After Woman Dies During Cosmetic Surgery, UAE’s Top Court Sets New Rules on Plastic Surgeons’ Liability and Duty of Care

The UAE’s Federal Supreme Court has established a new rule regarding the liability of plastic surgeons.

 

The ruling clarifies that because cosmetic surgeries are not urgent medical procedures, the doctor is liable for any negligence in medical conduct. This follows a case involving a woman’s death due to a doctor’s failure to provide the utmost medical care in a body reshaping procedure. The doctor was found to have deviated from accepted medical principles and standards for such surgeries.

 

Under the new rule, the surgeon must not proceed with surgery if its risks are not proportionate to the benefits expected, even if the patient consents.

 

The doctor will be considered at fault if treatment methods create risks disproportionate to the purpose the patient sought to achieve, unless the link between his action and the harm caused is negated.

 

The ruling was issued by the Administrative Chamber of the court, chaired by Judge Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Jarrah, with Judges Dawood Ibrahim Abu Al Shawareb and Dr Hassan Mohammed Hassan Hind, at its session on September 1 in Appeal No. 722 of 2025 Administrative.

 

The plastic surgeon’s responsibility is to achieve the intended goal of surgery while providing necessary care to heal the patient, the court ruled.

 

The court further clarified that plastic surgeons are obligated to provide greater care than other doctors, since the purpose is to correct physical defects, not to save a patient from life-threatening danger.

 

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