Breast Implant Malpractice Lawsuit in Salisbury

Gay v. Peninsula Plastic Surgery, P.C.

This is a plastic surgery malpractice lawsuit filed without a lawyer by a Delaware woman on the Eastern Shore after she has breast augmentation surgery done and the results are asymmetrical. It was filed in Health Claims Arbitration on February 16, 2017, and is the 83^th medical malpractice lawsuit filed in Maryland in 2017.

• Another breast surgery malpractice case. This one was filed against St. Agnes Hospital in 2017.

Summary of Plaintiff's Allegations

Plaintiff goes to defendant surgeon in Salisbury for breast augmentation surgery. She is admitted to the facility and the surgery is performed. Later that afternoon, the woman notices that her breasts are asymmetrical and uneven. Within a week, she returns to the defendant's facility to ask them to fix the problem.

A little more than a week after the initial procedure, the defendant doctor performs a "push down" procedure to fix the problem. This is done without informed consent and causes one of the breast implants to rupture. Plaintiff alleges that the doctor attempted to manually break some of the internal sutures to align her breasts. The woman later learns that during the surgery, the doctors over-dissected her nipple and attempted to repair it, without informed consent.

Additional Comments

• You can bet the plaintiff is extremely angry at what happened to her, maybe with good reason. But her chances of successfully bringing this medical malpractice claim without a lawyer is vanishingly low.
• Many breast augmentation malpractice lawsuits involve a pneumothorax out of the normal dissection plane and enter the pleural cavity causing a pneumothorax occurring during the performance of breast augmentation. This is usually caused by an inexperienced or inattentive surgery who strays out of the normal dissection plane and enters the pleural cavity causing a pneumothorax. It is a known complication but that known complication is often poorly managed.

Jurisdiction

• Wicomico (probably, the lawsuit does not say)

Defendants

• Peninsula Plastic Surgery, P.C.
• A plastic surgeon

Negligence

• Violating the standard of care
• Use of a poor technique when performing the "push down" procedure in attempting to fix the problem
• Performing the "push down" procedure without informed consent
• Performing over-dissection of the nipple and attempting to repair it without getting informed consent from the patient
• Applying excessive force and pushing the plaintiff's breast while attempting to fix the problem, rupturing the breast implant

Specific Counts Pled

• Medical Negligence

Plaintiff's Experts and Areas of Specialty

• None at this time

Leading Breast Augmentation Surgery Cases

• Gluckstein v. Lipsett: One of the first cases involving cosmetic breast surgery. California court upheld a $115,000 verdict, an extremely large amount money in 1949.
• Sutch v. Yarinsky: New York verdict of $800,000 against a doctor who left scarring and other complications was not excessive.
• An $85,000 verdict for the wife of the former mayor of San Diego in 2017.

Getting a Lawyer for Your Malpractice Claim

Have you been injured due to the negligence of a doctor? You are entitled to justice and compensation for the harm done to you. Call Miller & Zois today at (800) 553-8082 to speak with an attorney who can help you and answer your questions. You can also get a free online case review.

More Malpractice Claim Information

• Jury awards $358,000 in botched breast reconstruction surgery case
• Information about Maryland cosmetic surgery lawsuits
• Frequent questions and answers about medical malpractice cases

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