Five Unbelievable Plastic Surgery Medical Malpractice Cases
Written by Cooper & Friedman PLLC on July 18, 2019
The decision to undergo plastic surgery is not a light one. Going under anesthesia and being opened up on an operating table is a serious experience. This is true whether you’re undergoing surgery needed to save your life or an elective surgery like plastic surgery. With any surgery, there are risks involved. From going under anesthesia to the surgery itself and into recovery, there are plenty of opportunities for something to go wrong. That is why medical malpractice is such a devastating occurrence.
In a high-risk environment, having a negligent doctor only makes matters worse. When medical malpractice occurs during plastic surgery it can be extremely devastating. Coming out of an operation that was intended to make a person feel better about themselves with more problems is hurtful to the ego, psyche, and can even cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD.)
Plastic surgery medical malpractice is a lot more common than people think.
In fact, on average, an average of 85,000 cases of medical malpractice are reported each year. These cases range from hysterectomy medical malpractice to bladder surgery malpractice to plastic surgery malpractice.
There have even been cases of people getting the wrong limb amputated or a blood transfusion of the wrong blood type. However, when it comes to plastic surgery medical malpractice, the cases are unique in that the surgery is almost always elective. The most common plastic surgeries, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, include:
- Breast augmentations to increase, adjust, or even out breast sizes.
- Liposuction which removes excess fat from beneath the skin. This is most commonly applied to the abdomen, neck, chin, back, arms, or thighs.
- Rhinoplasty where the nose is reshaped for cosmetic or medical reasons.
- Eyelid surgery to remove excess or loose skin from around the eyes.
- Tummy tucks which are often given after extreme weight loss to remove excess skin from the abdomen area.
While most people would think that plastic surgeons are more careful when operating, considering their specialty, this is not always true. Most doctors who commit medical malpractice do not do it intentionally. More often than not the medical malpractice is due to an issue in paperwork, surgical preparation, or during recovery. This is even true for cases of plastic surgery. Follow along to learn about five unbelievable plastic surgery medical malpractice cases that have occurred in the United States.
Five Plastic Surgery Medical Malpractice Cases
Cancer Survivor Wins 1.1 Million for Botched Breast Augmentation
A 49-year-old breast cancer survivor was awarded over one million dollars after a breast augmentation went wrong. A surgery that was supposed to even out her breast’s appearance and restore her confidence after a lumpectomy turned into a nightmare. The doctor who performed the breast augmentation did not inform the woman that her risk of complications was significantly higher due to the radiation she’d undergone. Following the original surgery, plus two more to address issues, the woman was left with an open wound beneath one of her breasts and two breasts that were grossly deformed and uneven. Thankfully she was awarded $1.1 million dollars. That does not make up for the permanent deformities and scarring she obtained.
$400K Awarded to Woman Who Receives a Botched Facelift
In Michigan, an anonymous woman went to a local plastic surgeon to get a facelift. She left with skin that eventually died because it had been stretched too tightly. Despite multiple follow-up visits to address the pain, redness, swelling, and bruising she was experiencing, the plastic surgeon failed to treat her in a timely manner. This resulted in the skin around the woman’s jawline dying and leaving scarring on both sides of her face. After taking the surgeon to trial in a medical malpractice case, the jury ruled in favor of the woman. She was awarded $400,000 for her experience.
Plastic Surgeon Charged with Malpractice and Manslaughter
On two different occasions, a plastic surgeon was criminally charged. Once was for medical malpractice after a woman had a tummy tuck that resulted in her being unable to stand up straight for over a year. The woman went in for two routine plastic surgery procedures – a tummy tuck and a thigh trim – that were expected to take an hour and a half. However, five hours later she left the plastic surgeon’s office not knowing she would take over a year to recover. When she took the plastic surgeon to trial, he wasn’t able to be in attendance since he was being tried for manslaughter after another patient of his bled to death on the operating table during a liposuction procedure.
15 Women Sue the Same Plastic Surgeon for Malpractice
A doctor who was a certified family doctor, but not a plastic surgeon, is being sued by 15 women. After botched liposuctions, butt lifts, augmentations left these women in more pain, they decided to take their experiences to court. A single lawyer is representing 14 of the 15 women. They are fighting for them to get monetary compensation for their traumatic experiences. However, the lawyer makes it clear that while some of the women’s issues can be resolved with additional surgery, others have permanent damage that is irreparable like nerve damage and scarring.
British Woman Receives 35,000 Pounds After Suffering from a Perforated Bowel
A British woman went in for a routine liposuction procedure on her thighs and abdomen. She ended up with months of medical treatment after the plastic surgeon perforated her bowel. The negligence of this case is not in question because the surgeon was negligent twice. His first negligent act was the perforation itself. The second, and far more important, the negligent act was when he failed to miss the perforation during a follow-up. It wasn’t until days later that the patient realized something was wrong after she began to experience severe stomach pain. After an emergency laparotomy, perforation repair, blood transfusion, and treatment for pleurisy, pneumonia, and embolisms, the woman remained anemic and tied down to follow-up appointments for months.
Have You Suffered from Plastic Surgery Medical Malpractice?
A lot of people aren’t aware that you can sue for medical malpractice in relation to plastic surgery. If you have undergone plastic surgery and are left with more medical problems than when you started, do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Cooper and Friedman in Louisville, Kentucky. We’ve got over 35 years of combined experience dealing with medical malpractice cases in relation to liposuction procedures gone wrong, botched tummy tucks, and more. Contact us today for a free consultation by calling 502-459-7555 to speak to an experienced plastic surgery attorney.