[AppleRaiin]

First off does anyone know what the statue of limitations would be?

What happened was I received implants & a lift from my doctor. The lift was supposed to be done like a lollipop( the incision goes around the aerola and down the center; like a lollipop) doing the lift in this way he told me would be the most effective way. When I woke up after surgery he told me he did not need to do the lift in that manner to get the desired results so he only made the incision around the aerola. He was wrong, as soon as the swelling went down I was right where I was before surgery. I was then told by his office that I would have to pay if I wanted any further surgeries. When I paid for the lift I was paying for the lollipop that we had discussed about weeks before my surgery and the morning of right before I was put under.

Can I sue him for the price of the lift that was never performed?

[excon]

Can I sue him for the price of the lift that was never performed?

Hello A:

The statute of limitations varies with your state. But, I would NOT wait.

You certainly MIGHT be able to sue him. I'd run it by a medical malpractice lawyer. You should be able to find a few in your yellow pages, and if you find one to take your case, he'll probably take it on consignment, meaning you'll only pay if you win.

excon

[twinkiedooter]

Excon - most med mal attorneys only take for sure cases on consignment. It's the other iffy cases that they require money up front as the costs in med mal cases can be astronomical - obtaining medical records and the retaining of medical experts - that's where the real costs are in med mal cases. I worked for a med mal attorney and even though some of the cases looked like for sure slam dunks, the attorney needed the upfront money to hire experts at $1,000+ for their expert opinions. This does not even touch on the experts when and if they have to appear at trial and then the monies are astronomical to put it mildly.

For the poster, maybe Small Claims court would be a better option for suing.

[JudyKayTee]

Hello A:

The statute of limitations varies with your state. But, I would NOT wait.

You certainly MIGHT be able to sue him. I'd run it by a medical malpractice lawyer. You should be able to find a few in your yellow pages, and if you find one to take your case, he'll probably take it on consignment, meaning you'll only pay if you win.

excon

Consignment? Oh, my dear Excon - it's a contingency, a contingent case. (Consignment sounds like OP is selling used clothing.)

And the answer is that plastic surgeons almost never, ever lose BECAUSE that little piece of paper that the patient signs allows them to use their expertise at the moment of any cosmetic surgery in order to get the best results.

Maybe the patient wants a lollipop (or whatever) augmentation or reduction - the Surgeon (again, based on experience and expertise) makes the final call at that time and until he looks at connective tissues, muscle structure, all that good stuff it's anybody's call.

I've done more than a few of these, including reviewing before and after photos. I have no medical training but I've read the releases and unless it's a grotesque result, there is no case, there are no damages and the release damns the patient.

I don't know anything, of course, about the OP but I have reviewed before and after when the patient swears up and down that there is no difference. There is but it's not what the patient expected or wanted so he/she doesn't see it. That's why Surgeons take all those photos!

There is also no guarantee that the result would be any different with any other type of procedure - and the Surgeon is going to cling to that and the patient has no rebuttal.

[DrJ3434]

The statute of limitations to file a medical malpractice suit is one year in Kentucky, Louisiana and Tennessee. Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia have a two-year statute of limitation. In Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin the statute of limitation is three years. Florida, Nebraska, Utah and Wyoming each have a four-year statute of limitation. Maine, Minnesota and North Dakota have a six-year statute of limitation

Read more: Statute of Limitations for Malpractice | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6518724_statute-limitations-malpractice.html#ixzz1Fe2aX3tM

[JudyKayTee]

This post is from April 2009 - long dead. Here's the problem with posting info from another Q&A site. I am not going to review every State but in the State of Washington it's TWO YEARS, not THREE.

If this is a quote - please put it in quotes.

[AK lawyer]

This post is from April 2009 - long dead. ...

It seems to me that it would be a good idea if old threads were closed - so as to prevent people from adding unneeded posts and wasting our time reading old threads. I don't understand why people do that.

On the other hand it does seem that things are getting real slow here lately. Maybe they are bored too.

[JudyKayTee]

I don't know who has the "power" to remove/close old posts. I know certain experts do - on other boards.

I'm always surprised at the one-hit wonders (as I call them). They sign on, post to a really old thread and disappear (if we're lucky).

[AK lawyer]

Instead of "closed" I guess I should have said "locked". So that if someone wants to say something new they would have to start a new thread.