Dissatisfaction with the results of surgery does not always mean a patient has a viable medical malpractice case. As most patients know, surgery results are rarely, if ever, guaranteed. Furthermore, unsatisfactory surgery and unsuccessful surgery are often two very different things. If a patient is unsatisfied with some aspect of a surgical procedure, there are a few key points that can shed light on whether malpractice was committed.
First and foremost, an unsatisfied patient should truly consider whether a surgery was successful. For example, a cardiac patient may be dissatisfied with a large scar on his chest, but if his heart was repaired appropriately, the surgery was successful. The surgeon accomplished his or her intended purpose, so the patient must then determine whether the large scar was a result of malpractice or simply part and parcel of undergoing open-heart surgery.
The critical question of liability will focus on whether an operating surgeon performed negligently or did not conform to the local standard of practice. In the example above, large scars could simply be a byproduct of the open-heart procedure. However, if the local standard of practice called for a smaller incision or in some way limited the potential scarring, the surgeon may have committed malpractice. And while the patient is not dissatisfied with the overall result of the surgery, dissatisfaction with the scarring caused by the surgery may translate into a viable medical malpractice claim.
One area where dissatisfaction is a major issue is in the area of cosmetic surgery. Plastic surgeons tout their ability to reshape, remodel or otherwise revitalize patients’ appearances through cutting edge surgical techniques. But remodeling the human body is not like remodeling a house. Many patients who freely choose to undergo elective cosmetic surgery are dissatisfied with the results, yet their dissatisfaction, by and large, does not mean the plastic surgeon committed malpractice. A cosmetic surgery patient will have a difficult time maintaining a medical malpractice case against a plastic surgeon unless there was a clear violation of the standard of care.
Medical malpractice cases are difficult to bring under the best of circumstances. In many states, changes to local law have made it extremely difficult for a victim of malpractice to assert his or her right to sue. Even in cases of clear-cut malpractice there are many procedural hoops that need to be jumped through in order to bring and maintain a suit against a doctor. Many lawmakers (and insurance companies) firmly believe that medical professionals are subject to a disproportionately high number of baseless lawsuits. Making it harder to sue doctors ostensibly weeds out the “baseless” cases. Dissatisfied patients’ suits often fall under the baseless suit category, fairly or unfairly.
If a patient is simply unsatisfied with some aspect of an otherwise successful surgery, bringing and maintaining a medical malpractice claim will be an uphill battle. As always, a consultation with a local attorney specializing in medical malpractice will be the best way to gauge the success of a potential case.