In a high profile news story this week, a surgeon who allegedly carried out completely unnecessary operations has been convicted of intentionally wounding patients.
Ian Paterson, 59, from Altrincham in Greater Manchester has been granted bail and is due to be sentenced late this month.
During the 7-week hearing some of the surgeon’s victims gave statements about how Paterson misled them into thinking that they had serious medical issues and carried out operations for conditions that in many cases the patients were not even suffering from.
One female victim who underwent surgery by Paterson six times in seven years said that he “…tried every trick in the book to avoid accountability for his disgusting crimes. Mr Paterson charmed and manipulated his patients into trusting him. I for one trusted him with my life.” The victim had been told by Paterson that she had breast cancer and went through extensive surgery to remove the cancer, then a full mastectomy to remove the breast. It was later found that she had not been suffering from breast cancer at all and that he had made up the results so as to continue performing dangerous and unnecessary surgery.
As well as working privately at the Little Aston and Parkway hospitals in the West Midlands, Paterson carried out hundreds of unnecessary operations on NHS patients, costing one NHS Trust around £17.8 million in damages and legal costs.
Sometimes even good doctors make mistakes, sometimes crucial pieces of machinery can fail, and sometimes a simple error of judgement on the part of someone treating you can cause significant pain and damage. Fortunately it is very rare to hear about cases such as this where a doctor has actively gone out of his way to harm people. However the situation occurs that you are injured or hurt while under the care of a medical professional, you could well be entitled to make a claim for compensation. If you or someone you care for has suffered as a result of medical or clinical negligence, you should contact one of our solicitors to see how we can help you get the compensation that you deserve. Contact us today, free of charge and let us see how we can help you.