Negligent pre operative advice in laser eye surgery leads to successful settlement

Following a 3 year long battle, Jasmine Cattigan and Natasha Gunn have successfully negotiated a favourable settlement for a client who suffered injury following failure to provide informed consent for Laser Eye Surgery.

Background

In 2009, our client was diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis, a chronic autoimmune condition.

In December 2021, our client attended a consultation at a private ophthalmology clinic to explore Laser Eye Surgery. The treatment plan involved two stages:

1. Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE); and
2. Lens Replacement Surgery, commonly required as a corrective follow‑up procedure.

Prior to treatment, our client completed a medical questionnaire and fully disclosed his autoimmune condition. Despite this, he was advised that he was a suitable candidate for both surgeries.

Relying on this advice, our client privately funded and underwent Refractive Lens Exchange surgery in January 2022.

At a follow‑up appointment one month later, he was informed that a second corrective surgery would be necessary and this was scheduled for June 2022. However, during a further consultation in April 2022, our client was told—for the first time—that he would not be able to undergo the second surgery due to his autoimmune condition.

As a result, his vision had been irreversibly altered from long‑sighted to short‑sighted, leaving him in a worse position than prior to treatment.

He also suffered psychological injury arising from the unexpected and permanent change to his vision.

Liability Investigations and Medical Evidence

The claim was pursued against the ophthalmology clinic on the basis that they were vicariously liable for the actions of the clinicians. Our case was that the clinicians had failed to properly consider the client’s autoimmune condition and had therefore provided incorrect and negligent advice regarding his suitability for the second surgery.

The ophthalmology clinic denied liability and averred that liability rested with the clinicians in their private capacities.

Letters of claim were then sent to the 2 clinicians involved in our client’s care. Both clinicians failed to properly engage in the Pre-action Protocol for Clinical Negligence causing significant delays in the provision of their Letters of Response and in progressing liability discussions.

Despite this lack of engagement, our team persisted in obtaining independent expert medical evidence, which supported the allegation that our client’s autoimmune condition was a risk of surgery for which he was not properly informed of or consented to. If our client had been informed of this risk, he would not have proceeded with the surgeries.

The Outcome 

While both clinicians ultimately denied liability, the medical evidence was used to place significant litigation risk on one of the defendants to persuade them to enter into settlement negotiations.

Negotiations were successful resulting in a favourable settlement for our client. The settlement included recovery of the full cost of the private surgeries, providing compensation for the negligent advice received and the harm suffered.

Get in touch with our Eye Surgery Compensation team

If you or someone you know has experienced medical negligence during eye surgery, our team are here to help. Get in touch with our team on 01273 249200 or at enquiries@deanwilson.co.uk