Hundreds of patients undergo surgery every day in Chicago. These surgeries are performed out of necessity to save lives and to fix minor health problems that others suffer on a daily basis. No matter how serious or minor a surgery is, health care professionals are still required to follow normal policies and procedures in order to provide the proper care for each surgery patient.
When doctors deviate from following standard care procedures, they are often susceptible to makingsurgical errors that could harm or endanger the lives of patients. In some cases, a doctor may even knowingly make a surgical error by failing to adhere to a patient’s requests or needs. In a recent case of alleged medical malpractice, one woman is suing a Chicago doctor who she claims performed cosmetic surgery on her nose without her consent.
The lawsuit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court and seeks more than $50,000 in damages. According to the suit, the woman said that she had met with the Chicago doctor in September 2009 because she was experiencing problems with breathing through her nose. The problem interfered with her exercising and would interrupt her sleep at night.
After examining the woman, the doctor diagnosed her with a deviated septum. The suit claims that the doctor suggested that the woman undergo surgery to fix the problem. In addition to fixing the deviated septum, the doctor offered to perform cosmetic surgery on her nose. The lawsuit claims that the woman denied the offer to change the appearance of her nose and that she told the doctor that she only wanted the surgery for the deviated septum.
Two days after the woman had surgery to fix her breathing problems, she said that she had noticed that her nose looked different. The lawsuit claims that the doctor “significantly” changed the physical appearance of her nose by reducing the bridge of the woman’s nose and by altering the tip of her nose.
The Chicago doctor has not made any comments in response to the lawsuit. The lawsuit will go to a jury trial.
Source: WLS 890AM, “Suit: Doc gave woman nose job without her consent,” Oct. 1, 2011
