Our client had recently undergone cosmetic breast surgery performed by a board-certified plastic surgeon. Shortly after her procedure, while still in the post-operative healing period, she visited a med spa for aesthetic treatments. The nurse practitioner at the med spa performed treatments directly on the recently operated area -- without physician supervision and acting entirely outside her scope of practice.The treatments caused tissue breakdown and significant scarring at the surgical site. What should have been a routine recovery became a two-to-three-year ordeal of follow-up appointments, complications, and multiple corrective revision surgeries.We filed after completing Florida's mandatory pre-suit medical malpractice screening process. Discovery began. The case resolved the night before the nurse practitioner's deposition -- a timing that was not coincidental. Defense counsel, who also served as personal counsel to the nurse practitioner, knew what was coming. The case settled for $250,000 -- full policy limits.
We identified a clear scope of practice violation. A nurse practitioner performing aesthetic treatments on a fresh post-surgical site -- without physician supervision -- is a fundamental violation of the standard of care and Florida's scope of practice requirements.We navigated the medical malpractice pre-suit process efficiently. Florida's medical malpractice statute requires pre-suit investigation and screening before a lawsuit can be filed. We completed that process, filed suit, and moved into discovery without delay.We applied deposition pressure at exactly the right moment. The case settled the night before the nurse practitioner's deposition. Defense counsel recognized what the deposition would produce and resolved the case before it happened.
