The woman who claimed she was left with "a bubble" on her stomach after a liposuction procedure at a Dublin clinic, in which five litres of fat were taken from her, has been awarded €18,300 damages by the High Court.
After yesterday's judgment, the woman said she had been offered more in settlement of her action but had wanted to highlight the matter.
Maria Taylor Flynn (54), of Dale Tree Avenue, Ballycullen Grove, Firhouse, Co Dublin, had sued Advanced Cosmetic Surgery Ltd and a surgeon, Dr Hassam Sulaiman, as a result of a liposuction procedure carried out at the Advanced Cosmetic Surgery clinic at Owenstown House, Foster's Avenue, Mount Merrion, Dublin.
Giving his reserved judgment yesterday, Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill said Ms Taylor Flynn was entitled to recover damages for breach of contract from Advanced Cosmetic Surgery only. The judge said Dr Sulaiman had become involved at short notice and he was not satisfied Dr Sulaiman had failed in his duty.
The judge said Ms Taylor Flynn had undergone a procedure which, in the circumstances, should not have happened. She felt her abdomen was "cosmetically degraded".
The question he had to ask was whether a reasonable observer would think Ms Taylor Flynn had been cosmetically degraded, the judge said. He had looked at the "before" and "after" photographs and believed it could not be said she was "cosmetically degraded".
Another procedure would rectify the matter but, the judge said, he could understand Ms Taylor Flynn's reluctance to undergo it. The judge said he would award general damages of €15,000, plus the original €3,300 cost of the liposuction procedure.
Earlier, he said he preferred Ms Taylor Flynn's evidence to that of Dr Sulaiman. He was satisfied Dr Sulaiman, who had taken over at short notice, had assumed various pre-procedures had taken place. Dr Sulaiman was entitled to make that assumption, the judge found.
Unfortunately, it did not happen that way, the judge said.
Ms Taylor Flynn was not aware that she should lose weight or she could be left with bumps, irregularities or loose skin, he said. She was surprised and disappointed at the outcome.
Ms Taylor Flynn, a mother of three, was preparing for her second marriage, scheduled in 2002. The court heard five litres of fat were excised from her stomach. She said she was now concerned about her appearance and undressing.
She said she had taken out a €3,300 credit union loan for the procedure. The court heard that when Ms Taylor Flynn arrived for her surgery on July 19th, 2000, she was advised the doctor scheduled would not be doing it but that Dr Sulaiman would be.
After the procedure, she said, she had a bubble on her tummy but was advised it would disappear. When reviewed in November, 2000, she was offered a further operation and the surgeon wanted to do a tummy tuck in six months' time.