Our ear, nose and throat (ENT) claims expertise
Our medical negligence team
specialises in ear, nose and throat legal claims. Our
experienced team has won many ear, nose and throat claims
recovering substantial damages for our clients on a 'no win, no fee' basis.
Ear, nose and throat surgery (ENT surgery) covers a wide
range of procedures carried out by ENT Surgeons and
otorhinolaryngologists. Care will often involve the diagnosis and
treatment of conditions involving the ears, nose, throat as
well as more general head and neck conditions too. These may
include tumours within the throat or nose, sinusitis, salivary
gland disorders and loss of hearing.
Our experience of dealing with
claims involving ENT Surgery, both against private hospitals and on the
NHS, is wide ranging. For example we acted for a patient who
was left with a facial palsy following the negligent cutting of a
facial nerve during a mastoid exploration as well as for a patient
who was left blind in one eye following damage done to his optic
nerve during an operation to help drain his sinuses.
Ear, nose and throat (ENT) medical procedures
The vast majority of ENT procedures are straightforward, and
pose an extremely low risk to patients’ wellbeing. ENT procedures
are often performed in order to improve patients’ quality of
life, as opposed to being directly related to their health. ENT
procedures include:
• Removal of minor nasal obstructions
• Snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea
• Rhinoplasty (nasal surgery)
• Pinnaplasty (ear surgery)
• Balance problems
• Tinnitus (ringing in the ear)
• Facial pain
ENT Negligence
While most procedures are carried out correctly, cases of
medical negligence can occur during even the simplest of
procedures, resulting in debilitating and disfiguring injuries.
Common injuries resulting from ear, nose and throat surgery
include:
• Damage to the facial nerve causing facial weakness
• Vocal cord damage either through surgery or during anaesthetic
intubation
• Failure to diagnose and treat tumours of the nose and
sinuses
• The diagnosis and management of throat or neck swellings and
failure to diagnose tumours
• Incorrect treatment of inner ear problems affecting balance and
resulting in Tinnitus (ringing in the ear)
• Failure to correctly diagnose hearing problems leading to
deafness
• Thyroid disease
By far the most common compensation claims associated with ENT
are related to damage caused to the bones surrounding the eye skull
during Functional Endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS).
A frequently occurring complication of this operation is leaking
of cerebral spinal fluid from the brain, which, if not successfully
repaired, can lead to permanent loss of a patient’s sense of smell
or can cause meningitis.
Contact our specialist ENT solicitors
For further information or if you believe you have a legal claim
relating to ear, nose and throat
surgery, please contact our medical negligence team on freephone
0800 358 3848, email personalinjury@ffw.com or
complete our short enquiry form.
All enquiries are completely free of charge and we will
investigate all funding options for you including
legal aid and no win, no fee.