Have you been to a plastic surgeon in Florida? Are you considering it? If so, be very careful about which office you choose. A recent investigation looked into plastic surgeons in Florida and found that 20% of them — one out of every five — did not carry medical malpractice insurance.
The problem is that a doctor without enough insurance may not have the money to pay, even after a clear mistake.
For instance, one woman went in to get a common procedure called a Brazilian butt lift. The doctor made a serious mistake. He “punctured her bowels” and then went ahead and injected the fat, which accidentally went into her sciatic nerve.
It was a horrible mistake, and she was rushed to a hospital. She wound up in a medically induced coma while they tried to keep her alive. She needed seven different surgical procedures, and she went through four blood transfusions. She had a long recovery ahead of her, though she did live.
The cost for all of this was in excess of $1 million. Her insurance did not cover it all, leaving her hundreds of thousands of dollars short. She got evicted, lost her job and found herself in massive debt.
However, her plastic surgeon, who caused the whole thing in the first place, did not have medical malpractice insurance. She determined that she’d probably never get the money from him.
This is a very concerning investigation. Doctors operating like this, and making serious mistakes, put patients’ lives in jeopardy. Those who suffer must know what legal options they have.