In a tragic incident, the family of a woman from China is suing a clinic in Nanning for 1.2 million yuan (approximately $168,000) following her death after undergoing six cosmetic surgeries within a 24-hour period. The woman, identified as Ms. Liu, traveled from her rural hometown in Guigang, Guangxi province, to the clinic for multiple procedures on December 9, 2020. To finance the surgeries, Liu reportedly took out a loan of over 40,000 yuan.
Liu’s series of cosmetic procedures began on the afternoon of December 9 with eyelid and nose surgeries that took five hours. This was followed by thigh liposuction, with the extracted fat then transferred to her face and breasts on the morning of December 10 in another five-hour procedure. Tragically, after her discharge on December 11, Liu collapsed near the clinic’s elevator. Although clinic staff acted quickly, she was rushed to The Second Nanning People’s Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. An autopsy revealed her cause of death as “acute respiratory failure due to a pulmonary embolism after liposuction.” Liu left behind two young children, aged eight and four.
Following Liu’s death, her family filed a lawsuit at the Jiangnan District People’s Court in Nanning, demanding compensation for their loss. Her husband claimed the clinic initially offered 200,000 yuan in settlement, which he refused, requesting at least one million yuan. Although investigations confirmed the clinic had the necessary licenses and that doctors followed standard procedures for fat removal, the court cited medical errors, including the clinic’s failure to assess risks for venous blood embolism. Initially, the court ruled the clinic fully responsible, ordering a 1 million yuan compensation, but later reduced it to 590,000 yuan due to shared liability between the clinic and Liu’s health condition.
The tragic case has sparked discussions on the safety of intensive cosmetic surgeries and the need for comprehensive risk assessments.
