Patients Allegedly Injected with a Product Not Licensed by FDA for Human Use
The Circuit Court for Loudoun County permitted a medical malpractice lawsuit to move forward against David Berman M.D. and Dulles Cosmetic Surgery and Skin Care Center. According to the suit, the defendant had been allegedly injecting patients with a product that was not licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for human use, which happened years ago.
Judge James Chamblen had the opinion that in each case the plaintiff was a patient of Dr. Berman. The patients thought they were being injected with Botox Cosmetic, but in February 2004, the doctor had used a Botulinum Toxin Type A product that was sold and distributed by Toxin Research International, Inc. This product had not been approved or licensed by the FDA. In fact, the label on the vials used by Dr. Berman stated “for research purposes only – not for human use.”
Dr. Berman did not tell the patients that he used this product in lieu of Botox. According to plaintiffs, the doctor gave them the injections and represented that he was using Botox. He allegedly never disclosed that he was using a non-licensed and cheaper product.
The defendant had attempted to have the case dismissed because the actions occurred more than two years prior to the case being filed. However, the case was not dismissed.
The opinion read, “I think that the allegations of each complaint show that Dr. Berman’s fraud, concealment and misrepresentation prevented each plaintiff from discovering what he had actually injected into them until March and May 2007. Each filed suit within one year thereafter.”