Follow Up Q: is a Signed Price Quote from a Plastic Surgeon a Binding Contract

[bb12]

My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: CA

Thank you to all the kind attorneys who answered my last question-- you are lifesavers! This is a different question, but it is related to my prior post. I will reiterate the relevant details.

I signed a price quote for a medical procedure from a plastic surgeon. It was not a sophisticated contract; it was a half a page & contained a list of the procedures being quoted, the price for said procedures & the following 2 sentences: "All surgical procedures are non-refundable. This quote is valid for 30 days from the date issued." Nothing else.

Six months later, I decided I wanted to carry out only a portion of the originally quoted operation (about 75% of it was the same as the original quote). I was never given a hard copy new quote, nor did I sign any other documents. I was verbally told a new price & paid the balance for the surgery ($15,000). My surgery was scheduled only six days prior to the date of the operation due to the surgical center unexpectedly re-opening after a coronavirus closure.

Shortly thereafter I encountered issues with the doctor (namely, he failed to inform me of severe risks associated with the surgery prior to accepting payment & I discovered a medical complaint about his wife who also is the anesthesiologist at his surgery center-- a patient died under her care & she was sued for negligence). I canceled the surgery, and now they are refusing to give me a refund.

Since the quote I signed was only valid for 30 days, my understanding was that I was agreeing that the procedures listed in the quote cost X and were non-refundable when booked within that 30 day window. I assumed that when I revised the list of procedures I wanted to complete, I would receive an updated quote with similar jargon that I should sign (likely with the same terms as the first one-- 30 days, non-refundable). But that quote never came, and I never signed anything else.

In my mind, this is a question of contract law (unlike my prior question about informed consent). Since I never signed an updated quote (or a contract) for the procedures I was ACTUALLY scheduled to receive, can I use that to argue for a refund? The original (and only) document I signed explicitly mentioned it was only valid for 30 days and did not have an accurate list of the procedures I was scheduled to receive. Solely from a contractual perspective, are the terms of that quote still binding 5 months past when it was said to expire and for a different list of procedures?

Again, this is a follow-up question to my previous post. Admin can delete if it is too similar.

[pg1067]

Please stop creating duplicate threads. Follow up questions should be asked in the same thread as the original post.

[bb12]

Got it. Wasn't sure since it is a separate question. Admin, please delete.