Informed Consent as a Litigation Strategy in the Field of Aesthetic Surgery: An Analysis Based on Court Precedents

Abstract

BackgroundIn an increasing number of lawsuits doctors lose, despite providing preoperative patient education, because of failure to prove informed consent. We analyzed judicial precedents associated with insufficient informed consent to identify judicial factors and trends related to aesthetic surgery medical litigation.MethodsWe collected data from civil trials between 1995 and 2015 that were related to aesthetic surgery and resulted in findings of insufficient informed consent. Based on these data, we analyzed the lawsuits, including the distribution of surgeries, dissatisfactions, litigation expenses, and relationship to informed consent.ResultsCases were found involving the following types of surgery: facial rejuvenation (38 cases), facial contouring surgery (27 cases), mammoplasty (16 cases), blepharoplasty (29 cases), rhinoplasty (21 cases), body-contouring surgery (15 cases), and breast reconstruction (2 cases). Common reasons for postoperative dissatisfaction were deformities (22%), scars (17%), asymmetry (14%), and infections (6%). Most of the malpractice lawsuits occurred in Seoul (population 10 million people; 54% of total plastic surgeons) and in primary-level local clinics (113 cases, 82.5%). In cases in which only invalid informed consent was recognized, the average amount of consolation money was KRW 9,107,143 (USD 8438). In cases in which both violation of non-malfeasance and invalid informed consent were recognized, the average amount of consolation money was KRW 12,741,857 (USD 11,806), corresponding to 38.6% of the amount of the judgment.ConclusionsSurgeons should pay special attention to obtaining informed consent, because it is a double-edged sword; it has clinical purposes for doctors and patients but may also be a litigation strategy for lawyers.

Survey of family satisfaction with intensive care units

“…Second, the number of medical lawsuits has increased, [ 26 ] and medical law regarding the doctor's duty to provide information has been strengthened in South Korea. [ 27 ] The medical staffs often spend much time explaining a patient's medical condition and the necessity for treatment in detail; therefore, the family's satisfaction with obtaining information and the decision-making process might have been higher than expected.…”

Pituitary and skull‐base lesions and the litigious patient

“…When the patient who has undergone a minimally invasive approach does experience a complication, they may be more apt to claim that their physician failed to warn them . Both our data and the literature stresses the importance of stating all possible risks in the informed consent process, even with relatively safer procedures such as TSS …”

Информированное Согласие В Клинической Практике

“…Концепція інформованої згоди в клінічній медицині й наукових дослідженнях дещо відрізняється. Інформована згода в клінічній медицині є складною практикою, спрямованою на захист за-конних прав пацієнта, на підтримку самостійності пацієнта, який приймає власні рішення, пов'язані з медичними втручаннями, на забезпечення належної якості медичної допомоги та зміцнення довіри між пацієнтом і лікарем щодо медичних процедур, медикаментів або клінічних досліджень [8] [9].…”

“…Отримання інформації й сама інформована згода в процесі прийняття рішень у багатьох напрямках клінічної медицини є доволі актуальною, особливо в трансплантології, онкології, естетичній хірургії [9,29,30]. При впровадженні страхової й приватної медицини в подальшому інформована згода буде набувати все більшого значення.…”