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Every procedure or operation carries with it a certain amount of risk. The risks involved in any procedure should be explained to a patient before they undergo that procedure – to enable them to give informed consent.

If harm caused to a patient during an operation was a risk of that procedure and the risks were adequately explained to the patient before the operation then medical negligence is unlikely to have occurred. However, failing to obtain consent or adequately explain the risks involved in an operation can in itself be medical negligence.

However if the resulting problem was not a risk of the procedure, but an error on behalf of the surgeon when performing the operation, then it is possible that there may well be a claim.