Several women have taken legal action against Australia’s largest cosmetic surgery clinic, claiming negligent breast augmentations left them with serious complications.
The lawsuit, filed in the NSW Supreme Court, alleges The Cosmetic Institute breached its duty of care by having a one-size-fits-all approach to breast augmentations.
It is being spearheaded by five applicants, including a mother from Western Australia who suffered a heart attack after she was allegedly given high doses of local anaesthetic.
Amy Lee Rickhuss, from Melbourne, was taken by paramedics from The Cosmetic Institute’s clinic in Smith St, Parramatta to Westmead Hospital on January 30, 2015 after suffering a cardiac arrest during a breast enhancement surgery
Turner Freeman lawyer Sally Gleeson says the company has left a ‘trail of victims’
Turner Freeman lawyer Sally Gleeson says the company has left a ‘trail of victims.’
‘These women have suffered a range of complications including cardiac arrests from toxic doses of anaesthesia, lung punctures, infections and physical disfigurement,’ she said in a statement on Friday.
Others in the lawsuit include a NSW mother who says she suffered seizures as a result of high doses of local anaesthetic and a Queensland student who developed a severe infection after surgery.
The statement of claim alleges TCI used the same surgical technique regardless of a woman’s size or breast shape and did not perform procedures in line with standards (pictured Amy Lee Rickhuss)
Amy Lee Rickhuss, from Melbourne, was taken by paramedics from The Cosmetic Institute’s clinic in Smith St, Parramatta to Westmead Hospital on January 30, 2015 after suffering a cardiac arrest during a breast enhancement surgery.
TCI is accused of failing to properly train and supervise surgeons.
The statement of claim alleges TCI used the same surgical technique regardless of a woman’s size or breast shape and did not perform procedures in line with standards.
The statement of claim alleges TCI used the same surgical technique regardless of a woman’s size or breast shape and did not perform procedures in line with standards
The company is also accused of not implementing adequate infection control.
‘These women believed that the doctors treating them were surgeons who possessed the requisite skills and training to carry out these operations but the reality of the situation was quite different,’ Ms Gleeson said.
In a brief statement, TCI pledged to defend the allegations should the matter proceed.
The class action covers women who underwent breast augmentation surgery at TCI premises in Bondi Junction, Parramatta, and on the Gold Coast, along with those conducted by TCI at Concord and Holroyd Private Hospitals.
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