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Plastic Surgery Medical Negligence

The true cost of clinical negligence in plastic surgery

The plight of a British businesswoman who underwent cosmetic surgery has thrown the potential cost of medical negligence back into the spotlight. Although the claim was launched in 2007, it has taken four years to reach its conclusion, resulting in a landmark payout for cases of this kind.

The Price of Vanity?

In 2007, Penny Johnson contacted Dr Le Roux Fourie to discuss eliminating the dark circles under her eyes and reshaping her nose. Dr Le Roux Fourie persuaded Mrs Johnson to undergo further procedures, including a full facelift and the replacement of her breast implants. Following the operations, Mrs Johnson was left with uncontrollable facial twitching, a grimace and the inability to close her right eye. Consequently, Mrs Johnson found she was unable to work, as she found it impossible to sleep and experienced a “buzzing around my eye which can be so intense that I can’t think of anything.”

Mrs Johnson’s symptoms also bled into her personal life, affecting her marriage and her relationship with her son: “My husband has a separate life with my son which I’m not included in.” The presiding judge, Justice Owen, stated that the negligent surgery had “resulted in a prolonged adjustment disorder with features of anxiety and depression.”

Although Mrs Johnson initially sued Dr Le Roux Fourie for the net worth of half the shares in the business she had established with her husband, the court eventually awarded her a sum just over £5 million.

Paying Through the Nose

According to figures released by the General Medical Council, there were around 25,000 cosmetic surgeries performed in the UK in 2010. The amount in compensation payouts over the last 13 years has been in excess of £7million. In 2002, the National Care Standards Commission established a regulation stating that no medical professionals are allowed to practice cosmetic surgery without undertaking specialist training. However, these regulations do not apply to doctors who registered themselves before the 1st April of that year. This may explain why the statistics for cosmetic surgery medical negligence claims are still so widespread.

Just as when a patient submits themselves to a medical professional as the result of illness or injury, cosmetic surgeons are legally bound by a duty of care to provide their patients with the best possible service. This means adhering to standards, techniques and codes of best practice as laid out by the governing medical body. If these standards are ignored or not adhered to and the patient suffers injury or death as a direct result, then the patient or his surviving family can sue for medical negligence.

As is proven by Judge Owen’s ruling on the effects of negligence on Penny Johnson, the traumatic effects of botched cosmetic surgery are more than just skin deep. Often, with no possibility of the damage being repaired, victims are left disfigured and plagued by the psychological effects that an injury of this sort can bring. While the majority of payouts do not reach the heights of £5million, this case has sent out a message to both the legal and medical communities, saying that cosmetic surgery negligence claims must be given as much gravity as any other.

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If you believe you have been the victim of an act of medical or clinical negligence you need our free guide which answers all of the questions that you need answers to before deciding to make a claim, including:

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Before you take any further action, take five minutes to read our free guide so that when you do pick up the telephone or fill in an online enquiry form, you know exactly the questions you need to ask to find the right medical negligence claim solicitor for you.

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