Mills v. Pate

Mills (plaintiff) sought liposuction from plastic surgeon Dr. Pate (defendant) to remove fat bulges, and Pate told her she would look beautiful with smooth skin after the procedure, though the informed-consent form Mills signed listed only risks and complications without any specific promised results. After noticing sagging skin irregularities months after surgery, which Pate's staff dismissed as ordinary swelling, Mills asked Pate to correct the problem; before a second surgery Pate again promised smooth skin free of ripples, bulges, or bags, but Mills remained dissatisfied and ultimately needed an extensive body-lift procedure from another surgeon to fix the results. Mills sued Pate under the Medical Liability and Insurance Improvement Act (MLIIA) for negligence and lack of informed consent, later amending to add a breach-of-express-warranty claim based on Pate's specific verbal promises; the trial court granted Pate's no-evidence motion for summary judgment on both claims.