A woman is suing her plastic surgeon for using pictures of her facial reconstruction and calling them “cocaine nose.”
According to the lawsuit, Sabrina Kropp is suing Dr. Robert Walton over photos posted on a website for the Plastic Surgery Chicago center. Kropp said Walton took the photos in 2004 strictly as part of her medical record but used them in 2013 on the website for his new practice without her consent. The pictures were labeled “cocaine nose,” which Kropp did not appreciate. Via The Chicago Tribune:
“Cocaine nose” is listed on Walton’s website as one of the nasal reconstruction surgeries he performs. It’s described as “perforations of the septum, infection, loss of supporting cartilage, scarring and eventual collapse of the nose” that can occur after chronic cocaine use.
Among other allegations, Kropp is suing Walton and Plastic Surgery Chicago LLC for breach of fiduciary duty of confidentiality and violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also known as HIPAA. The law requires an individual’s written authorization before a use or disclosure of her protected health information is used for publication, marketing, teaching and/or commercial purposes, according to the lawsuit.
Yeah, that shit would irk me, too. According to the lawsuit, Kropp said the publication of the “cocaine nose” photographs caused her “great harm” and that Dr. Walton should have known it would cause her “to become distressed, shamed and embarrassed.”
The photo gallery for Dr. Walton’s website is now appears to be empty (unless it’s some weird computer glitchy thing on my end and I just can’t see them). ETA: An image of the original page with Kropp’s photos can be viewed at The Smoking Gun.
Image via Shutterstock.
