Personal Injury Cases: Moving on to Better Things

When Can I Sue My Plastic Surgeon?

While cosmetic surgery that goes awry will often only have an effect on your physical appearance, the embarrassment and emotional trauma that results from plastic surgery medical malpractice is enough to justify a medical malpractice lawsuit. By receiving compensation, you may be able to have corrections made by a more competent plastic surgeon that can help restore your appearance to normal.

Medical malpractice can lead to results such as:

  • Excessive scarring

  • Disfigurement

  • Infection

  • Skin drooping

  • Skin discoloration

  • Permanent disability

  • Death

When suing for medical malpractice, you will first need to know whether you gave informed consent and what you were specifically informed about. For example, if you receive breast augmentation surgery and your breasts rupture, you may not be able to sue for medical malpractice if you were informed of this risk beforehand.

Informed Consent Doesn't Always Shield the Plastic Surgeon

Even if you do give informed consent, it is possible that you can sue for medical malpractice if there was a duty of care and if your plastic surgeon breached this duty of care. Even though the results of a plastic surgery will not always turn out perfectly, patients expect that their plastic surgeons will carry out their surgeries to the best of their abilities.

For one, the plastic surgeon must have the training required to carry out the treatment. If someone is posing as a plastic surgeon, he or she might face both civil and criminal penalties.

Second, the plastic surgeon must carry out the procedure on the right part of the body and perform the correct procedure. For example, if the patient was supposed to receive Botox, but instead received a face lift, this would be a reason for a lawsuit.

Plastic Surgeons Must Take Your Medical History Into Account

The plastic surgery must be carried out with the patient's full medical history kept in mind. If the plastic surgery may cause medical complications, the plastic surgeon must take all measures available to prevent these complications even if doing so will increase the cost of the procedure.

Cost-Cutting Measures Can Lead to Lawsuits

Unfortunately, some plastic surgeons will cut corners to lower costs. They may use an anesthetic nurse rather than an anesthesiologist. They might perform the plastic surgery in a private setting away from the hospital. Then, if you have a medical emergency, the plastic surgeon may not have the equipment necessary to mitigate the effects of this emergency. These cost-cutting measures can justify a lawsuit. However, you will need to communicate with a medical malpractice lawyer under all of these circumstances.  

For more information, visit http://whiteville-law.com or a similar website.


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