Abby Lee Miller Files Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
Reality TV star Abby Lee Miller has reportedly initiated a medical malpractice lawsuit, alleging that doctors left a catheter in her abdomen after she underwent spinal surgery in 2020.
Nadine Lewis, the attorney representing the 59-year-old, stated that Miller “suffered for years” because doctors failed to identify the cause of her pain. According to the Daily Mail, Miller’s lawsuit includes a photograph suggesting “the outline of a foreign blue object embedded beneath her skin, surrounded by scar tissue.”
Miller is accusing Cedars-Sinai Marina Hospital, along with Dr. Hooman Melamed and Dr. Paul Dwan, of medical battery, malpractice, and professional negligence, seeking damages upwards of $1.4 million. TMZ reported that Miller has detailed additional accusations in her legal filing.
The lawsuit claims that Miller had spinal surgery to treat a condition known as Spondylolisthesis and that, post-surgery, she repeatedly reported ongoing abdominal pain to various physicians, including the defendants, over months and even years. Miller asserts that her chronic pain was “systemically dismissed,” leading to prolonged suffering.
Specifically, Miller alleges that Dr. Melamed attributed her ongoing symptoms to post-surgical scar tissue, without conducting further investigations or imaging, including a necessary examination of the painful area.
By 2024, court documents indicate her condition had deteriorated into severe and debilitating pain, significantly affecting her daily life. While seeking medical attention for another issue in June 2024 at St. John’s Hospital, a doctor reportedly pressed on her abdomen, causing her to scream in pain.
The lawsuit describes how the affected skin area became red, inflamed, and visibly irritated following this incident, as noted by the Daily Mail.
Lewis released a statement emphasizing that “the systemic minimization of women’s suffering has had fatal consequences,” asserting that Miller’s case exemplifies a troubling pattern where women’s pain is too often not taken seriously. “As a paraplegic woman, Abby is standing up for herself and others in a medical system that has continuously failed them,” Lewis said.
The lawsuit claims that the catheter was eventually removed during “an emergency procedure.”
A spokesperson for Cedars-Sinai responded to the allegations, stating that the hospital cannot comment on ongoing legal matters and, due to privacy laws, cannot discuss individual patient treatments. They reiterated that patient care and safety remain top priorities, ensuring adherence to the highest standards of medical practice.
