Krasnodar woman sues Ufa clinic for 10M rubles

Natalya, a resident of Krasnodar, traveled to Ufa for a plastic surgery operation on her breasts. She chose a clinic, paid 350,000 rubles (approximately $3,500 at current rates), and expected an aesthetic result. Instead, she is dealing with severe complications and has been litigating with the doctors for five years now. UFA1.RU presents the opinions and arguments of both sides.

After the surgery, the condition of her breasts deteriorated sharply: the left one began to «rot,» tissue necrosis appeared, the right one lost sensitivity, the areolas became deformed, and noticeable asymmetry developed.

With this outcome, Natalya approached the doctor who performed the operation again. However, as the patient claims, he did not admit fault and attributed everything to complications. Moreover, the surgeon offered to redo the breasts, but the woman would have had to travel again to Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan, which was difficult for her. Natalya suggested other options: for specialists to come to Krasnodar or for local doctors to conduct an examination. But the clinic did not agree to this.

«In pre-trial proceedings, Natalya demanded compensation for treatment costs — about 350,000 rubles (approximately $3,500 at current rates). Additionally, she needed another operation to correct the consequences of the first one, and it cost around 750,000 rubles (approx. $7,500). Plus moral damages — the girl herself estimated them at 5 million rubles (about $50,000). In total, the claim amount came to about 6 million rubles (approx. $60,000). However, the clinic refused not only to pay but even to discuss possible compensation,» Natalya«s lawyer Nikolay Chernyshuk told UFA1.RU.

According to him, neither the clinic nor the doctor admit their guilt. Moreover, they believe they warned about possible consequences. Now the case is already being considered in court. A forensic medical examination has been appointed for it. Such checks usually last for months, so the results, according to lawyers, will be ready closer to the beginning of summer.

We contacted the clinic to find out their version of events — it somewhat differs from the patient«s version.

According to the chief physician, Natalya herself did not follow the recommendations that patients adhere to after any surgical interventions. This includes refraining from sports, which Natalya, according to our interlocutor, did not do. Moreover, the girl did not seek help for complications immediately or in person — she spoke with the doctor over the phone, did not come for a free operation, and did not provide alternative options. Unexpectedly for the clinic itself, the girl filed a lawsuit against them after 5 years. In their experience, this is the first case of such serious proceedings.

«The operation was performed in 2020 by the leading surgeon, and the primary result was achieved. Now a forensic medical examination is being conducted, and I can say that so far no violations have been identified. All materials and original documentation are in court. 10 million rubles (approximately $100,000 at current rates) is an exorbitant amount of money; it»s a pity that we found ourselves in such a situation,« summarized the chief physician of the EndoMed clinic, Leysan Izotova.

As lawyer Nikolay Chernyshuk notes, recently there has been an increase in complaints due to poor-quality cosmetic services and plastic surgery. Among the most common problems are complications after blepharoplasty, when too much tissue is removed from the eyelids and the eyes stop closing completely. There are also nerve damages: for example, injury to the facial nerve can leave a person without facial expressions and with a twisted face. Purulent complications after operations are also not uncommon.

In Ufa, investigators have closed the case of a scandalously known cosmetologist, but UFA1.RU journalists have looked into what questions still remain for the specialist.