The popularity of cosmetic surgery, and the incidence of claims in respect of medical negligence in that field, has increased significantly in the course of recent years.
Cosmetic surgery is, for the most part, surgery undertaken voluntarily by a patient. Unfortunately there is poor regulation and control in the quality of surgeons undertaking cosmetic surgery, primarily within the private sector. It is not a recognised specialty and has no recognised training or syllabus. In such circumstances, the quality of the work being undertaken by Cosmetic Surgeons can vary from Hospital to Hospital, and indeed from Practitioner to Practitioner.
Litigation involving cosmetic surgery is not uncommon, and common medico-legal problems arise due to various factors including poor selection of patients, poor discussion or advice on the part of the surgeon, poor surgical performance and poor post-operative care. In our experience, at O’Reilly Stewart Healthcare, the most frequent presentation of a dissatisfied patient after cosmetic surgery is as a consequence of the failure on the part of the Cosmetic Surgeon to obtain an appropriately informed consent prior to the performance of the operation.
The surgeon has an obligation to warn a patient undergoing cosmetic surgery of the material risks inherent in the treatment. If appropriate the surgeon should explain alternative treatment options. In determining what is of interest to a particular patient, the doctor must consider whether a person in your position would consider the risk to be significant. Essentially that means that if there is a risk relating to the procedure, then the surgeon should make you aware of the risk and seek your views in association with it.
O’Reilly Stewart Healthcare solicitors have acted regularly on behalf of the victims of negligence in cosmetic care. We have secured damages on behalf of our clients in relation to the loss that they have experienced, the upset and distress that they have suffered when such surgery goes wrong, and, where appropriate, funding to ensure that remedial surgery may be undertaken.
If you have suffered injury and loss by virtue of misdiagnosed or delayed diagnosis, please contact us by phone on 028 9032 1000 for free advice about making a claim.
