Medical Malpractice
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September 22nd, 2004

"Hollywood Medical Malpractice Lawsuit"

Botox is on trial for the first time since emerging as one of America''s fastest growing cosmetic treatments. A Hollywood socialite Irena Medavoy, and wife of film producer Mike Medavoy, has sued a celebrity dermatologist Arnold Klein and Botox manufacturer Allergan Inc. Medavoy claims Botox caused numerous illnesses, including a four-month migraine that left her bedridden. The California medical malpractice lawsuit, which began September 3 and is expected to last through October 2004, could affect the over $560 million in annual Botox sales.

Medavoy says her medical malpractice lawsuit has "raised the flag" by showing Botox is not safe for everyone. In addition, she alleges Allergan is conspiring with doctors to keep the safety information from the public. Since the medical malpractice lawsuit was filed in January 2003, Allergan has been quick to launch national newspaper ads to drive out any questions about the drug, vowing the company would fight the lawsuit until Botox received "complete vindication".

So far, the medical malpractice lawsuit has captured an audience, with its case involving celebrity witnesses. Medavoy claims she saw Klein on March 4, 2002 for her quarterly Botox treatment, using the drug botulinum toxin type A. Klein had been treating Medavoy''s wrinkles with Botox for a year and a half before first injecting it into her temples in May 2001 to suppress her migraines. On the visit, Medavoy claims Klein injected a lot more than usual and as she testified, eight days after the treatment had a headache with "unrelenting pounding".

Though the defense team has tried to paint Medavoy as an unstable, overindulged and overmedicated woman, Kelin''s testimony has revealed some questionable practices. The Beverly Hills dermatologist said he knew that even small doses of Botox had been reported as causing severe "life altering headaches," yet he failed to include this risk on his Botox treatment consent form and never warned Medavoy. When Medavoy called and complained of her pain, Klein''s nurse changed the Botox dosages on her chart from 1.5 cubic centimeters to 0.15 cc, testifying she had a habit of putting the decimal point in the wrong place.

So serious was the pain, Medavoy said she had three neurologists, two rheumatologists, an immunologist, a pulmonologist and a family doctor supervising her care, with several doctors attributing some symptoms to the Botox treatment. Klein had added a note to her file saying Medavoy''s UCLA neurologist had eliminated Botox as the cause of her illness, but the neurologist testified he did believe Botox was potentially to blame and had no recollection of telling Klein otherwise.

The medical malpractice lawsuit could also greatly affect Klein, a well-known dermatologist earning a considerable sum as an Allergan consultant and spokesman ($25,000 each quarter for consulting, as much as $10,000 a day for meetings, plus travel expenses and as much as $4,000 per appearance), as well as his lucrative practice and position as a UCLA professor. The very first and very public Botox medical malpractice lawsuit can have lasting consequences that Hollywood, as well as other cosmetic surgeons and patients are likely to anticipate.