When individuals in Pennsylvania consider reconstructive surgery or another medical procedure, trepidation is only natural. A botched surgery can have many consequences of which additional medical expenses is only one. A woman and her husband in another state filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against a plastic surgeon and a medical facility, claiming negligence on the part of the surgeon. A jury trial was recently held.
According to the lawsuit, the surgeon — who also happens to be the owner of the surgical facility — performed a mastectomy of both breasts of the plaintiff in 1993. Reconstructive surgery was done at the same time. The complaint asserts that necrosis developed after the procedure, which is caused when breast tissues die due to the lack of blood flow or injury. The plaintiff claimed that subsequent surgery in 2010 was not performed up to expected standards and left her with deformed and asymmetric breasts, along with other problems.
The defendant then scheduled further corrective surgery just two months later, but further necrosis resulted from this procedure. The plaintiff claimed that the surgery was performed without informed consent due to the fact that the surgeon failed to inform her of the risk of necrosis developing after the procedures. Due to this alleged negligence, the plaintiff claimed to have suffered prolonged pain and suffering occasioned by the additional surgical procedures. Furthermore, permanent physical injury and disfiguration caused mental anguish, as well as lost wages.
A Maryland jury awarded the couple $564,000, including recovery of medical-related losses and noneconomic damages. Medical malpractice cases are never easy to navigate, and many Pennsylvania victims of medical negligence utilize the services of an experienced medical malpractice attorney. A lawyer who focuses on this field of the law will have the resources to obtain the information required to successfully pursue a claim through the civil court system.
Source: heraldmailmedia.com, “Jury awards $564K to W.Va. couple in malpractice case“, Don Aines, Oct. 7, 2015