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ForwardWhen Cosmetic Surgery Becomes a Lawsuit: Lessons from Both Sides of the Courtroom Live WebClinic, November 11, 2026
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Topic: When Cosmetic Surgery Becomes a Lawsuit: Lessons from Both Sides of the Courtroom
Speakers: Alton E. Ingram, MD, JD, FAACS and Wilbur Hah, MD, FAACS
Description
What turns an unfavorable cosmetic surgery outcome into a malpractice claim—and what makes a case defensible? Join Dr. Ingram and Dr. Hah for a practical discussion informed by their experience in cosmetic surgery, organizational leadership, and medical litigation. Dr. Ingram brings the perspective of a surgeon with a legal background who headed medical malpractice and medical device liability teams at a plaintiff’s law firm. Dr. Hah draws on extensive experience as an expert witness in plaintiff and defense cases, as well as consulting in nationally prominent criminal prosecutions. Together, Dr. Ingram and Dr. Hah will explore how clinical decisions, patient expectations, informed consent, documentation, and complication management shape the evaluation of a case—and how lessons from the courtroom can improve patient care.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of the activity, the learner should be able to:
Distinguish a recognized surgical complication or patient dissatisfaction from medical negligence by identifying the roles of standard of care, breach, causation, and damages.
Analyze how patient selection, informed consent, documentation, and the response to complications influence expert assessment and the defensibility of cosmetic surgical care.
Apply communication, documentation, and complication-management strategies that promote patient safety and reduce malpractice exposure.
Target Audience
Practitioners in the field of cosmetic surgery including, but not limited to, dermatology, general surgery, and plastic/reconstructive surgery.
On-Demand Access
This WebClinic will be recorded and made available for on-demand viewing.
Registration Required
Instructions for accessing the webinar will be provided immediately upon registration.
Registration Fees
- AACS Members: $50 per webinar
- Non-Member Practitioners: $100 per webinar
- Residents, Training Fellows, Medical Students: $0 per webinar*
*Residents and training fellows - After adding the course to your cart, use the coupon code in your renewal confirmation letter to bring the price to $0. If you need assistance, please email AACS headquarters.
CME Credit
To receive CME credit, physicians must submit the Evaluation Survey & CME Claim Form at the conclusion of the live course.
About the Speakers
Wilbur Hah, MD, FAACS is a triple board-certified facial and body cosmetic surgeon with more than 30 years of clinical experience. He is a past President of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, a longtime oral board examiner, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. His contributions to cosmetic surgical education include lecturing, live surgical instruction, and service as a course co-director for advanced facelift training. He is also Co-Editor of The Consult and a founding participant in the Cosmetic Surgery Patient Safety Certification initiative.
Dr. Hah received the AACS 2026 Golden Scalpel Award, recognizing outstanding clinical and educational contributions to cosmetic surgery. He has extensive experience as an expert witness for both plaintiffs and defendants in civil litigation and has served as a consultant in numerous nationally prominent criminal prosecutions. He brings a seasoned perspective on medical evidence, expert credibility, and the lessons surgical practices can draw from litigation.
Alton E. Ingram, MD, JD, FAACS is a Nashville cosmetic surgeon certified by the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery and the American Board of Facial Cosmetic Surgery. He serves as a Trustee and Fellow of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery and previously served two terms as a Trustee of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery. His ABCS service has included oral board examination, written examination development and validation, and leadership in patient safety and judicial affairs. He co-founded the Cosmetic Surgery Patient Safety Campaign and helped develop the BBL Safety Certification Examination.
Dr. Ingram is Editor of The Consult, Patient Safety Editor of the American Journal of Cosmetic Surgery, and Co-Chair of the 2027 AACS Annual Scientific Meeting. He has a law degree from U C Berkeley and for five years worked at a plaintiff’s law firm in San Francisco, where he headed the medical malpractice and medical device liability teams. His medical and legal experience provides a practical perspective on clinical accountability, expert testimony, and malpractice prevention.
Course summary
- 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
- 1.00 Contact Hour(s)
Continuing Medical Education Credit Information
Accreditation
This activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of American College of Surgeons and American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. The American College of Surgeons is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
The American College of Surgeons designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Award of CME credits by ACS is based on compliance of the program with the ACCME accreditation requirements and does not imply endorsement by ACS of the content, the faculty, or the sponsor of the program. Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the learner to earn credit toward the CME of the American Board of Surgery’s Continuous Certification program.
Disclosure Information
In accordance with the ACCME Accreditation Criteria, the American College of Surgeons must ensure that anyone in a position to control the content of the educational activity (planners and speakers/authors/discussants/moderators) has disclosed all financial relationships with any commercial interest (termed by the ACCME as “ineligible companies”, defined below) held in the last 24 months (see below for definitions). Please note that first authors were required to collect and submit disclosure information on behalf all other authors/contributors, if applicable.
- Ineligible Company: The ACCME defines an “ineligible company” as any entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services used on or consumed by patients. Providers of clinical services directly to patients are NOT included in this definition.
- Financial Relationships: Relationships in which the individual benefits by receiving a salary, royalty, intellectual property rights, consulting fee, honoraria, ownership interest (e.g., stocks, stock options or other ownership interest, excluding diversified mutual funds), or other financial benefit. Financial benefits are usually associated with roles such as employment, management position, independent contractor (including contracted research), consulting, speaking and teaching, membership on advisory committees or review panels, board membership, and other activities from which remuneration is received, or expected. ACCME considers relationships of the person involved in the CME activity to include financial relationships of a spouse or partner.
- Conflict of Interest: Circumstances create a conflict of interest when an individual has an opportunity to affect CME content about products or services of an ineligible company with which he/she has a financial relationship.
The ACCME also requires that ACS manage any reported conflict and eliminate the potential for bias during the educational activity. Any conflicts noted below have been managed to our satisfaction. The disclosure information is intended to identify any commercial relationships and allow learners to form their own judgments. However, if you perceive a bias during the educational activity, please report it on the evaluation
PLANNERS | ||||||
Name | Role in the Activity | Nothing to Disclose | Disclosure | |||
Company | Role | Received | Mitigation | |||
Mohammad Banki, MD, DMD, FACS, FAACS | Planner | X | ||||
Victoria Ceh, MPA | Planner (Staff) | X | ||||
FACULTY | |||||
Name | Role in the Activity | Nothing to Disclose | Disclosure | ||
Company | Role | Received | |||
| Wilbur Hah, MD, FAACS | Speaker | X |
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| Alton E. Ingram, MD, JD, FAACS | Speaker | X | |||
Available Credit
- 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
- 1.00 Contact Hour(s)
Price
Once paid, registration fees for WebClinics are non-refundable. If you are unable to attend a live airing, the recording will be provided to you for on-demand viewing. CME credit is not available for the recording.
To receive CME Credit, completion of the Evaluation & CME Claim Form is required. This form will be emailed after the conclusion of the live WebClinic.
*Residents and training fellows - After adding the course to your cart, use the coupon code in your renewal confirmation letter to bring the price to $0. If you need assistance, please email AACS headquarters.