A patient went to a dermatology clinic and had Botox and Restylane injections. A physician’s assistant injected Restylane into her forehead, not knowing that the Food and Drug Administration had not approved the use of Restylane because it increased the risk of necrosis.
The patient suffered bruising and swelling, which the same physician’s assistant misdiagnosed as an infection, and prescribed antibiotics. Her symptoms did not improve, so she went to her primary care provider who correctly diagnosed necrosis caused by the use of Restylane in the forehead.
It was too late to treat the condition. The necrosis left deep, permanent scarring in the patient’s forehead.
The woman sued the clinic and the doctor who owned the clinic.
The doctor argued that a different doctor, who was not named in the lawsuit, was the supervising physician and the one responsible to oversee the actions of the physician’s assistant.
A jury found in favor of the clinic and the doctor. The patient appealed, arguing that the trial court gave erroneous jury instructions, and should not have dismissed the doctor prior to trial.
The Court of Appeals affirmed, and the Washington State Supreme Court likewise upheld the result.[1]
[1] Paetsch v. Spokane Dermatology Clinic, P.S., ____ Wn.2d ____ (2015).