appears to be viable, we’ll ask a medical negligence solicitor from our panel to step in. Should they agree to work for you, they won’t ask to be paid upfront because they’ll provide a No Win, No Fee service. As a result, you’ll find the claims process a lot less stressful.

To discuss your chances of claiming successfully for negligent laser eye surgery compensation right away, please call our team on 0800 682 1345. Otherwise, please continue reading to learn more about when and why you could claim.

Am I Entitled to Compensation for Laser Eye Surgery Gone Wrong?

All medical professionals owe their patients a duty of care to try and protect their well-being whilst treating them. This includes during aftercare too. If that duty of care is breached, you could be entitled to compensation for damaged eyesight or any other suffering that results.

Before a solicitor will take on a laser eye surgery claim, they’ll check for the following:

• The clinic or surgeon owed you a duty of care.
• They were negligent in performing laser eye surgery or providing aftercare.
• You suffered an injury or adverse outcome as a direct result of that negligence.

It’s important to note that your solicitor will not be a qualified medical professional. As a result, they won’t be able to rely solely on your statement about what happened. As such, to help prove medical negligence, they’ll need to ask a suitably qualified medical expert to review your case.

If you’d like to get started to see if you could claim laser eye surgery compensation, please contact us today.

Common Examples of Laser Eye Surgery Claims

If you’ve suffered complications due to negligence during laser eye surgery, you may be entitled to compensation. Common examples include:

• Overcorrection or under-correction: If too much or too little corneal tissue is removed during surgery, it can result in vision problems that require further treatment or corrective lenses.
• Burns or corneal damage: Incorrect use of the laser, poor calibration, or excessive heat exposure can cause serious corneal injuries, leading to long-term vision impairment.
• Infections due to poor hygiene: If the clinic fails to maintain proper hygiene standards, you may develop serious infections like keratitis, which can lead to vision loss if untreated.
• Flap complications: In procedures like LASIK, improper handling of the corneal flap can lead to flap displacement, irregular healing, or vision distortions.
• Severe dry eyes: If the surgeon failed to assess whether you were a suitable candidate, you might experience long-term dry eye syndrome, making your eyesight blurry and causing discomfort.
• Halos, glare, or starbursts: Poor surgical technique or inadequate patient assessment may lead to debilitating visual disturbances, especially in low-light conditions.
• Loss of vision: In rare but severe cases, laser eye surgery negligence can result in partial or total vision loss, particularly if post-surgical complications are not properly managed.

Again, to claim compensation, you’ll need to show that the clinic or surgeon failed to meet the expected standard of care and that their negligence directly caused your injury.

What Evidence Do I Need for a Laser Eye Surgery Claim?

To help prove how you’ve suffered from botched laser eye surgery and who was responsible, your solicitor will try to provide supporting evidence as part of your laser eye surgery claim. This might include:

• Medical reports: This is a key piece of evidence. It can be used to show what injuries were diagnosed following your laser eye surgery treatment. You are able to request these reports at any time so don’t worry if you’ve not got a copy yet.
• Pre- and post-treatment vision tests: Any records of eye exams conducted before and after surgery could help demonstrate how your vision has worsened as a direct result of the procedure.
• Witness statements: Aside from your medical symptoms, your solicitor will need to prove what impact your injuries have had on you. As such, they may ask your family and friends to explain what changes have occurred since your treatment. Similarly, if anyone else was present during your consultation, they could be asked to declare what was said.
• Complaints to the clinic or regulatory bodies: If you formally complained to the clinic, the General Optical Council (GOC), or the Care Quality Commission (CQC), copies of these complaints and responses could support your claim.
• Correspondence: You should also retain any contracts, emails, letters or consent forms relating to your treatment. These could be checked by your solicitor to see if they are misleading or contain inaccurate information.
• Your own statement: At some point, your solicitor will help you to prepare a statement to explain how you’ve been affected by your injuries. To help with this, it might be a good idea to keep a diary. This could be used to record how your injuries prevented you from working, participating in family activities or enjoying social events.
• Financial documents: As you might claim for some expenses incurred because of your injuries, it’s a good idea to keep a copy of any relevant receipts, invoices or bank statements.

As part of your initial consultation, an advisor will discuss any evidence you might already have. If you’d like to check if you’ve got enough evidence to prove negligence, why not call today?

What Is the Time Limit to Make a Laser Eye Surgery Claim?

In the UK, laser eye surgery negligence claims have a 3-year time limit. This is determined by the Limitation Act 1980. Usually, the time limit will start on the day you were treated negligently. However, in some cases, this could be extended to your ‘date of knowledge’ i.e., when your injuries were diagnosed and linked to your eye surgery.

The time it takes for a claim to be processed is based on a few factors. If you have already recovered from your injuries and the defendant has already admitted liability, you could be compensated in a matter of months. Where further investigation is needed or if your prognosis is not yet fully understood, your claim will probably take more than a year.

Our advice is to begin your compensation claim as quickly as possible. Not only will you find it easier to recall what happened, but your solicitor will have more time to collect any required evidence.

How Much Compensation for Botched Laser Eye Surgery Can I Claim?

In laser eye surgery claims, solicitors generally use two main types of damages to work out what amount of compensation is justified. Every negligence claim is unique but, in general, you could be entitled to compensation for:

• The physical pain and suffering you’ve endured because of your injuries.
• Any distress, anxiety or other forms of mental harm.
• The impact your injuries have had on social activities, hobbies and family life (loss of amenity).
• Care costs including a value for the time a friend or relative spent supporting you.
• Medical treatment costs.
• Travel expenses.
• Costs associated with changing your home if they’ll help you to cope because you’ve suffered permanent eye damage.

Your solicitor will usually spend some time trying to ascertain exactly how your injuries have affected you. That’s because it’s only possible to make a single claim. If you forget to include something that you later realise is having an impact, you’ll miss out on that element of compensation once your claim has been settled.

Will I Need a Solicitor to Claim Laser Eye Surgery Compensation?

We believe an expert solicitor on our panel could improve your chances of being compensated fairly for any injuries caused by negligent laser eye surgery. However, we also understand that most people understandably worry about the cost of having a legal representative. For that reason, our solicitors all provide a No Win, No Fee service for all accepted claims.

That means that your solicitor can start working on your case without any advance payment of their fees. In fact, you’ll only pay for their work if you are paid compensation.

If your case is accepted, it will be funded by a Conditional Fee Agreement (explained here). Essentially, this confirms what work your solicitor will do and when you’ll need to pay their success fee.

The success fee you’ll pay is listed in your CFA so it’s clear from the start of the claim. By law, it cannot be higher than 25% of your compensation when using a CFA. Remember, you won’t pay this fee if your claim fails.

To see if we could help you to claim using one of our No Win, No Fee solicitors, please call today.

Laser Eye Surgery Claims Frequently Asked Questions

Start a Laser Eye Surgery Compensation Claim Today

We hope this article on laser eye surgery compensation claims has helped. If you are now in a position where you’d like to begin a claim with us, you can get in touch by calling us on 0800 652 1345.

During your call, we’ll discuss your options with you and provide free legal advice. If we believe your claim has a reasonable chance of being won, we’ll ask a specialist solicitor to review it further with you.

Your solicitor will do everything they can to try and secure the maximum compensation possible if your case is accepted and will keep you up to date throughout your claim.

Thanks for reading this article about laser eye surgery claims, and please contact us via live chat or here if you have any other queries you’d like answered.