Suffered a Surgical Error? You Could Be Owed Thousands.
When you go into surgery, you trust the surgical team with your life. When that trust is broken by a preventable mistake — operating on the wrong site, damaging a nerve or organ, leaving an instrument inside you, or performing an unnecessary procedure — the physical and emotional consequences can be devastating.
Scottish Claims Helpline handles surgical error claims against NHS Scotland and private hospitals on a no win no fee basis. There is no financial risk to you — you pay nothing unless your claim succeeds.
How Much Could You Receive?
| Type of Surgical Error | Typical Award |
|---|
| Unnecessary surgery with full recovery | £10,000 - £30,000 |
| Wrong-site surgery or retained instruments | £30,000 - £100,000 |
| Nerve damage with lasting effects | £20,000 - £80,000 |
| Permanent disability from surgical negligence | £100,000 - £500,000+ |
Based on Judicial College Guidelines for pain and suffering only.
That’s not all. Surgical error claimants also receive payments for lost earnings, corrective surgery costs, rehabilitation, ongoing treatment and care. If the error has ended your career or left you needing permanent assistance, these additional payments can significantly exceed the general damages.
Who Can Claim?
Anyone harmed by a surgical mistake in Scotland can claim — whether the surgery was performed in an NHS hospital or a private clinic. Since the landmark Scottish case Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board (2015), you can also claim if you were not properly warned of material risks before surgery and would not have consented had you been informed. Your solicitor instructs independent surgical experts to review the procedure and establish whether the error fell below the Hunter v Hanley standard.
Surgical Error Claims — Frequently Asked Questions
Surgical error compensation depends on severity. Unnecessary surgery with full recovery: £10,000-£30,000. Wrong-site surgery or retained instruments: £30,000-£100,000. Permanent disability: £100,000-£500,000+. You can also claim for lost earnings and further treatment costs.
Common surgical errors include wrong-site surgery, damage to surrounding nerves or organs, retained surgical instruments or swabs, failure to obtain informed consent (Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board), infection from poor technique, and unnecessary procedures.
3 years from the date you knew (or should have known) that your injury was caused by the surgical error under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973. Some surgical errors are not discovered until months or years later, so the knowledge date can be much later than the operation.
Following the landmark Scottish case Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board (2015), surgeons must inform patients of all material risks before surgery. Failure to do so can constitute negligence even if the surgery itself was performed competently.
Yes. Under the Montgomery ruling, if you were not warned of a material risk and would not have consented had you been informed, you can claim even if the surgery was technically competent. This is known as a failure of informed consent.
Surgical error claims typically take 18-36 months to resolve. Complex cases involving ongoing disability can take longer. Most settle through negotiation without court proceedings.
How Do I Start My Claim?
It takes 2 minutes. Fill in our short form and one of our specialist Scottish solicitors will call you back at a time that suits — all completely free and with no obligation. You pay nothing unless you win.
About this page: Written by the Scottish Claims Helpline editorial team. Reviewed by a qualified Scottish solicitor. Last reviewed February 2026. Scottish Claims Helpline is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (
FRN 830381).