The Cost of Cutting Corners: Inside the $13 Million Verdict Cosmetic Surgery Verdict

In 2022, Ruby Aliment met a potential client who had been horribly injured by a botched cosmetic surgery. Multiple law firms had turned her away, believing a jury would be unsympathetic to someone who had cosmetic surgery. But Ruby took the case because she believed in it—and so did the jury. At the end of a nearly three-week trial, the jury delivered a unanimous verdict for over $13 million.

The trial exposed staggering details. Over two days, the doctor performed an aggressive combination of surgeries—including a full tummy tuck, breast lift, arm lift, and liposuction in multiple sites. Despite the client disclosing clear medical risk factors that severely compromised her body's ability to heal, the doctor ignored necessary medical clearance requirements and failed to disclose the significant risks of tissue death.

Worse still was the execution of the procedures. The evidence revealed that the doctor cut out too much skin tissue, leaving wounds that could not properly close and later split open. When surgical-site infections developed, the doctor failed to provide appropriate post-operative treatment. Instead of offering transparent medical care, she falsely reassured the client that the surgeries had been executed perfectly, attempting to blame the client's own genetics for the devastating wounds and permanent scarring.

The trial also highlighted the doctor’s dangerous but trademarked “Cinderella Anesthesia”—a makeshift cocktail of oral sedatives like Oxycodone and Lorazepam used as an alternative to standard general anesthesia—coupled with the horrifying practice of using physical weights and handcuffs to restrain patients during surgery.

Medical malpractice cases are rarely about a single bad day in surgery; they are about a pattern of cutting corners. While the doctor advertised herself as an elite, board-certified expert, she was actually a family medicine doctor without accredited training or board-eligibility in plastic surgery. Ruby and the trial team at her former firm fought aggressively to ensure the full scope of the doctor’s misconduct was laid bare. Ruby went on to successfully defend the verdict on appeal, resulting in the Washington Court of Appeals affirming the verdict in 2025.

Many people do not realize that the medical profession is largely self-regulated, which can make it incredibly difficult for to find the truth when something goes wrong. Stepping forward to expose medical malpractice takes bravery. And cases like this one are exactly why our firm exists: we take on the meritorious fights others turn away, we work them aggressively from day one, and we don't back down. If you believe you were injured by medical negligence, please reach out to our team for a confidential consultation to learn about your legal options.

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