Blindness, visual impairment or partial sight-loss can be devastating. Loss of eyesight affects every aspect of the person’s life, limiting their independence and self-confidence, mobility, communication, ability to work, socialise and enjoy leisure pursuits.
Where someone has lost their sight as a result of medical negligence, such as an avoidable mistake by an ophthalmologist or optician, a surgeon, a doctor or a series of errors by a medical team, they may be entitled to claim compensation.
What is ophthalmology?
Ophthalmology is the area of medicine relating to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of eye disease so that the patient stays healthy and is able to see. Ophthalmologists are medically trained doctors and surgeons who care for patients with eye conditions.
Compensation claims for blindness can arise from mistakes by other types of doctor or healthcare team if their negligence resulted in the patient’s blindness or visual impairment.
Blindness may be caused by delayed or incorrect treatment of a patient’s eye condition, such as glaucoma or retinal detachment. It can also be the result of medical negligence resulting in brain injury, such as from oxygen deprivation during surgery or childbirth, kernicterus, neonatal hypoglycaemia, undiagnosed brain tumour, or other types of neurological injury, such as stroke.
Whatever the negligent cause, Boyes Turner’s compassionate and highly skilled solicitors can help people who have been visually impaired by medical negligence rebuild their lives with the help of substantial, individually tailored compensation.