Anna* was left with painful lumps after cosmetic injections weren’t done correctly. We helped her get compensation to fund treatment to make her scarring less visible and let her begin planning her wedding.
What happened to Anna?
Anna had struggled with the appearance of her arms for some time. She’d lost weight in certain areas, but not in her arms.
Her friends told her about Aqualyx injections that are used to help lose stubborn fat. It works by dissolving and tightening your skin from the inside.
Anna found the defendant online and after researching her in more detail, she found out she was a registered medical practitioner. This put Anna at ease because she experiences anxiety around medical procedures and her health in general.
Before her first appointment, Anna was told by the defendant about the potential side effects and talked through the aftercare she’d need. She then had injections in her arms and chin. Anna experienced swelling, redness, and pain, but this was expected.
Along with a friend, Anna had two more appointments, where she had injections in her stomach and back.
After her third appointment, her mum noticed red dots on Anna's arms. Because of the time that had passed, she didn’t think they were related to the injections. She believed she’d hit her arm, and the bruises would go down.
Anna’s reaction to the treatment
Over the next few weeks, the bruises got worse, and lumps started to appear. Her mum, a former nurse, said there were no signs of infections because there was no redness and no discharge.
The lumps continued to get worse and to the point where Anna couldn’t bear anything touching her skin. During this time, she’d sent photos to the defendant on several occasions, but she’d reassured Anna and advised her on ways to reduce the lumps.
Anna went to A&E because of the pain and was diagnosed with cellulitis, when the skin had broken, and bacteria got in. She was prescribed antibiotics and believed the lumps would simply go away.
The lumps continued to be painful, meaning Anna couldn’t sleep, and eventually she went back to A&E. Anna was placed in a room and given IV antibiotics and blood was taken. The bloods came back with high infection levels, but doctors couldn’t understand what the lumps were.
Anna was seen by a plastic surgeon who performed an operation on her to remove the lumps.
The procedure went well, and the plastic surgeon told her that dead fat, which was basically oil, had poured out of her arms during the procedure. The wounds were left open, and she had to return every few days to have her dressings changed and clean the wounds.
Continued issues for Anna
This led to months of issues for Anna, with infections in the wound and painful changing of the dressing. During this time, the defendant was still in contact with Anna, putting the blame on the manufacturer throughout.
Anna had new lumps appearing and was worried she might need another operation. Anna visited a private consultant, who advised her that she believed the Aqualyx had been injected too superficially. Unfortunately, the consultant wasn’t sure what else to do other than suggest a cream to use in the hope that reduced the lumps.
With more lumps still appearing, she returned to the dressing clinic. Plastic surgeons were present and attempted to drain some lumps but weren’t able to drain them all.
Throughout this time, Anna had been prescribed five different courses of antibiotics. She also had biopsies on the lumps, but did not receive any results.
How has this impacted Anna’s life?
Anna still has lumps on her body that cause her stress each day. She’s worried about the way they look and makes effort to cover them.
Anna has scars from her operation that she’s been trying to cover. Although their colour has changed, and she can use makeup to try and cover them, the texture still makes them visible.
Before this, Anna was outgoing and body confident. She’s now insecure about her arms and it’s impacted her confidence. She regularly covers her arms, even from her mum and boyfriend.
It’s put her off going on holiday because her arms would be on show. She was supposed to be a bridesmaid for a friend’s wedding but pulled out after the dress was sleeveless.
Anna also told her boyfriend she’d like to delay getting engaged because she’d like to be able to have a sleeveless dress.
Anna enjoyed going swimming before this but hasn’t been since because she’s scared of people staring at her arms.
At the time, Anna was studying for her Masters at university but had to delay her final exams because of her operation. The whole incident has delayed her career progression, and she feels she’s far behind where she should have been by now.
Anna also missed out on pay from her job. This left her out-of-pocket during a time when she was paying for expensive consultations and treatment.
How did Irwin Mitchell help Anna?
Anna came to Irwin Mitchell's cosmetic surgery team to claim compensation to help pay for the support and rehabilitation she needed. She also wanted to recoup her loss of earnings and medical expenses.
Allie-Louise Grover, a medical negligence solicitor, handled Anna’s claim. She began working to prove that the defendant was at fault for the injuries.
Allie examined Anna’s medical records and worked with an independent medical expert. The medical expert examined Anna’s injuries and supported our view that the defendant was responsible for them.
Allie submitted a Letter of Claim to the defendant, who admitted liability for Anna’s injuries. We then started settlement negotiations with the defendant. Allie was able to settle on a five-figure compensation amount for Anna.
The compensation will be used by Anna for brachioplasty surgery. This was recommended by our medical expert. It’ll remove most of the scarring and leave her with a brachioplasty scar instead. Anna will also be able to get treatment on the larger lump that’s developed as well.
*Client’s name has been changed to protect anonymity.
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