Medical Malpractice in Plastic Surgery

Medicine is advancing by leaps and bounds in the field of plastic surgery, and the demand for surgeries is growing. The most common surgeries are breast surgeries, facelifts, and liposuction. Concurrently, there has been an increase in the filing of medical malpractice lawsuits in plastic surgeries.

Unlike surgeries performed with the purpose of healing, most plastic surgeries are performed voluntarily and following the patient's request. In most cases, the purpose of the surgery is cosmetic – this is an elective surgery, performed by choice. Although this is a surgery performed voluntarily, which the patient chooses when and where (and by whom) to perform, it is nevertheless a surgery, with all that entails. Plastic surgeries are not a guaranteed recipe for improving external appearance, and sometimes performing a negligent surgery not only fails to improve the patient's appearance but can lead to severe aesthetic injury and sometimes even additional physical injuries.

The courts, when examining the existence of a cause of action in medical malpractice lawsuits in performing plastic surgeries, are strict with plastic surgeons and clinics engaged in the field of plastic surgery, precisely because these types of surgeries are elective and expensive. The legal system views the plastic surgeon as "responsible" for the patient throughout the entire process, from the decision itself to undergo the surgery, through the type of surgery, its method, its performance, and the follow-up after its performance.

When the doctor was negligent and caused damage, this constitutes medical malpractice and grants the patient – the injured party – the right to file a lawsuit.

Negligence Prior to Performing the Surgery

In order for a patient to make a decision to undergo plastic surgery of any type, the operating doctor must conduct a detailed interrogation and refer him to comprehensive examinations. He must provide the patient with detailed and organized information regarding his medical condition, alternatives to treatment or surgery that could lead to a similar result, the advantages of the surgery, its disadvantages, its chances of success, risks of various types (however remote they may be), and side effects involved in its performance. Furthermore, the surgeon must provide the patient with information about his experience in performing surgeries of this type and about the experience of the medical institution within which he is offered to undergo it. The plastic surgeon must give the patient reasonable time to decide whether he is interested in the surgery, and at the end of the process, if the patient has decided to undergo the surgery, have him sign a dedicated and detailed consent form for the surgery he wishes to undergo.

The duty of disclosure in cosmetic surgeries is heightened compared to other surgeries, and this stems from the fact that the surgery is performed, usually, solely for aesthetic purposes.

In a case where it appears that material details regarding the dangers of the surgery, which materialized, were concealed from you, there may be grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit. It should be noted that sometimes there are grounds for a lawsuit even when no physical damage was actually caused but only due to a violation of the patient's autonomy, and this is due to the partial information.

Negligence During Surgery

During the surgery itself and following it, many complications can occur related to the quality of treatment. If the result obtained is not aesthetic or symmetrical, because the surgery was performed with an incorrect or inappropriate technique, it may be possible to sue for negligent treatment that will be awarded compensation, insofar as the treatment led to damage.

Negligence After Surgery

Many plastic surgeries require a routine of follow-up and examinations after the surgery. The surgeon's responsibility continues after the completion of the surgery, and he must ensure that the patient understood the manner in which he should conduct himself in the days following the surgery, ensure that the drug treatment given to him is appropriate and does not cause damage, and keep him under follow-up. If the surgeon ignores findings or test results that could indicate some complication or does not address the patient's complaints, this can amount to medical malpractice and enable the filing of a medical malpractice lawsuit, if damage was caused.

If the results of the surgery are not consistent with what was explained and promised to you before the surgery, if you suffered damages that you were not warned about (including scars, asymmetry, burns, and bald spots), if in retrospect you discovered that in the world of plastic surgery there are other treatment options for the surgery you underwent and you did not receive information about them – you may have grounds for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. It is important to be aware that not every surgery that was unsuccessful and does not satisfy the patient constitutes grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Ron-Festinger Law Office specializes in medical malpractice, with over 30 years of experience in various types of tort lawsuits. The firm has extensive experience in managing cases of this type. If you have reason to suspect that damage was caused to you following a negligent plastic surgery, you can verify this through our office and receive information about the chances of success of a medical malpractice lawsuit in plastic surgeries.