Disputes Arising From Medical Malpractice in Aesthetic Interventions

In recent years, plastic surgery has gained great popularity in Turkey as well as all around the
world. In medical interventions for aesthetic purposes, it is of great importance for patients
whether physicians achieve the result they have priorly promised or not. This situation also
brings about various legal disputes.

According to the widely accepted opinion in Turkish Law, the provisions of the “Contract of
Work and Services” are applied in disputes arising from the physician-patient relationship,
especially in terms of medical interventions for dental prostheses(dentures), hair
transplantation, rhinoplasty and similar medical interventions for aesthetic purposes.

In aesthetic medical interventions, the main liability of the physician arising from the contract
stipulated between the physician and the patient is the fulfillment of the promised result. In
addition, the physician must fulfill the obligation of disclosure, obtain the explicit consent of
the patient, perform the intervention in line with medical standards and current up-to-date
knowledge and act within the framework of the Medical Deontology Regulations and the
Rules of Professional Ethics.

In cases where the physician does not provide the promised result or performs an incorrect
medical intervention as a result of negligence (malpractice), the patient who has suffered
damage may file a lawsuit against the physician and the hospital where the intervention was
performed, claiming for compensation for the material and moral damages he/she has
suffered.

In this lawsuit, the patient may request a refund of the fees paid to the physician and to the
hospital as well as the costs of the additional treatments and operations necessary to rectify
the current condition or to restore him/her to his/her former condition, the loss of earnings
due to the incorrect intervention, and all kinds of damages arising from the deterioration of
his economic future as “material compensation”. In case of the patient’s death, it is possible
for the patient’s relatives to demand “compensation for loss of support”.

In addition to the claim for material compensation, the patient may demand moral
compensation in return for the negative impact on his/her psychology due to the physical and
mental pain he/she has suffered and experienced during this period. The statute of limitations
for the medical interventionsfor aesthetic purposes performed in private hospitals and health
institutions is five years from the date the damage is discovered.
For further information and questions please do not hesitate to contact us