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When an error occurs during surgery, patients can be left in unnecessary pain, giving them the option to lodge a claim, and NHS trusts across the country have had to pay out millions over the past few years.
Figures obtained by Medical Negligence Assist found that, since 2019, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust has had to pay out over £10m to patients who have lodged claims following a surgery error.
Medical negligence solicitor for JF Law, Gareth Lloyd, said: “The chances of a patient suffering a surgical error are remote, yet every operation carries with it a number of risks, and if something goes wrong, there can be lifelong consequences.”
Surgical errors are unexpected mistakes or accidents that occur during procedures and they are classed as ‘never events’ as they are errors that should not have happened in surgery.
These errors can have significant physical, emotional and financial consequences for patients as they may require additional treatment and suffer even more pain.
A person affected by a surgery error can often make a surgical negligence claim against the NHS, where NHS Resolution will pay for their compensation.
University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust provide services and healthcare for patients at a number of sites, including Derriford Hospital, Mount Gould Hospital, South Hams Community Hospital and Tavistock Hospital.
From 2019 to 2024, 105 claims regarding surgical errors were lodged against University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, 80 of which were settled.
In 2019/2020, 22 claims were made against the trust, the third-highest number of claims over the past five years.
Three years later, this number increased to 24 claims.
The service has experienced a drop in claims over the past year compared to 2022/23, with a total of 15.
Common errors can include foreign objects left in the body, such as surgical instruments and cleaning materials, as well as ‘wrong site surgery’, where patients can be put at a greater risk of infection and additional scarring.
The most common causes for surgical error claims were failures/delays for treatment, which was lodged 1,999 times, and the most common surgery error injury was unnecessary pain, seeing 1,990 claims submitted.
Speaking to Medical Negligence Assist, Gareth Lloyd said: "Although they appear on the surface to be straightforward cases, surgical errors are much more complex than that and can cover a number of situations and outcomes.
“For example, an operation to remove your gallbladder carries with it risks of damage to the bile duct, blood vessels, bowel and intestines. If one of these complications happens during the operation, nine times out of ten, there is no case, however, that doesn’t mean that there is no case at all, it just makes it more difficult to prove.
Medical Negligence Assist offers support to patients who may have suffered from a surgical error and can see if they have grounds to submit a claim