Rogers v Whitaker does not offer a basis for recovering damages for disappointed expectations from surgery; the negligent failure to disclose risks is only compensable if the plaintiff would not have undergone the procedure had the risks been disclosed. A surgeon's blandishments and encouragement of a patient to undergo cosmetic surgery do not, without more, constitute contumelious disregard of the patient's rights sufficient to support aggravated or exemplary damages. Whether surgery was 'necessary' or 'unnecessary' has no direct bearing on whether pre-surgical warnings satisfied the Rogers v Whitaker duty. Aggravated damages must be properly pleaded and particularised, and must not overlap with compensatory damages.
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