licensed health care professional defense attorney

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On September 20, 2017, a Florida federal judge sentenced a Florida woman to more than four years in prison for her part in a conspiracy to inject non-medical silicone into the buttocks of hundreds of spa customers. U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams handed down the sentence to Magaly Del Rosario, who pled guilty for her part in the scheme to purchase “misbranded” silicone from Colombia and inject it into her “patients.” The “patients” were seeking “buttocks augmentation” at the Bella Beauty Spa in Miami between 2008 and 2015, according to court documents.

The Scheme.

Prosecutors said Del Rosario conspired with a local salon owner to smuggle the silicone from Colombia by having it falsely labeled as a type of wax used for hair removal. The salon owner was sentenced to 79 months in prison in late August 2017 for her part in the plot.

Prosecutors also alleged that the duo calmed patients’ worries by implying that they were both licensed to perform the procedure and telling them that they were being injected with a safe, temporary substance. In fact, prosecutors said, the pair knew the material was non-medical silicone, which is not only permanent but is also dangerous.

The Consequences of Such a Dangerous Scheme.

According to prosecutors, the silicone injections, which were made without the supervision of a licensed medical practitioner, can cause embolisms, infections, scar tissue formation, necrosis, skin discoloration and increased immune system activity. They also said that the silicone can travel to other unintended parts of the body causing discomfort and pain for patients.

After clients began complaining of complications and medical issues, they were directed to a man who was also practicing medicine without a license. The man was previously incarcerated for the same offense and allegedly performed minor surgeries in the salon.

Unlicensed Medical Practice Abounds in Florida.

Is it just me,. or does it seem that Florida is rife with those practicing medicine, dentistry and other health professions without a license? I have written blogs on this many times in the past. It is so prevalent that it pops up from time to time in the novels of Florida humor writers such as Carl Hiaasen and Tim Dorsey, as merely another unusual fact of life in Florida. I also previously wrote a blog on another Florida woman who was sentenced to 11 years in prison after her patient died from the illegal silicone injections. Click here to read the blog.

Why Don’t Patients Check Out the Credentials of Their Physicians?

Why don’t patients check out the credentials of their physicians? This just seems like common sense. Yet Florida abounds with phony doctors, phony paramedics, phony dentists and others practicing medicine or some other health profession without being licensed or even knowing anything about the field. Is it driven by the expense of medical procedures? To a certain extent it may very well be. It may also be partially explained by a failure of the “patients” to comprehend the possible adverse consequences of what may be viewed as a “minor” procedure. To a large extent, the unlicensed individuals who do this also prey on foreign born immigrants and foreigners, trusting them because they speak the same language.

The problem seems to go way beyond just the lack of licensure of the person providing the medical services. I constantly see cases of licensed medical doctors holding themselves out as experienced practitioners in medical specialties for which they are not board certified. I have seen cases where board certified obstetricians/gynecologists are practicing pain management, where family practice physicians are performing plastic surgery procedures, where dentists are running medical spas providing cosmetic laser services, where nurses are performing cosmetic medical procedures, etc.

If you were diagnosed with a brain tumor, would you go to a family practice doctor to have it removed because he didn’t charge as much. If you needed a hernia repair, would you go to the “doctor” at the flea market, because she was so inexpensive? Consumers really need to be more worried about the experience and credentials of their physicians and check them out completely. Neighbors who have “doctors” set up clinics in their homes and garages need to rat these people out. Phony plastic surgeons who only advertise in Spanish on Spanish radio stations need to be reported to the authorities. Florida needs to do more about these unlicensed and licensed, but unqualified, health practitioners.

Contact Health Law Attorneys Experienced with Investigations of Health Professionals and Providers.

The attorneys of The Health Law Firm provide legal representation to physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, CRNAs, dentists, pharmacists, psychologists and other health providers in Department of Health (DOH) investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigations, FBI investigations, Medicare investigations, Medicaid investigations and other types of investigations of health professionals and providers.

To contact The Health Law Firm, please call (407) 331-6620 or (850) 439-1001 and visit our website at www.TheHealthLawFirm.com.

Sources:

Crosby, Christopher. “Miami Woman Gets 4 Years For Spa Silicone Injection Scheme.” Law360. (September 20, 2017). Web.

Scicchitano, Paul. “Illegal Miami Butt Biz Sends Spa Manager To Jail.” Miami Patch. (September 20, 2017). Web.

About the Author: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. He is the President and Managing Partner of The Health Law Firm, which has a national practice. Its main office is in the Orlando, Florida, area. www.TheHealthLawFirm.com The Health Law Firm, 1101 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, Phone: (407) 331-6620.

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