Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Florida

malpractice

I am a 30 year old female that was always a 34D. In my mid 20s? my breast started sagging (almost down to my belly button). Which brought my self-esteem further down. In September of 2005, I choose to get them back to where they were to rebuild my self-esteem. Three months after the surgery, my doctor decided they needed to be revised. (He nor I was not happy w/results). So in January of 2006 I had my second surgery. Now my breast look like a couple of scarred lumps. One is bigger then the other, they are much smaller, nipples are way to high, out place and the right nipple is not even round, etc. I went back for a 6 month checkup, my doctor says come back in 18 months and we will revise again. My self-esteem is gone. I just don?t know what to do! I have the before, before, and after pictures to prove it.


Asked on 7/21/07, 10:44 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Alan Wagner Wagner, McLaughlin & Whittemore P.A.

Re: malpractice

These are extremely difficult cases. Your first step wouyld be to go to a good plastic surgeon who can evaluate your condition and determine whether the first doctor was negligent and whether there is a surgical "fix."

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Answered on 7/22/07, 9:00 pm
Elizabeth Herd Morgenstern & Herd, P.A.

Re: malpractice

Merely being unhappy with a result does not necessarily mean that your surgeon was negligent. I suspect that if you look at the consent that you signed for your procedure the outcome you experienced is listed as a risk of the procedure. In a case such as yours, if you were to pursue a legal claim against your surgeon you would need to prove that your surgeon failed to follow the standard of care and that as a result of that failure you were damaged. Normally in elective surgical procedures such as breast surgery no specific result is guaranteed. Once a revision surgery is performed it becomes increasingly difficult to get the result that you desire. If you are not happy with this surgeon I would cetainly not advocate going back to him. I would go to see another surgeon. Lastly, in terms of any legal remedy that you may have in Florida, you are bound by a 2 year limitation period from the time that you knew or reasonably should have known that a negligent act took place. You can extend that time period by filing a paper with the clerk in the county where the surgery took place. You could not have known earlier than the time that the first surgery took place, but I would not wait to take action - you should act immediately to protect the September 2005 date of the first surgery.

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Answered on 7/23/07, 8:38 am


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