The evaluation of malpractice cases arising from aesthetic intervention in Turkey based on Supreme Court case law.

AIM: The aim of this study is to evaluate medical malpractice cases arising from aesthetic services based on the decisions of the Supreme Court.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: In the study, compensation and criminal lawsuits finalized by the civil and penal courts of the Supreme Court were examined retrospectively. All the case law decisions were obtained from the official website of the Supreme Court: www.yargitay.gov.tr. Nine hundred and eighty-one decisions were obtained after performing a keyword search in the website; after duplicates and unrelated cases were removed, 81 decisions (N = 81) were evaluated.

RESULTS: The analysis showed that lawsuits related to medical malpractice involving aesthetic interventions are mostly finalized by the civil courts, which decide claims for compensation. Malpractice primarily occurred in private hospitals and beauty centers, and operations were found to be commonly performed by physicians and beauty experts. Malpractice cases were found to be mostly caused by poor medical intervention, a lack of attention/care, and faulty/incorrect treatment. The average compensation amount provided by the civil courts is 55 558 ± 50 014 TL (14 209 ± 12 318 USD).

CONCLUSION: On the basis of these results, it is recommended that the awareness and training level of healthcare personnel should be increased, and precautions should be taken at both the institutional and the national levels.