Elective Surgery and Surgical Malpractice

In any elective surgery, patients are afforded the same legal protections from surgical malpractice as any option patient enduring a non-elective medical procedure. Though the applicable standard of care in each surgical procedure and patient's case will vary, the performing surgeon still owes the patient a duty of care in any surgical procedure. Failure to provide a reasonable standard of care during an elective surgical procedure, such as plastic surgeries or cosmetic surgeries, makes a surgeon liable for medical malpractice damage claims.

Malpractice Claims Specific to Elective Procedures

Specifically concerning elective surgeries, such as cosmetic or plastic surgeries, patients also can reasonably expect a standard of care relating to their appearance following a procedure. While any patient has legal rights to claims following malpractice during a medical procedure, patients enduring elective procedures may have legal rights to recover damages should their procedure, from an aesthetic perspective, go wrong.

In essence, the theory behind damage claims involving undesired aesthetic outcomes lies in the fact that the duty of care in a given cosmetic surgery procedure includes producing results that enhance a patient's appearance. Should a given surgeon's actions deviate from the standard of care, a patient may have viable grounds to file suit. However, determining deviation from standard of care and in turn negligence, requires a patient to prove that any other reasonable and competently performing surgeon, when faced with the exact same patient and procedure, would have produced the results desired by a patient.

Elements of a Viable Malpractice Claim in Elective Surgeries

In order to recover compensation for damages, patients and their legal counsel must prove the following elements, including:

A doctor-patient relationship existed, and from this relationship, the medical professional owed a patient a duty of care

The medical professional (most likely a surgeon) breached the duty of care when failing to perform at or above a standard of care

The breach of duty of care was the proximate cause of damage sustained by a patient

The patient experienced documentable and viable damages

Getting Legal Help with Elective Surgery Malpractice Claims

Much like any other medical malpractice case, the laws and statutes surrounding medical malpractice are complex , and in many cases, claims are vigorously contested by the liability insurance coverage providers of a medical professional. Furthermore, each medical malpractice case involves highly case-specific elements, which a lawyer must review and investigate before any legal action is started against a potentially negligent surgeon. An experienced lawyer can provide the legal expertise to maximize the value of surgical injuries in a malpractice case.

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