£65,000 obtained for laser eye surgery patient

Julie Crossley, a medical injury claim specialist at Ashtons Legal, has obtained £65,000 compensation for Mr P after eye surgery left him with markedly worse, rather than improved, eyesight.

Mr P consulted Optical Express about having laser eye surgery and went ahead with the procedure.  However, the surgery created more problems than it solved and Mr P now has significantly impaired near and distance vision, sees ‘floaters’ and often sees a grey shadowing effect round objects.  He has difficulty reading or using a computer, even with the help of spectacles and despite undergoing further procedures to try to correct the problem.

Julie comments: “Mr P should have been advised that he was not suitable for bilateral RLE surgery because he suffered from progressive keratoconus.  This was not discussed before he underwent the laser treatment and no one explained that visual symptoms caused by astigmatism could not be corrected by this procedure. Ensuring that patients are fully informed about the possible outcomes of their treatment is an important part of any consultation process and it was clearly not handled correctly in this instance.”