Blindness and Eye Injuries

Blindness and Eye Injuries

Have you suffered damage to your eyesight due to medical negligence? Claims National can provide you with free help and advice you need in relation to making a claim for compensation.

Errors in eyesight treatment can lead to profound consequences, such as very serious blindness and impaired vision. Negligence can include failure to diagnose and treat eye conditions such as glaucoma, sub-standard laser surgery and errors in treatments of trauma injuries. Errors impairing an individuals vision could have a profound effect on their life.

Ophthalmology is the branch of treatment dedicated to eye injuries. Eye injuries can be treated with medicines or surgery, and more often than not, treatment is successful. However, for the few unfortunates, mistakes have been made due to an ophthalmologist’s negligence. Mistakes most commonly occur in treatment such as;

  • Laser eye treatment for correction of long or short sightedness
  • Contact surgery, particularly concerning the pre op consenting and counselling process
  • Management of a foreign body in the eye
  • Delay in the diagnosis and treatment of Glaucoma
  • Delay in the diagnosis and treatment of eye infections
  • Trauma to eyes and subsequent management
  • Corneal abrasions
  • Traumatic retinal detachment
  • Diabetic retinopathy
  • Cataract surgery
Compensation guide

Up To
  • Head/Neck
    One Foot
    Both Feet

  • £42,000


24 hr Claims Helpline 0808 168 5385

The term Glaucoma covers a group of diseases that cause damage to the optic nerve, which usually occurs when fluid in the eye builds up, causing higher pressure than the eye can withstand. Your eye’s optic nerve contains over a million nerve fibres, and over time if the high pressures cause the nerve fibres to die, you could be left with decreased vision. If Glaucoma is left untreated, you will likely be left with blindness.

Cataract surgery is a very common process that is practiced in order to repair damaged eyes. The process of the surgery includes cutting the original lens of the eye down into tiny pieces, before replacing it with an artificial lens. This surgery is usually successful however; there have been cases where problems have occurred during the surgery. The reasons for these mistakes are quite often due to a poor surgical technique and insertion of inappropriate lens types following an inadequate pre operative assessment.

In the UK, laser eye surgery is becoming increasingly popular, with many thousands of treatments being practiced each week. Most laser eye surgery procedures are successful with desirable results however, the safety and effectiveness of laser eye surgery is not yet confirmed between various patients and therefore complications can occur. Due to this, doctors should screen for risk factors within the patients such as large pupils, thin corneas, dry eyes and blepharitis.  Unwanted outcomes and possible risks include minor pain and sensitivity, blurred vision, double vision, corneal scarring, ectasia, and even complete loss of vision. Inadequate screening and failure to identify risk factors can increase the chances of the previously mentioned complications occurring and if this is the case, then they are due to medical negligence, which you may be entitled to claim compensation for.

A serious eye condition that can lead to extreme impairment of vision is a retina detachment. The retina can become detached from its underlying layer which provides the retina with its nourishment, causing vision to be lost. Furthermore, the retina may also become torn due to its detachment. The right diagnosis is vital for the detached retina condition, as a delayed diagnosis can result in the patient becoming blind.

Clinical/medical negligence involving eye injuries can cause severe consequences for the patient, and can sometimes result in permanent blindness. This causes horrific impacts on the patient’s life both physically and mentally, and in most cases where blindness is developed, the patient may never be able to return to work, which creates an additional financial problem for the patient. Therefore, if you have experienced medical negligence regarding your eye injuries, making a claim for compensation may help redeem some justice. The amount of compensation you receive will depend upon the severity of your injuries, the complications your injuries will have on your life, any time off work and loss of earnings you have as a result of your injuries, any rehabilitation, therapy, costs of any specialist treatment, costs of any adaptations needed to your house/work, and any costs of any objective treatment you may need such as glasses for example.