Cosmetic advertising ignores negligence risk

As the popularity of cosmetic surgery among Britons grows, the reality of the kinds of dangers associated with medical negligence claims for errors and complications arising out of its procedures is gaining increasing coverage.

Only recently the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned the marketing campaign of a prominent cosmetic surgery group on the grounds that it was too flippant about the very real dangers of cosmetic surgery.

The campaign, which consisted of posters featuring the slogan "Gorgeous breasts just got easy with cosmetic surgery" and juxtaposed a forlorn "before" photograph of a flat-chested woman with an "after" photograph of her looking buxom and happy, was banned by the ASA on the following grounds:

"Because we understood that surgery always carried a risk to the patient, we concluded that, by promoting a surgical operation as 'easy', the approach was irresponsible and misleading."

In short, how can something that is fraught with many potential dangers be described as "easy".

While the majority of cosmetic surgery procedures are carried out without injury or complication, an always significant minority sometimes do not go according to plan. It is these that are likely to end up in distress, pain and medical negligence claims or even death.

There are no definitive figures detailing ust how many procedures end in death as neither the Department of Health nor the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) record fatality statistics, while the death certificates will often have the consequences of the complication rather than the complication itself written down as the cause of death.

Even the figures detailing botched and substandard procedures are rather sketchy. Although in 2006 the NHS reported dealing with 126 patients suffering the ill effects of cosmetic surgery, the true figure is likely to be much higher as the typical cosmetic surgery patient will come from the kind of socio-economic group that favours and can afford private hospital treatment.

At the recent inquest into the death of a woman whose family received £260,000 in compensation after making a cosmetic surgery medical negligence claim on the grounds that she was unfit to ever have been operated on, the chair of the inquest made the following chilling assertion, "I have no doubt of the determination of the deceased when she agreed to go through with major surgery," he said, "but the point must be made that all surgery could result in complications with devastating effects. There is no safe surgery."

Claiming medical negligence compensation
If you have been traumatised by substandard cosmetic surgery in the past three years, or if you have lost someone to a procedure which went tragically wrong, you may well be able to claim medical negligence compensation.

YouClaim have a team comprised of some of the finest clinical negligence solicitors in the UK. Over the years they have demonstrated their expertise by successfully representing claimants from all around the UK.

Their service is available to you completely cost free. Win or lose, we guarantee to protect you from all legal costs and fees.

In addition, we never take a cut from any clients, meaning you will receive all money awarded you.

If you would like to investigate your chances of making a successful medical negligence claim, fill out an online claim form, request a call back or speak with an advisor using e-chat.

Alternatively, if you wish to speak to someone right now, simply call 0800 10 757 95.