Negligent Cataract Surgery Leading to Severe Vision Loss: Securing Compensation for Medical Malpractice

We were consulted by a 75-year-old man, who was referred to a private ophthalmology clinic because he had a cataract. He had surgery on the cataract, following which his vision worsened, and so he went back to his optician, who said that they thought the wrong lens had been inserted. So, he went back to the ophthalmology clinic who tried to extract the lens, but that was unsuccessful. He then underwent repeated operations to try to remove the lens. As a result of these operations, his eyesight rapidly deteriorated such that within a few years, his left eye would be completely blind. He also suffered complication after complication in his left eye such that it may have to be removed.  Fortunately, his right eye was completely healthy. We sent the ophthalmology clinic a letter of claim alleging negligence. They admitted that they had been negligent but denied it had caused as much loss of eyesight as he claimed. Because of the ongoing deterioration in his sight, we arranged for him to undergo private tests of his eyesight, and was examined by our ophthalmologist in 22 and then again in 23.  The defendants made an offer of settlement of £30,000. This was rejected. They then made a further offer of £40,000 to settle his claim. As a result of the conclusions of our ophthalmologist, we settled his damages claim out of court for £185,000.