Miami-Dade Plastic Surgery Error Lawyers
Plastic surgery can involve serious medical risks even when the procedure is elective. A patient who expected an improved appearance may instead face an infection, nerve injury, tissue damage, hospitalization, or another operation to correct a preventable problem. The medical questions become especially important when complications develop quickly after a Brazilian butt lift, liposuction, or another procedure.
Our Miami-Dade plastic surgery error lawyers represent patients harmed by negligent cosmetic and reconstructive care. Sotolongo Law brings more than 20 years of personal injury experience to serious medical injury claims, along with a background in medical malpractice defense that gives our legal team insight into surgical technique, postoperative complications, medical records, and the way physicians and insurers evaluate these cases.
Plastic surgery may take place in hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, or office surgery settings in Miami-Dade. The location of the procedure, the qualifications of the providers, the surgical plan, and the care available if a patient develops complications may all become important when determining why an injury occurred.
BBL and Liposuction Injuries Require a Close Look at the Procedure
Brazilian butt lifts and liposuction involve more than cosmetic changes to the body. Both procedures require careful attention to anatomy, surgical technique, anesthesia, fluid management, and the patient’s condition during recovery.
A Brazilian butt lift generally involves removing fat through liposuction and transferring it to the buttocks. Florida law places specific requirements on gluteal fat grafting performed in office surgery settings. Florida Statutes § 458.328 requires the physician performing the procedure to complete an in-person examination no later than the day before surgery. Fat extraction and injection must be performed by the physician, and fat may be injected only into the subcutaneous space above the fascia overlying the gluteal muscle.
The statute also requires ultrasound guidance, or another authorized technology providing equivalent guidance, while the cannula is being placed and navigated for the fat injection. Office surgery settings performing these procedures must maintain a one-physician-to-one-patient ratio during the procedure from anesthesia through extubation.
Those requirements make the operative details particularly important in a BBL injury claim. Records may help establish who performed each part of the procedure, where fat was injected, whether ultrasound guidance was used, and what occurred if the patient became unstable during or shortly after surgery.
Liposuction can present different risks. Florida’s office-surgery law also addresses registration requirements for offices performing certain liposuction procedures. A claim may involve blood loss, fluid shifts, organ injury, infection, anesthesia complications, or the amount of tissue removed during one or several combined procedures.
The medical records should show what actually occurred during the procedure, including the technique used, the patient’s condition, and any complications that developed. Those records, along with provider testimony, imaging, and later treatment, may help distinguish a recognized complication from an injury caused by negligent care.
Postoperative Infection Can Become a Medical Emergency
A patient’s condition after plastic surgery deserves careful monitoring. Pain, swelling, and bruising can accompany an ordinary recovery, while other symptoms may signal an infection or complication that requires medical attention.
Increasing redness, wound drainage, fever, severe or worsening pain, unusual swelling, skin discoloration, weakness, shortness of breath, or a general decline in condition may call for further evaluation. Laboratory findings and changes in vital signs can provide additional warning signs.
An infection that is recognized early may be treated very differently from one that has been allowed to progress. Severe postoperative infections may require intravenous antibiotics, surgical drainage, removal of damaged tissue, hospitalization, or additional reconstructive procedures. In the most serious situations, infection can spread throughout the body and threaten organ function.
Follow-up records can become particularly important when a patient contacts the surgeon or facility repeatedly before receiving additional care. Phone messages, text communications, patient portal records, photographs, prescriptions, and office notes may establish when symptoms were reported and how the medical team responded.
Plastic surgery patients may also receive emergency or corrective treatment from providers who were not involved in the original procedure. Those later records can help document how serious the complication became and what medical treatment was required to address it.
A malpractice claim involving infection may examine both how the infection developed and whether providers responded appropriately once the warning signs appeared.
Plastic Surgery Errors Can Cause More Than a Poor Cosmetic Result
Plastic surgery malpractice is not limited to BBLs and liposuction. Errors may occur during breast augmentation or reduction, abdominoplasty, facial procedures, rhinoplasty, reconstructive surgery, and other operations.
Surgical injuries can involve nerves, muscles, blood vessels, organs, or surrounding tissue. A patient may develop loss of sensation, chronic pain, restricted movement, tissue death, significant scarring, or permanent changes in appearance and function.
Some claims involve implants or other materials placed during surgery. Poor positioning, injury to nearby structures, infection, or another technical problem may require removal or replacement. Other patients need a corrective operation because too much tissue was removed, an anatomical structure was injured, or the initial procedure created a medical problem that cannot be addressed through ordinary healing.
Corrective surgery can become an important part of the evidence. A second surgeon may document damaged tissue, infection, scarring, misplaced material, or another condition that helps explain why the original procedure failed medically. The subsequent operative report may also show what was required to repair the injury.
The harm can extend beyond appearance. A person may lose time from work, require months of wound care, experience persistent pain, or face restrictions that interfere with ordinary activities. Permanent scarring and disfigurement can also carry substantial physical and emotional consequences.
Those losses may include corrective treatment, future medical care, lost income, pain, scarring, disfigurement, and other lasting effects of the injury.
Medical Records and Expert Review Help Show What Went Wrong
Plastic surgery cases often involve several layers of medical evidence. Preoperative records can show what the surgeon knew about the patient’s health, medications, prior procedures, and risk factors. Operative records describe the procedure performed, while anesthesia documentation and recovery notes may reveal how the patient responded during and immediately after surgery.
Photographs can also be particularly useful in cosmetic surgery claims. Images taken before the procedure, during recovery, and after a complication develops may help document changes in appearance, wound progression, tissue injury, or scarring.
Hospital records may provide another perspective when a patient requires emergency treatment after the procedure. Imaging, laboratory testing, cultures, surgical findings, and specialist consultations can help identify the cause and severity of the complication.
Sotolongo Law’s medical malpractice defense background provides insight into how surgeons, facilities, medical experts, and insurers evaluate these records. Our legal team works with qualified medical professionals when necessary to determine whether the care met accepted standards and how a particular error caused the injury.
The appropriate expert depends on the medical issues involved. A claim may require review by a plastic surgeon, anesthesiologist, infectious disease specialist, radiologist, or another physician familiar with the complication and treatment at issue.
Sotolongo Law also serves Spanish-speaking clients and families, with an emphasis on clear communication when the medical evidence and treatment history become complicated.
Florida Law Addresses Consent, Medical Negligence, and Presuit Requirements
Florida Statutes § 766.102 governs the standard for medical negligence claims, including plastic surgery malpractice. A claimant must establish that the healthcare provider breached the prevailing professional standard of care and that the breach caused the injury.
Informed consent can also become important in cosmetic surgery. Florida Statutes § 766.103, known as the Florida Medical Consent Law, addresses consent to medical treatment and procedures. The discussion before surgery may involve the nature of the procedure, substantial risks and hazards, and available alternatives.
Consent to surgery and consent to negligence are different issues. A patient may accept a recognized risk associated with a properly performed procedure without accepting an injury caused by care that falls below the professional standard.
Florida also requires medical malpractice claims to go through a presuit process. Florida Statutes § 766.203 generally requires an investigation supported by a verified written medical expert opinion establishing reasonable grounds for the claim. Florida Statutes § 766.106 requires presuit notice to prospective defendants before a lawsuit is filed.
The time available to bring a medical malpractice action is governed by Florida Statutes § 95.11(5)(c). The statute generally provides a two-year limitations period and a four-year statute of repose, with specific exceptions under Florida law.
Plastic surgery claims can involve several important dates, including the original procedure, the first appearance of complications, later hospitalization, and corrective surgery. Reviewing that chronology helps determine both the medical issues and the legal requirements that apply.
Frequently Asked Questions About Plastic Surgery Errors in Miami-Dade
What does Florida law require during a Brazilian butt lift performed in an office surgery setting?
Florida Statutes § 458.328 imposes specific requirements for gluteal fat grafting. Among other provisions, the physician must personally perform fat extraction and injection, fat must remain in the subcutaneous space above the fascia overlying the gluteal muscle, and ultrasound or other authorized equivalent guidance must be used during cannula placement and navigation for injection.
Can a surgical office or facility share responsibility for a plastic surgery injury?
Potentially. Depending on the circumstances, a claim may involve the surgeon as well as problems involving the facility, nursing care, monitoring, staffing, infection control, or response to an emergency. The facts determine which providers or entities may be responsible.
What if my symptoms became serious after I had already been discharged?
Postoperative complications can develop or worsen after discharge. Communications with the surgeon or facility, photographs, emergency treatment records, and the timing of reported symptoms may help establish whether appropriate follow-up care was provided.
Are photographs useful in a plastic surgery malpractice case?
Yes. Photographs may help document wound progression, infection, tissue damage, scarring, disfigurement, or changes that occurred after surgery. Images can be particularly useful when considered together with the medical records and treatment timeline.
Can someone other than the plastic surgeon be responsible for the injury?
Yes. Depending on what happened, responsibility may involve an anesthesiologist, nurse, surgical facility, another physician, or other healthcare provider involved in the patient’s care. Each provider’s conduct must be evaluated separately.
Contact Sotolongo Law
A serious plastic surgery injury can leave a patient facing emergency treatment, corrective surgery, permanent scarring, infection, or medical problems that continue long after the original procedure. When plastic surgery leads to a serious injury, the surgical records, postoperative care, photographs, and corrective treatment can help show what went wrong and how the complication affected the patient.
Contact Sotolongo Law for a free consultation if you or a family member suffered a serious injury following a plastic surgery procedure in Miami-Dade. With more than 20 years of personal injury experience and a strong understanding of the medical issues involved in surgical claims, our team is prepared to handle cases involving physicians, surgical facilities, insurers, and other well-resourced defendants. There is no attorney fee unless we successfully recover compensation for you.