BEVERLY HILLS—Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Stuart Linder and his office manager Adriana Diaz are seeking millions of dollars in punitive and compensatory damages from the laser machine company Cynosure Inc.
Dr. Linder performed a procedure to eliminate the cellulite from both of Diaz’s legs back in January 2013. Dr. Linder followed the Cynosure salesman’s teachings of the laser product according to the plaintiff’s Attorney Thomas M. Brown. He argued that Linder was unaware that Diaz’s skin was heating up so high that it was leaving her with tissue death.
The lawsuit against Cynosure Inc. was originally filed on October 10, 2014, right after the initial procedure.
Brown explained to the jury that Diaz, “Went to the procedure without thermal burns and came out of the procedure with thermal burns.” Brown’s argument indicated that the defendant salesman Kristopher Huston of Cynosure falsely claimed that the machine had been approved by the FDA and that Dr. Linder needed to purchase one in order to keep up with the other plastic surgeons in the area who already had the machine.
Attorney Karin Curtis, who represents Cynosure countered that Huston may have been confused about the difference between the product being FDA approved and receiving FDA clearance. She argued that Diaz was working within two weeks of the procedure. Curtis had photos of Diaz’s legs in 2015 which showed that they were in as good condition as they were before the procedure in 2012. In her counter argument, Curtis mentioned that many of the case’s issues were first brought up when Linder sought a refund of $220,000 for the machine that was purchased back in March 2013. The case is being heard by Judge Malcolm Mackey.
