Ophthalmic Negligence Claims

What is ophthalmology?

Ophthalmology is a clinical and surgical specialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders.

Common types of eye disorders include:

Ophthalmology and clinical negligence

There are occasions where avoidable pain and suffering can occur, giving rise to a potential claim for negligent treatment provided by an ophthalmologist.

Early diagnosis and timely treatment are paramount to preventing eye disorders or causing them to get worse. Ophthalmologists missing vital early warning signs of conditions can result in a delayed diagnosis of an eye disorder, which can lead to serious consequences.

Mistakes can also be made in relation to the treatment provided or during a surgery itself, which can worsen the situation.

Substandard ophthalmology care can result in significant complications and the need for further treatment. In extreme cases, complications can significantly impair a patient’s vision and/or can cause a patient to go blind.

Losing vision is life-changing and can result in far wider consequences, such as the need to adapt accommodation, needing to stop work, learning how to use braille, and requiring care and assistance for day-to-day life.

If you have been caused ophthalmic issues as a result of negligent care, you may be able to seek compensation, which could help ease some of the financial consequences of your injuries.

An eye injury can be devastating to a patient as well as their family and loved ones as the outcome could have a serious life-long impact. The intention of bringing a claim in clinical negligence is to restore you as far as possible to the position you would have been in had the negligence not occurred.

Comment

Ophthalmic claims are complex and require specialist advice to pursue. If you are concerned that you have received substandard care from an ophthalmologist, it is important to seek specialist legal advice from solicitors who are experienced in dealing with these types of claims to ascertain whether a claim in clinical negligence can be brought.

If successful, you can recover compensation for the injuries sustained, financial losses incurred as a result of the negligence and cover the cost of any further treatment required.