A Tennessee mother of five died after having a Brazilian butt lift performed by a Miami doctor who was allegedly not allowed to operate on patients, according to a lawsuit the woman’s family filed.
Erica Russell, 33, traveled to Seduction Cosmetic Center’s facility in Coral Gables, Florida, in June 2021 to undergo the cosmetic procedure. During the surgery, her doctor, John Sampson, allegedly punctured her liver, bladder and intestines with a cannula, a tube primarily used for removing fluid from the body, states a lawsuit filed Monday in Miami-Dade County court.
A little over two hours after the surgery began, Russell went into cardiac arrest and died.
The lawsuit says that her cause of death was determined to be pulmonary fat emboli and bleeding due to liposuction and bilateral gluteal augmentation surgery.
Attorneys representing Russell’s family said Sampson was not allowed to perform surgical procedures at the facility and allege that Seduction provided Russell with falsified paperwork stating that the doctor “had plastic and cosmetic privileges” at a local hospital when he did not.
They also accused Seduction of falsely marketing Sampson “as a surgeon performing surgery at its facility.”
Seduction Cosmetic Center Corp. and Sampson, both named as defendants in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. Seduction’s President and CEO, Gretel Jardon, could not be reached at phone numbers listed for her. Jardon is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
The suit says that in May 2020, Seduction submitted an application to the Florida Department of Health listing Sampson as its “designated physician” and did not list him as a surgeon. Sampson’s responsibilities, according to the suit, were to ensure the facility was complying with all applicable health and safety standards and requirements.
In June 2020, Sampson allegedly provided the state’s health department with a letter “stating specifically” that he “does not perform…
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