Los Angeles Plastic
Surgery Malpractice Lawyer

Undergoing plastic surgery is often a deeply personal decision. Whether you’re seeking to enhance your appearance or address a medical condition, you expect the procedure to be performed with care and precision. Unfortunately, plastic surgery accidents do happen, leaving you with injuries, complications, and emotional trauma. You deserve better than that, and when things go wrong due to negligence, you shouldn’t have to face the consequences alone. Below, Law Offices of Samer Habbas & Associates, PC will explain important information about botched plastic surgeries, the legal options available to victims, the possible types of financial compensation that can be received, and how a plastic surgery lawyer can fight on your behalf to obtain compensation and justice.

What Is Plastic Surgery?

Plastic surgery is a type of medical procedure aimed at improving a person’s appearance or restoring function to body parts. It includes both cosmetic surgery, which enhances or changes features (like nose jobs or facelifts), and reconstructive surgery, which repairs damage from injuries, birth defects, or medical conditions (like rebuilding a breast after cancer surgery). Surgeons use techniques to reshape, move, or repair tissues, skin, and even bones. While often chosen for aesthetic reasons, it can also help improve physical health, like improving breathing or correcting scars and burns. Both safety and skilled professionals are important in plastic surgery.

Here are plastic surgery procedures known to have caused complications:

• Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) – High risk of fat embolism (fat entering the bloodstream) and infection.
• Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty) – Risks include infection, blood clots, and poor wound healing.
• Facelift (Rhytidectomy) – Can result in nerve damage, infection, or scarring.
• Breast Augmentation – Risks include implant rupture, infection, and capsular contracture (scar tissue around implant).
• Liposuction – Potential for blood clots, fluid imbalance, and infection.
• Breast Reduction – Risks include scarring, loss of sensation, and difficulty breastfeeding.
• Neck Lift – Can cause nerve damage, scarring, or difficulty swallowing.
• Thigh Lift – High risk of poor wound healing, infection, and blood clots.
• Arm Lift (Brachioplasty) – Risks include infection, scarring, and nerve damage.
• Fat Transfer – Risks of fat embolism and uneven fat absorption.
• Chin Augmentation – Nerve damage, infection, and implant shifting are possible.
• Breast Lift (Mastopexy) – Complications include scarring, infection, and loss of sensation.
• Rhinoplasty (Nose Job) – Can result in breathing problems, infection, or asymmetry.
• Breast Implant Removal – Risks include deflation, scarring, and fluid buildup.
• Ear Surgery (Otoplasty) – Infection, scarring, or asymmetry may occur.
• Eyelid Surgery (Blepharoplasty) – Risks include vision problems, infection, or scarring.
• Cheek Augmentation – Potential for implant shifting, infection, or asymmetry.
• Forehead/Brow Lift – Nerve damage, infection, or asymmetry are possible.
• Scar Revision – Risks include scarring, infection, and pigmentation changes.
• Laser Skin Resurfacing – Can cause burns, pigmentation changes, or scarring.
• Hair Transplant – Risks include infection, scarring, or poor hair growth.
• Dermal Fillers – Can cause allergic reactions, infection, or lumps.
• Lip Augmentation – Risks include infection, asymmetry, and nerve damage.
• Botox Injections – Rare complications include drooping eyelids, difficulty swallowing, or muscle weakness.
• Gynecomastia Surgery – Risks include scarring, infection, or uneven results.

Types of Plastic Surgery Injuries

• Infection is one type of plastic surgery accident. This can occur after surgery if the surgical site isn’t properly cleaned or if bacteria are introduced during the procedure. Infections can lead to serious health issues, sometimes requiring additional surgeries or hospitalization.
• Nerve Damage is another type of plastic surgery accident. During surgery, nerves can be inadvertently cut or damaged, leading to numbness, tingling, or permanent loss of sensation in the affected area. In severe cases, nerve damage can cause chronic pain or affect mobility.
• Excessive Scarring is a common accident in plastic surgery, where a poorly executed surgery can result in disfiguring scars. This can happen when the surgeon doesn’t properly close incisions or uses incorrect techniques, leaving visible, painful, or restrictive scars.
• Anesthesia Complications are also types of plastic surgery accidents. Incorrect dosages of anesthesia or failure to monitor your vitals properly during surgery can lead to dangerous complications, including allergic reactions, brain damage, or even death.
• Wrong-Site Surgery is a devastating type of plastic surgery accident where the surgeon operates on the wrong part of your body. This can result in irreversible disfigurement and requires additional surgery to correct.
• Implant Ruptures or implant displacements can happen during or after surgery, causing complications that require correction. Whether it’s a breast augmentation, chin implant, or other enhancement, a ruptured or misaligned implant can lead to pain, disfigurement, and further surgeries.

Causes of Failed Cosmetic Surgeries

Surgeon error is one of the primary causes of plastic surgery accidents. If your surgeon lacks the proper training or experience, they may make critical mistakes during your procedure. These mistakes can lead to botched results, injuries, and a need for corrective surgery.

Poor preoperative planning can cause significant complications during and after surgery. When a surgeon doesn’t take the necessary time to plan the procedure, assess your medical history, or perform the necessary tests, they may overlook important factors that increase your risk of an accident.

Use of non-sterile instruments can introduce infections and bacteria into your body during surgery. If the medical staff doesn’t properly clean and sterilize instruments, you are at risk of post-surgery infections that can lead to serious health complications.

Improper monitoring during surgery is another common cause of accidents. If the anesthesiologist or other medical staff fail to monitor your vitals during surgery, you could suffer from issues related to anesthesia, cardiac arrest, or other life-threatening complications.

Failure to follow postoperative care instructions by the surgeon or medical staff can lead to complications such as infection, excessive scarring, or improper healing. If you aren’t given clear and accurate instructions for your recovery, your chances of a successful outcome diminish.

Who to Sue for a Botched Plastic Surgery

The surgeon performing the procedure is often the first person held accountable if they acted negligently. If your injuries are the result of surgical incompetence, lack of proper training, or failure to follow safety protocols, they can be sued for medical malpractice.

California also has laws surrounding informed consent that are important in plastic surgery accident cases. Before performing any medical procedure, your surgeon must provide you with information about the potential risks, benefits, and alternatives to the surgery. If you were not informed about the specific risks that ultimately caused your injuries, or if the surgeon didn’t fully explain the procedure and the risks involved, this could be considered a violation of your rights. Failure to obtain informed consent can strengthen your malpractice claim.

In some cases, the medical staff assisting during your surgery could also be liable. This includes anesthesiologists, nurses, and anyone responsible for monitoring your vitals or assisting in the operation. If any of these professionals fail to perform their duties correctly, they could be held responsible for your injuries.

Additionally, the clinic or medical facility where your surgery took place could also be liable. If the facility lacked proper hygiene, didn’t sterilize instruments, or allowed unqualified surgeons to perform procedures, they could be sued for negligence. Under California law, you are entitled to hold any party responsible for negligence accountable for your injuries.

California Medical Malpractice Cases

Filing a medical malpractice claim in California requires proving that your plastic surgery accident was caused by negligence. You must show that the surgeon or medical staff failed to meet the expected standard of care, leading to your injury.

In California, you have a deadline for filing a lawsuit:

• One year from discovering the injury to file a lawsuit, or
• Three years from the date of the surgery, whichever comes first.
• Failing to meet these deadlines can bar you from filing a claim.
• If your surgeon works for a public hospital, claims must be filed within six months under California’s Government Claims Act.

California law requires that before you can file a medical malpractice lawsuit, you must notify the healthcare provider at least 90 days in advance. This notice includes the legal basis for the claim, the type of injury sustained, and the compensation being sought. This is intended to give both parties an opportunity to negotiate a settlement before litigation begins.

Additionally, California allows for mediation as a part of the medical malpractice process. Both parties may agree to settle the dispute outside of court through mediation, which can be faster and less expensive than a trial. If a fair settlement can’t be reached, the case may proceed to court.

Possible Damages for Cosmetic Surgery Injuries

A plastic surgery error can have a devastating impact on your life, both physically and emotionally. You may suffer from long-term pain, disfigurement, or impaired mobility, requiring additional surgeries or ongoing medical treatment. Emotionally, you could experience a loss of confidence, anxiety, depression, or even PTSD as a result of the botched procedure.

In plastic surgery cases, you may be entitled to recover compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and emotional distress. Under California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA), non-economic damages (pain and suffering) are capped. There is no cap on economic damages like medical bills and lost wages.

California follows a pure comparative fault rule, meaning if you’re partially responsible for your injury, your compensation will be reduced by your percentage of fault. A plastic surgery victim could be partially responsible if they:

Don’t follow postoperative instructions (e.g., improper wound care).

• Fail to disclose important medical history (e.g., preexisting conditions).
• Engage in restricted activities (e.g., exercise too soon).
• Continue smoking or drinking despite advice to stop.
• Miss follow-up appointments, worsening complications.

Contact The Los Angeles Plastic Surgery Malpractice Attorney Samer Habbas

If you’re the victim of a botched cosmetic surgery, you deserve to know your legal options and fight for the justice you deserve. At Law Offices of Samer Habbas & Associates, PC, our experienced attorneys know what it takes to stand up to negligent surgeons and their insurers. You shouldn’t have to suffer for someone else’s mistake, and we’re here to help you every step of the way. To get started, contact Law Offices of Samer Habbas & Associates, PC by calling 949-727-9300 or contacting us online for a free consultation with a medical malpractice attorney.

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