Can You File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Against a Med Spa?

Med spas are very trendy—but are they worth the risks?

Med spas are a trendy business right now, providing customers with services ranging from chemical peels to laser hair removal to permanent makeup and anti-aging promises. 

A med spa is a cross between a traditional day spa and a medical clinic. Part of their popularity is that they provide procedures typically found in doctors’ offices in a relaxing spa environment. 

A typical day spa focuses on pampering, relaxation, and cosmetic services like facials, manicures, hair removal, and similar. In other words, they’re intended for surface-level beauty treatments. A med spa offers services for “inner wellness” and include medical-grade anti-aging treatments and skincare, rejuvenation treatments, deeper issues like acne scarring and age spots, weight gain and unwanted hair. Med spas use tools like laser therapies, injectable fillers, cell freezing, and chemical peels. 

And while everyone wants to look and feel their best, some recent articles have shed light on dangerous effects that med spas could have on people’s health.

Warnings about IV drips and injections at med spas

In early 2024, reports surfaced that infectious disease and emergency physicians were seeing more infections and injuries associated with med spas.

Consumers request treatments like vitamin shots and IV infusions to cure hangovers and for other purposes, though it’s questionable whether this actually works. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning after receiving reports of severe infections and skin deformities. These happened after patients received shots sold to dissolve fat; the shots are not approved by the FDA. They are sold online and are called Aqualyx, Lipodissolve, Lipo Lab and Kabelline.

Often, physicians report infections at the site of IV placement, or they treat patients for burn injuries from laser therapies or botched Botox injections. The reasons for this include untrained staff and contaminated drug products; this happens because there are no federal health regulations or procedures for med spas. Each state has its own set of rules, but there is no consistent set of guidelines nationwide. 

What happens next?

The Texas Medical Board suspended the medical license of the physician medical director at the med spa where Jennifer Cleveland received an infusion before she died. The board cited the physician for being, “a continuing threat to public welfare due to the doctor's improper supervision of IV treatments, which resulted in a patient's death.”

However, it was the spa owner—not the doctor—who administered Cleveland’s infusion. In fact, the doctor had only been on site three times during its existence over the course of several months. The physician medical director did not implement policies, procedures, or protocols for IV services. The spa owner who administered the treatment does not have any health care or medical license; there were no licensed individuals on site at the time of Cleveland’s treatment. 

The physician’s license was suspended because he ordered prescription medication to be administered by an unlicensed person without adequate supervision, oversight or protocols.

Sounding the alarm about IV hydration clinics

Some med spas are called “IV hydration clinics.” They might have a physical location where the customer goes to get vitamin shots, but some IV hydration services are mobile and will go to the customer’s home or business. 

This is exactly the “treatment” Bea Amma received. However, the FDA has issued two consumer alerts over the past few years. One alert indicated that some med spas were mixing products without proper sterilization methods. The other said that the employees administering med spa infusions and other treatments were not properly trained or licensed to administer a shot or IV. They were also using unapproved fat-dissolving ingredients, which is what caused the issues with Bea Amma. 

Adverse events associated with med spas are not required to be reported since there is no federal oversight, which means no one knows how many illnesses are linked to med spa treatments.

Can you use a med spa safely?

Med spas are unregulated. In other words, use at your own risk. 

But there are some questions you can ask to determine the legitimacy or safety of your med spa:

1. Who owns and operates the business? (hint: It should be a doctor)
2. Who is administering the treatment? What credentials or licensing do they have? 
3. Is there a licensed practitioner on the premises in case there are complications or if something goes wrong? 
4. Does the spa conduct a basic health exam on each customer to ensure there are no underlying conditions that could cause problems with the treatment? 
5. Does the spa use FDA-approved products, and are they purchased directly from the manufacturer and not a third party?

If you’re considering a particular procedure, you can ask the provider these questions:

1. How many times have you administered this treatment? 
2. What type of training do you have for this specific procedure? 
3. Is the supervising doctor board-certified and how long have they been working at this location?

That last point is important: The FDA recently issued a warning that fake products for injection lipolysis to break down fat cells are being sold online and marketed as FDA-approved when they are not. These black market products can lead to permanent scars, infections, deformities, and painful knots.

Like any medical (or medical-adjacent) procedure, the clinic or med spa should ask a patient about their medical history and what other medications they’re taking, if they have allergic reactions to medications, and so on. They should also provide instructions for after-care and follow up.

Can a med spa be liable for medical malpractice?

This can be a tricky legal argument because a med spa is neither a medical provider nor a traditional spa environment. However, there are a few elements that might make a legal argument for a malpractice claim:

1. The med spa provider owed the customer a professional duty of care, which means they must meet the accepted standards for med spas in the community where it is located.
2. The med spa operator breached that duty of care or acted below the expectation of reasonable customer care for the services provided.
3. The service that breached the duty of care caused an injury, illness, or disfigurement or scarring.
4. The customer suffered financial loss, whether in paying for medical treatment, lost wages, or other related costs.

Is a med spa right for you?

There might be reputable med spas in your area that are supervised by a physician, and that have a rigorous set of standards and protocols. However, the best approach is to speak with your primary care physician to see if the services a med spa provides would be right for you. 

See if there is a med spa that your own doctor recommends and what treatments they think would be appropriate for your conditions. 

It is crucial for individuals seeking IV drip or injection treatments to ensure qualified healthcare professionals administer them. This includes nurses, nurse practitioners, or doctors with the necessary training to assess a patient's health status, manage adverse reactions, and ensure the treatments are administered safely and effectively.

While IV drips and injections offer potential benefits, the risks associated with receiving these treatments in med spas cannot be ignored. Consumers should exercise caution, seeking treatments only from reputable providers with proper medical oversight. As always, consulting with a healthcare professional before undergoing any treatment is the best course of action to ensure safety and efficacy.