Cosmetic Surgeries Make Lawyers Rich and People Cry
Posted: Thursday, April 07, 2011
by Neha Sareen
LegalMatch
Litigation over unfavorable results from cosmetic surgeries is becoming very common. A recent article in The Huffington Post mentioned how a woman from New Jersey is suing her doctor because she cannot fully close her eyes after her cosmetic surgery. As a result, she cannot sleep properly nor participate in enjoyable activities such as horseback ridging, gardening, and swimming. Although she has brought suit, there is no further news on the amount she wants for damages.
Now, prior plastic surgeries should not carry much weight in trying to settle or litigate this particular suit. Regardless of her past experiences, the present surgery and subject of litigation is the main focus. If the patient was warned of the risks, there may not be much basis for litigation. Furthermore, if the doctor had the patient sign an agreement stating that she was warned of the risks (which most doctors do), then there is not much more the doctor could have done.
A viable basis for the patient’s suit would be proof of the doctor having made some sort of mistake, either intentionally or negligently. The patient must prove that her injury was proximately caused by the doctor’s reckless disregard or his intention to cause her harm. This is not very easy, and these sort of personal injury suits can become very expensive due to all the legal work entailed.
What is likely to happen with this suit, as with many suits of this type, is a settlement between the doctor and patient. Some sort of monetary amount will serve to compensate the patient for the decrease in her quality of life and harm, and allow the doctor to carry on with his career and forget about an incident that may or may not have been caused by him.
Although such lawsuits have made some lawyers very wealthy, society needs to truly assess the risks of cosmetic surgery partaking in such endeavors. Cosmetic surgeries can be dangerous and result in adverse consequences that may be life-altering.
Neha Sareen is a regular contributor to LegalMatch and the LegalMatch Law Blog.
This Article has been viewed 163 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.