£500,000 damages awarded after Optical Express laser eye surgery

A woman who claimed to have been left with severe photophobia after laser eye surgery with Optical Express has been awarded over £500,000 in damages by Central London County Court.

Stephanie Holloway had sought £1m in damages after she claimed she was not properly informed of the risks of the procedure (News 26.09.14), which was carried out by surgeon Dr Joanna McGraw in 2008, who was working as a locum at the time.

McGraw's representatives claimed that Holloway, from Lee-on-Solent, had been warned about the risks associated with a procedure on her type of eyes, but according to a report published on the Mail Online, Judge Edward Bailey told the court that there was no way that the surgeon could have given her all the relevant information in such a small space of time.