The husband and daughter of Laura Faitro are suing Valley Surgical Center and Top Surgeons, Inc. 1-800-GET-THIN LLC, doctors Kevork Tashjian and Ihsan Shamaan, Simi Valley Hospital, and other defendants for Los Angeles County wrongful death and medical malpractice. Faitro, 50, died last July after undergoing Lap-Band surgery. Per court documents, even though Faitro complained of serious abdominal pain after the procedure, she was discharged that same day. Two days later, she was treated at Simi Valley Hospital's emergency room.
Per the plaintiffs' Los Angeles medical malpractice complaint, the autopsy report states that Faitro's liver was lacerated more than once during the Lap-Band procedure and that she developed sepsis after bacteria got into her abdominal cavity. She died on July 26, 2010 from sepsis shock, blood loss, a lacerated liver, cardiac arrest, and acute renal failure.
Faitro's family is seeking compensatory and general damages for her California wrongful death. They claim that the defendants were "malicious and fraudulent" toward her and that their actions "were done with a willful and conscious disregard of (her) rights or safety." Her husband John, who suffers from diabetes and is blind, says that surgeons didn't tell his wife that her liver had been lacerated during the Lap-band surgery.
Lap-Band Surgery
This surgery, which is approved by the FDA, helps a patient feel fuller after eating less food. Although considered a safer option than gastric bypass surgery, complications can occur, including band slippage or erosion. Other complications that may result include stomach wall deterioration, ulcers, erosion, deflation, hematoma, port issues, and esophagus dilation.
Faitro's family has also filed a separate class action against several defendants, including 1-800-GET-THIN LLC and Top Surgeons, alleging false advertising.
Simi Valley man files suit over wife's death after Lap-Band surgery, Ventura County Star, February 26, 2011
Lap-Band clinic is sued over death, Los Angeles Times, February 10, 2011
Related Web Resources:
Lap-Band AP
More Blog Posts:
Los Angeles Medical Malpractice?: California Medical Board Investigates Surgeon Following Lawndale Woman's Death After Lap-Band Procedure, California Injury Lawyers Blog, February 4, 2011
Family is Suing Encino Cosmetic Surgeon for Los Angeles Wrongful Death, California Injury Lawyers Blog, December 29, 2010
