The information available from the Cleveland Clinic shows that cosmetic surgery is very common in the US. Data shows that providers conduct more than 15 million cosmetic procedures annually across this country. However, what happens if a person gets bad plastic surgery? These unfortunate incidents do occur, but do victims have recourse?

Here, we want to examine whether or not you can file a lawsuit for bad plastic surgery as well as what you need to know about working with an attorney and the time frame to file these claims.

The Medical Standard of Care for Plastic Surgery

No matter what type of healthcare professional you work with, you need to understand that they owe you a duty of care if there is a professional relationship established. In other words, if there is a doctor-patient relationship (also called the provider-patient relationship), then the medical professional owes you a duty of care.

In the medical field, the medical standard of care applies when examining the duty of care owed by the medical professional to a patient. What the insurance carriers or a medical malpractice jury will need to explore is whether or not a medical professional with similar training and a similar background would have reacted in the same way in a similar situation. In other words, are there other medical professionals who would have responded or performed in the same way as the doctor or surgeon who made the mistake did?

What Can Go Wrong During Plastic Surgery?

When we examine the information available from Healthline, we can see that there are various complications that can occur as a result of a cosmetic procedure. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Hematomas
• Seroma (bodily fluid pooling beneath the skin)
• Blood loss
• Infections
• Damage to nerves
• Pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
• Organ damage
• Scarring or disfigurement
• Anesthesia complications
• Overall dissatisfaction with the procedure

Mistakes occur in medicine, including during cosmetic surgery procedures. However, the same standard of care will apply regardless of whether or not the medical procedure was done to save a person’s life or done for cosmetic purposes.

What Compensation is Available?

There may be various types of compensation in the event a plastic surgery procedure goes wrong. If an individual files a lawsuit against the allegedly negligent medical provider and the case is successful, they will likely be able to recover various types of economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages revolve around calculable losses the medical malpractice victim will likely endure or has already endured as a result of the botched procedure. By using receipts, bills, and official invoices, an attorney can help add up the costs of:

• Emergency medical expenses
• Any follow-up surgical care
• Follow-up doctor and hospital needs
• Rehabilitation and physical therapy
• Prescription medications
• Lost wages if a person cannot work

Non-economic damages revolve around less calculable expenses individuals are likely to endure. These are more immeasurable because there will not necessarily be any receipts or bills that can help perfectly encapsulate a victim’s physical pain and suffering, emotional and psychological distress, and loss of quality of life caused by the procedure.

If you would like to talk to a lawyer about your cosmetic surgery results, contact the team at Meinhart, Smith, & Manning PLLC today.