October 2009, a wife and mother of two went to see a Stanford-educated cosmetic surgeon with a highly renowned practice. Two days after her liposuction procedure, however, the 32-year-old died of a blood clot in her lung. The surgeon was accused of negligently failing to provide the correct treatment after the operation. Reportedly, the surgeon had violated her own operation policies throughout the fat reduction procedure.

Originally, the surgeon's defense lawyers had said that by the time the clot had reached the woman's lung, it would have taken less than a minute for the woman to pass away. There was no time to issue life-saving treatment for the pulmonary embolism, they argued. But as it turns out, the surgeon went against policy by doing the liposuction in her home office instead of inside a hospital. The husband also accused the surgeon of ignoring emergency calls when his wife started to exhibit serious symptoms.

This April, the medical malpractice case was resolved in a multi-million dollar settlement, and this result was announced Monday, May 12. The six-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son are set to receive a substantial portion of the settlement.

If you or a loved one have been harmed by elective surgery, then you may be entitled to compensation through a medical malpractice lawsuit. In order to prove that malpractice was committed, you would have to show that the surgeon operated in a way that a reasonably competent professional would not have done in that situation, and that this incompetence led to the harm. To successfully build your case will require the testimony of a medical expert, and the legal skill of a legal professional. Find out how much your case could be worth when you call a medical malpractice lawyer today.