Ear, nose and throat negligence claims

If you have experienced harm due to poor quality care during ear, nose or throat (ENT) treatment, you may be entitled to compensation. Our specialist solicitors understand the serious impact these injuries can have on patients and are ready to guide you through the process of bringing an ENT negligence claim.

Expert advice on all types of ear, nose and throat negligence claims

Ear, nose and throat (ENT) covers a broad spectrum of treatment, including surgery, linked to head and neck problems. While most care in this area is provided by consultant ENT surgeons, there is often overlap with other disciplines such as neurosurgery, plastic surgery and maxillofacial surgery. Many of our clients first engage with ENT clinicians when they encounter problems with their sense of hearing, smell or taste.

To successfully pursue an ear, nose and throat compensation claim, we must demonstrate that the ENT specialist failed in their duty of care, and this resulted in an injury that could have been prevented. The injury may include hearing loss or tinnitus, damage to facial or optical nerves, loss of smell or taste, alteration in speech, nasal obstruction and difficulties with swallowing. Our ENT solicitors also assist clients suffering from vestibular disturbances, which involve the inner ear and brain and affect the body’s balance system, often resulting in symptoms such as dizziness and vertigo.

At Penningtons Manches Cooper, our specialist lawyers are experienced in handling ear, nose and throat negligence claims resulting from errors at all stages of ENT treatment, in both NHS and private hospitals. While many ENT claims involve complications following surgery, we also represent clients who have been left with ENT related injuries arising out of wider medical negligence and personal injury claims, such as patients left with permanent balance problems as a result of a failure to monitor gentamicin levels during antibiotic treatment.

Unfortunately, in some instances, substandard ENT treatment can result in very severe injuries including permanent disability and disfigurement. Our specialist team will ensure your ear, nose and throat claim is fully investigated and will work with you to secure the maximum ENT compensation possible.

Very caring, realistic, professional and efficient. Excellent preparation of my claim. Careful consideration of every step in the process.

With our extensive track record in this area, our solicitors are dedicated to achieving the best outcomes – both financially and in terms of understanding what went wrong. Funding options available for ear, nose and throat compensation claims include no win no fee (conditional fee) agreements to enable you to have access to the legal support you need.

We are always happy to discuss ENT negligence claims on an informal, no-obligation basis in the first instance.

How we help our clients

Advice on negligent treatment of inner ear problems leading to balance issues or tinnitus

Compensation for injuries arising during ENT surgery or post-operative complications

Claims for negligent performance of nasal surgery (rhinoplasty or septoplasty)

Cases involving failure to obtain informed consent before ENT surgery or treatment

Claims for failure/delay in diagnosing ENT tumours (including throat and nose tumours)

Claims for failure/delay in diagnosing non-cancerous tumours in the brain

Claims for failure to diagnose hearing problems leading to partial or full hearing loss

Advice on failures in administration of medication

Cases involving misdiagnosis of ENT conditions

Claims for failure to diagnose infections resulting in loss of sense of smell or taste

Advice on insufficient or inappropriate treatment for an ENT condition

Compensation following failure to refer to a specialist

Useful resources

Making a medical negligence claim

Funding a medical negligence claim

They have genuine strength in depth and are really down to earth, committed, and true specialists in their field.

The team were extremely professional and competent and I always felt that my case was in very good hands. Above this, however, I appreciated their kind and sympathetic manner through the process.

First class: professional, friendly, sensitive and ultimately successful! Thank you so much.

I felt that my solicitor was really fighting for what she thought I deserved. She was a great match. Her advice was important to me.

Everyone at Penningtons has always treated me with respect and compassion and done their best to help with my situation. I feel the whole team really have my best interests at heart.

Recent work highlights

Serious side effects from gentamicin treatment

Representing two clients who both secured admissions of fault from NHS hospital trusts as a result of a failure to administer gentamicin safely, leading to gentamicin toxicity and ongoing issues with balance which impact their daily lives.

Damages for complications following septoplasty

Obtaining compensation on behalf of a young girl who suffered a septal perforation as a result of a septoplasty procedure carried out by a private surgeon, leaving her with problems breathing through her nose and intermittent nose bleeds.

Errors by surgeon during management of throat cancer

Acting for a widow whose husband tragically died following a failure by his surgeon to discuss all the appropriate treatment options available with him when he was diagnosed with throat cancer and to identify the recurrence of the disease.

Delayed vestibular schwannoma diagnosis

Pursuing a claim for the failure to undertake further radiology to pick up a non-cancerous tumour on a scan despite indications by the radiologist that this was necessary for a full diagnosis of our client’s condition.

Undiagnosed cholesteatoma

Securing damages for the family of a 30 year old man after his tragic death following a 15 month delay in diagnosis of cholesteatoma (a non-cancerous growth) behind the eardrum in the middle ear.

Poor technique in columelloplasty

Acting for a client who was not adequately advised of the risks of undergoing nasal surgery to address protruding tissue between the nostrils which resulted in a significant deformity to her nose.

Case studies

We settled a claim against Medway NHS Foundation Trust relating to the death of a 30 year old man from an undiagnosed cholesteatoma, a bag of dead tissue in the ear.

We recently settled a substantial claim for damages against a GP for a client who suffered a delay in the management of an ear infection resulting in permanent visual damage, which should have been avoided if she had been properly assessed.

We represented a client in a claim against her surgeon for failing to obtain her consent properly and for exercising poor surgical technique when performing a columelloplasty procedure, resulting in a significant deformity in her nose.

We are representing a young woman in her early 20s with a medical negligence claim arising out of a delayed diagnosis of thyroid cancer. The central allegations relate to a 15 month delay in diagnosis and the implications this has had for her.

Our client underwent rhinoplasty under the care of an Austrian plastic surgeon through Surgicare in the UK. The surgery was unsatisfactory, both aesthetically and as our client experienced problems with sensation.