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Plastic Injuries, Anne Bloom

Anne Bloom

Perceptions of injuries are culturally mediated, mutable, plastic. In tort litigation, however, the cultural plasticity with which we perceive and experience injuries is often ignored. This Article explores the cultural plasticity with which we perceive injuries through the lens of plastic surgery litigation. It argues that determinations of injury in plastic surgery litigation turn on the culturally biased — and highly mutable — perceptions of medical professionals. More broadly, the Article argues that culture shapes perceptions of injuries in tort litigation as a whole. To make these points, the Article examines a prototypical plastic surgery case and surveys a range …