Disgruntled patients seeking legal action after weight loss surgery have rapidly increased over the last two years, new figures have revealed.
As the country struggles to tackle wide-spread public obesity, the availability and common nature of weight loss surgery, such as gastric bands, has led to 35 clinical negligence cases against private surgeries since 2003, said the Medical Defence Union (MDU)
But, MDU, which insures doctors, found that 21 of those claims have been launched in just the last two years. And it believes claims will continue to spiral as demand for operations grows, with one company, BMI Healthcare, seeing a 20% year-on-year increase in requests.
“We are starting to see the emergence of medical negligence claims being notified by our surgeon members working in independent practice who perform bariatric surgery,” said MDU Chief Executive, Dr Christine Tomkins.
“This is not surprising given that this type of surgery is fairly new and there is usually a time lag between an incident occurring and a claim being made.”
Close to 9,000 weight-related operations were reportedly performed last year and, according to The Times, approximately one million Britons have a body mass index of more than 40 which is necessary to be assessed for gastric surgery through the NHS.
But regular problems, such as infections, slipping gastric bands and delays in diagnosing problems, mean that patients are beginning to consider increased legal action, with each successful claim’s value thought to be anywhere between £2,500 and £500,000.
Louise Griffiths, Partner and Head of Clinical Negligence at Stephensons Solicitors LLP, said: “This is an area of surgery which has become increasingly popular, particularly as the weight loss enjoyed by celebrities such as Sharon Osborne and Fern Britton makes the solution a more attractive prospect.
“However, as a department we have acted for several clients who have suffered due to negligence during these operations and we have certainly seen an increase in the number of enquiries from members of the public who feel they have had less than ideal treatment of this kind.”
Stephensons’ Clinical Negligence team is one of the leading teams in the region, and can provide a range of funding methods for clients wishing to pursue a claim against a medical practitioner, including Legal Aid and Conditional Fee Arrangements.