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Contracts Keyed to Barnett
Sullivan v. O’Connor
Citation:
363 Mass. 579, 296 N.E.2d 183 (1973)
ProfessorMelissa A. Hale
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Patient, a professional entertainer, entered into a contract with Surgeon to improve her appearance by undergoing two plastic surgery operations on her “long and prominent” nose. Patient had to have three operations on her nose and her appearance worsened resulting in an asymmetrical nose; the end result could not be improved with further surgery. She paid $622.65 for the procedures. The judge instructed the jury that Patient could recover her out-of-pocket expenses incident to the operations and that she could also recover damages flowing directly, naturally, proximately, and foreseeably from Surgeon’s breach, which would include disfigurement of the Patient’s nose including the effects on her mind from such disfigurement. The judge also said that Patient could recover for pain and suffering due to the third operation. Loss of earnings was not to figure into the calculation of damages as there was no proof on that issue.
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