I went to Dr. Berman for a procedure within the last two years; he was very thoughtful and treated me with the utmost care. It was not a rushed or scary experience at all. He talked me through the procedure and took time to answer my questions in layman's terms. He was professional without being cold. I had wonderful results, and I would go to him again in the future should there be any need. Surgeons go into the field because they have a deep passion & an obvious talent..it takes years of study and practice and commitment. No doctor would intentionally harm their patient. It is obviously very sad that things went awry in Ms. Alaimo's case. But there are risks in plastic surgery. Not everyone's bodies take to serious changes--and in my own opinion, Dr. Berman is not at fault. He's performed thousands of perfect surgeries. The same exact actions he's taken on countless patients did not fare well on this particular person.
jean - 14 years ago
oh and yes she had this happen back in 2003????? so i would imagine the horror she went through all these years
stop being idiots and grow up............
jean - 14 years ago
why punish this woman. there is so much more to this then all of the "haters" out there understand. ofcourse your going to side with the doctor.
but hello it could of been your mother, your sister , your girlfriend, your wife......and then would you just say oh well too bad
or would you find out why this happened....
btw deformity doesn happen by a lil oopsie daisy in the "or"
Marsha - 14 years ago
With so many sources of information on plastic surgery -from the TV, internet, magazines, doctor's brochures, and printed consent forms- how on earth can ANYONE claim she did not know the risks of an elective cosmetic procedure?
The head plastic surgeon at Columbia Presbyterian said that the doctor did nothing wrong. Why did the newspaper decide fail to give a fair account of the facts during the trial? What do they have against the doctor?
And, if Ms. Alaimo was so unhappy with her implants, why did she never ask to have them removed?!? A 4th grader could have figured that one out.
Litigation Lotto better stop or pretty soon there won't be any doctors left on SI!
Lynnette - 14 years ago
Several years ago, I fell while taking my daughter to school. My teeth went through my chin and there was a big gash in my lip. I went immediately to Dr. Berman's office. He and his staff took time in his schedule that morning to repair my face. They were very calm and deliberate. They took their time and were kind and compassionate to me. My face healed beautifully and unless you knew where to look for two tiny scars, you'd never know I had that horrible fall. Based on the careful and excellent work Dr. Berman did on my face, I would expect him to give his best to all his patients. More important is the issue of personal integrity. Given the way Dr. Berman and his staff behaved when I needed his help, I find it hard to believe that they would treat any patient in less than a professional manner.
Jessica - 14 years ago
There are so many things wrong and unjust about this particular case. It is apparent that this whole case and newpaper feeds were in favor of Ms.Alaimo. Dr. Berman deserves just, and most importantly, a fair verdict, not one out of simpathy. Ms. Alaimo claims "she was rushed into the medical room without enough time to read and understand the papers." I cannot tell you how absurd this is. First of all, if she didn't have enough time, she should have asked for it. The staff and Dr. Berman would understand. Second of all, Ms. Alaimo said she found out about Dr. Berman through websites, and patients that were at her tanning salon. With so much research, I am sure you would be aware of the consequences. If you are not happy with the research and consequences, get another doctor, no one if forcing you to get this breast surgery done. Ms. Alamio also claims that her surgery left her with a broken marriage. This is an example of the simpathy she wants the jury to feel for her. Now, anyone that has been married for 17 years, is truely inlove. If your husband or wife files for a divorce because of "disformed" breats, your marriage was never strong, or true. But again, the St. George jury will fall for it, and feel sorrow. Dr. Berman was unfairly cheated out. This case was printed in the Staten Island Advance, and on the news, totally in favor of Ms. Alamio. Hopefully in the future, doctors, including Dr. Berman, will never face this again, or face such an immiature patient.
mrsdee - 14 years ago
I'm aganist plastic surgery myself, and i know that there are risks with any surgery but people need some common sense does it say on the disclosure that the patient would end up with 4 breasts? ofcouse not....the doctor made a mistake and now he has to pay for it.
steven - 14 years ago
samelapgan, I'm surprised by your reference to God. I'm actually in agreement with you when it comes to plastic surgery. For the most part I don't believe in it. But how can you say that the victim should bear 100 % of the burden while the one who wields the knife, the one who butcher's her, the one who feeds his greed by advertising and assisting in altering "Gods will" avoids all responsibility for his actions?
D.Jennings - 14 years ago
The Advance has become a "rag" newspaper this is noteworthy to smear a physician with the childish headline? just report the news this is sensationalism it certainly is not news but then again the people on this Island just love this type of reporting you don't see the NY Times running these stories they are a real newspaper. Why are doctors always the target what about some good news re the good they do.?? No one intentionally harms another human The post remarks of the "patient" SAYS IT ALL MY CHILDREN WILL GO TO THE BEST SCHOOLS please no good will come from her "wind fall"
Cris - 14 years ago
I was a patient of Dr Berman. I had Surgery performed by him that left me scarred and deformed just like this woman. Dr Berman was negligent, and he destroyed my life and I'm not the only one. He didn't inform me of the risks involved, and chose to perform a procedure in way that was easier and more cost effective for him while putting me at great risk. However I blame myself for putting my trust in Dr Berman, which was my biggest mistake. He has lied to me repeatedly, and takes no responsibility for his mistakes and his negligence. He did nothing to help me, and he even tried to financially profit off of the botched surgery he performed on me. I had to seek out other doctors to help me and i lost 2 years of my life and over $10,000 trying to fix what Dr Berman did to me. His office staff are rude and misleading, but maybe that's appropriate for who they work for. I have not tried to sue Dr Berman, but i am glad this woman was somewhat compensated for Dr Berman's repeated negligence and indifference. I always accepted that accidents can happen with plastic surgery and that doctors are only human. However when the doctor is willfully negligent, sloppy in his work, puts financial compensation above patient welfare and is knowingly deceptive to the patient while trying to avoid any responsibility for his actions I believe he should be held accountable and it looks like he finally will be.
John Roberts - 14 years ago
The jury heard the evidence and found the doctor negligent. That ends it. All you tort-reformers who say the verdict was unjust or excessive or she shouldn't complain because she accepted the risk will all be the first ones to sue if such a tragedy befalls you. There is a difference between accepting a risk of a bad outcome where the surgeon is not negligent as opposed to getting a injured when a doctor screws up. Here the jury heard the evidence, listened to the experts and concluded the doctor was negligent. They were the ones in the courtroom, not any of you. Why shouldn't she be compensated. Plastic surgeons are well compensated - they only take cash - no reduced insurance payments there - so they should be held accountable if they are negligent. It is almost certain that this doctor had a chance to settle for far less than the verdict but refused to take responsibility for his negligence and so he (and most likely his insurance company) are on the hook for injuring this woman.
samelapgan - 14 years ago
I totally disagree with this verdict. Dr Berman was not given a fair trial. In order for him to be given a fair trial this case should have ben taken off Staten Island.The news had him guilty even before the verdic was out. There is something difenelty wrong with this picture. This is one of the reason why our health care system is going down the drain. You have these type of people who are not satisfied with the results of their surgery and is looking a big pay day. ( un employed with nothing to do in life) The Jurors decided on the amount of the award based on sympathy. Dr Berman did not cause her divorce, she was looking for some one to blame and use him as an excuse.Was she using the surgery to keep her husband? She signed the documents, then stated someone else sign it for her. How about the paper putting that out there for the public to see. They were not fair to to Dr Berman.I am sure Dr berman made a full disclosure of the risks associated with this type of surgery. Come on this 2010, if she does not not know how to read, have some one read it to her. I am sure someone in the office would have read it to her. All doctors do explain to their patients the risks associated with any type of surgery. I am sure Dr Berman clid explain to her the risk . Commonsense tells you that when you elects to go under the knife, he or she are taking a risk. The patient must then assume responsibility for their decision. In my opinion, this woman in this case simply refused to assume responsibility for her decision. According to her version, she was practically forced to undergo this procedureand with someone else sigining the concent, did she lied on the stand.
Daniella you said some one in that office sign the concent. Please do not judge any one, because you do not know the facts. Let God be our judge. God made us a certain way and when we are not happy with what God gave us, we try to alter our bodies and when we do not like the results, we tend to blame others. This is what happen in this case.
In conclusion, I believe that this lawsuit is example of how the judicial system fail us. Dr Berman is a very good compassionate and dedicated plastic surgeon who was not given a fair trial. Gossip should not be printed, but the truth.
From Sama.
Lisa - 14 years ago
Dr. Berman rocks!!!!!!
John - 14 years ago
This case represents one of the occaisions where the justice system works. The jury was presented with the eividence that non of the indivisduals on this page were privy to. It was absolutely clear from the evidence presented that this was a case of malpractice and that the doctor if one would still choose to call him that did not make clear to her the risks.
Mike Kuharski did a great job, his client received justice, I hope that the other women this "doctor" butchered seek him out.
A word to Drew, as someone who has worked within the judicial system for over 20 years I can tell you that a med mal case in NY is very very difficult to prove it is a stacked deck against the plaintiff. As far as the damages being out of proportion, I don't believe they are high enough. This is a woman who lost her breasts, not a man with a scar on his arm, psychologically and emotionally this woman is virtually ruined. Before you blather on about something you are clearly not familiar with imagine if it was your wife,daughter or mother, Yes it was elective surgery but you can believe that most doctors do not make clear the risks if they did they would be out of business. No one would have this surgery if they saw a picture of what this woman looked like after.
Futher for your information at the trial there were copies of the doctor's documents presented that did not have the plaintiff's signature, someone else had signed her name, draw your own conclusion to that if you can get off your soap box long enough.
Several years ago there was a national study that proved 90 percent of all med mal cases are against the same 10 percent doctors, figure out what that means and I suspect this won't be the last time we read about "doctor" Berman's negligence.
Let me ask you drew if your testicles were ruined how much would it be worth to you?
Danielle you were lucky I am certain that if your surgery turned out like hers you would just walk away and live deformed and happy the rest of your life.
Theresa you have absolutely no way of knowing why she had the surgery, and again not all the documents were actually signed by her the doctor and his wife are lucky they weren't prosecuted for forgery. I'll say again if you believe that the risks were accurately portryed to the plaintiff the jurors who actually saw and heard the evidence did not you are basing your knowledge on pieces of an article not days of testimony.
I've worked on many cases Drew where the jury was presented with someone who suffered greatly and was sympathetic yet there was no money awarded. You were not there for days listening to testimony and seeing evidence presented. as far as the article influencing the jury there was another article which detailed how the doctors expert discounted the plaintiff's case, woldnt that have influenced the jury as much? Of course the fact that they were there the entire time again comes up.
Yes kristen anything can go wrong on the operating table but here the jury found the doctor was guilty of gross negligence he was found to have been at fault and not that it was fate. i suggest the next time drew, theresa,kristen drag yourselves down to court and hear the case as its presented arm chair quaterbacking is nonsense here, this was a State Island jury the most conservative juries over all in the entire city. The lack of understanding here signifies your lack of experience in these matters and your need to express your opinions over riding your common sense and the lack of compasiion you exhibit demonstrates the type of people you are.
Jeff Harrell did a great job reporting here hopefully enough people will see this and avoid this "doctor" and hopefully he'll report on any future trials involving doctor butcher.
Elizabeth - 14 years ago
Umm, so first of all I would like to say that this woman should have gotten botox instead of a breat augmentation. And second, if you read about it, she is unemployed...SHES GONNA DO ANYTHING FOR MONEY. She CANNOT say that she is being rushed into surgery. There are SOOO many risks involved with surgery. He did hand her a disclosure about it and she could have READ it, she was just being LAZY or she didn't know how to read. But she did sign it and that means that she UNDERSTANDS the risks involved. And there are so many shows out there about Doctors and plastic surgery to know the risks. This woman is nuts. She must have realized that after she got her boobs done that she didn't like them and that she didn't have a job or any money left so she decided to file a lawsuit. She's unacceptable. He went to school for how many years and she was a TANNING SALON owner, she didn't go to school.They teach this stuff in Med school, and I know because my brother goes there. She should have NOT been awarded this money what-so-ever. I'm sure Dr B. had a LEGIT reason for him to change the procedure under the knife. She makes me so mad. This woman needs to be on pills and off the streets and away from out children.
kristen - 14 years ago
Jumping on a bandwagon? wow okay, be alittle mature now.
Procedure B , whatever you want to call it was what was BEST for the patient. If she got procedure A she could have been in worse condition than she is now. She was already under the knife there is no way that she could have gotten what she wanted. I have head of Dr. Keith Berman from many friends and family members and he is the BEST surgeon on staten island. She must have not told him the whole story, because all of my friends and family members turned out FINE.
steven - 14 years ago
So because you don't like implants, she should not have gotten them. OK
And being advised of the risks of procedure A, and then doing procedure B with different risks is okay.
And of course this presumes that the doctor advised her of the risks of procedure A which a jury that had all of the evidence decided was not the case.
But you don't like the jury's verdict so it really doesn't matter what evidence they heard. Yours must be better. You sound very open minded. I'm going to jump on your bandwagon...Not.
Kristen - 14 years ago
This was a MEDICAL PROCEDURE! ANYTHING can go wrong while on an operating table!
Steven -- are you on another planet?? She got awarded 3.5 million dollars for a risk that she knew that could happen! Noone forced her to do the surgery. She had to know ALL RISKS and PROCEDURES before getting breast implants. She should be lucky nothing else happened to her ! She was even talking about how now she can get all this money and put her kids in the best schools, meanwhile she knew that something like this could happen! It happens everyday.
Ruth-- she is not undergoing a MEDICAL procedure , she got fake things put into her breats so they could be larger, That is a type of deformity to me . She knew all risks and maybe she should have read them because noone forced her to do so.
Dr. Berman was not at fault here , this lady knew what she was doing, NO ONE forced it on her. Everyone knows what can happen when you get plastic surgery!
Rude - 14 years ago
The survey question contains an inherent bias. The NO choice uses the words, "...this type of surgery." Wouold the wording be the same if the surgery was a facial reconstruction after an assault? Or if the surgery was to correct a deformity that prevented one from walking normally? Or to correct a birth defect such as a cleft palate?
But beyond the unfortunate wording in the survey, when someone has surgery, the expectation is that the result will be an improvement, certainly not a negative result such as being deformed. If I were to have knee- replacement surgery, I would have the expectation that my pain would be lessened and my walking improved. I wouold not expect to come out of the surgery as a cripple.
Doctors do not have carte blanche when they weild a scalpel!
steven - 14 years ago
I'm surprised by the commentary. If she is walking around mutilated, isn't that accepting responsibility. She has it. Its done. It can't be fixed. Why is a wealthy doctor who produces this type of result portrayed as a victim. He will go on. He will retain his wealth, his car, his home, his vacation home...
He accepts zero responsibility for what he has done in the name of money. And this group seems to encourage it. Piling on a mutilated victim as though encouraging a doctor to perform these procedures and obtain these results somehow benefits our society.
I feel like this group is on another planet. Is it so difficult to comprehend that you will never be in the position of this doctor, but you certainly could be the victim of lousy medical care. Does anyone understand the implications of lousy medical care, the suffering produced by it?
Is it just unimportant because the suffering is not our own?
And why does matthew assume there was not full disclosure. Is there such little faith in the legal system that this group feels that a terse newspaper article has more information than that which was submitted to the jury? Maybe their decision was correct. Is that outside the realm of possibility.
Or do the authors above feel that the same society that produces such wonderful doctors has obtained the opposite result with the legal system.
The answer is that the medical system is sound as is the legal system. This doctor placed his own self interest in front of that of his patient. He did not have to do what he did. His livelihood was not in jeopardy. Instead he departed from accepted medical practice with regard to this patient making her a victim at his hands. I choose to presume the doctor and the patient got a fair trial...Full Disclosure. The victim got compensated. Good.
Fact is that I get better medical care because of it and whether you realize it or not, you do too. Letting professionals get away with stupidity does not make the medical system better. If our system cannot withstand it, then we have bigger problems.
Theresa D'Amico - 14 years ago
Dr. Keith Berman was not at fault here. This patient should have known what she was going into when she was having PLASTIC SURGERY. Anything can happen while a doctor is operating. Dr. Keith Berman did what was BEST for her; if he did not do so then she could have been in a more serious condition than she is now. She signed the documents which made a full disclosure of the risks associated with the procedure. Did she not read it or something? Saying you are rushed into a medical procedure and not understanding what all the medical risks are just absurd. We live in the United States no one is making you get breast implants, that is your own choice that you are doing that. That is her own fault, not the doctor. Any middle aged woman would know the risks for any kind of medical procedure. She just did this so she could get the money, and as she said “My kids are going to go to the nicest schools,” said Ms. Alaimo, a former tanning salon owner who is currently unemployed. Maybe if you are unemployed you shouldn't be getting breast implants and then trying to blame a risk that may happen during a procedure to the most prestigious doctor on Staten Island.
Lorraine Jones - 14 years ago
If this woman was so unhappy wit implants why did she not ask to have them removed?
It's O.K. not to read the consent before surgery? Are you kidding me?
Patients need to have some sense of personal responsibility in this world.
I'm sure there's more to this story than is being reported.
matthew gangadin - 14 years ago
the surgeon is not a any fault what so ever. The lady should have know that with this surgery could have problems and some bad thing may happen. Did the woman disclose all her medical history?who knows!?the evidence prestend to the jury should included her full medical record!. maybe there was other conditions existing that was not presented to the jury. FULL DIS CLOSER SHOULD BE MADE.
steven - 14 years ago
I really don't understand why you would express such resentment over compensating a woman for so tragic an injury. She could be anyone. The doctor told he was doing one procedure and then did a completely different one. He didn't tell her the second one was easier for him and more risky for her and I'm sure he didn't cut his bill to reflect the work. Here is middle aged woman who has is deformed for the rest of her life...as though a paltry 3.5 million dollars could make it right. Its maybe a couple of years pay for the doctor. So what. You have sympathy for the doctor. Save it. I guaranty he could care less about you.
danielle - 14 years ago
I would like to say that I fully agree with the comment ablove from Drew! I would also like to say I had breast Augmentation done by Dr Berman almost seven years ago, along with several other females that I referred to him, and honestly WE LOVE HIS WORK! It is sad that the system is so screwed up and awarded this lady so much money....This was a surgery SHE WANTED! THERE IS A RISK FOR EVERYTHING & ANYTHING YOU DO IN SURGERY!
drew tirrito - 14 years ago
I strongly disagree with this verdict. There are risks inherent to even minor surgical procedures, let alone something as complex as breast augmentation. People seem these days to be oblivious to this fact. Patients refuse to take responsibility for the decision to have elective procedures. This places great pressure on the best of surgeons. There are cases where physicians perform procedures resulting in the death of patients and the amount of the jury's award is substantially less than in this case. Also, I believe that Dr Berman was a victim of negative publicity right from the start of this case. The proof is that an extremely biased and unflattering story was published on Dr Berman BEFORE THERE WAS A VERDICT! In other words, Dr Berman was tried and convicted by the MEDIA before the Supreme Court made their ruling.
How fair is that?
It seems to me that if cases like this can be successfully prosecuted, then there must be something wrong with our legal system. Patients who are not satisfied with the results of their surgery will be encouraged to sue in the hope of collecting a big financial award. These awards are often all out proportion to the actual damage--if any--that was done. Jurors decide on the amount of the award based on sympathy with the plaintiff. How can pain and suffering even be quantified? In Dr Berman's case, the plaintiff blamed her divorce on the procedure which she elected to undergo. She signed the documents which made a full disclosure of the risks associated with the procedure. Did she know what she was signing? She claims that she did not. I assume that she can read. Why, in that case, did she neglect to take the time out to read the documents before she put her signature on it? Or, if she did not understand the contents of the documents, she could have elected to halt the procedure until she could consult with someone who could interpret the documents?
Also, there is the issue of whether she was advised of the risks associated with the procedure during the initial consultation. She claims that she was not. Dr Berman claims that he did in fact advise her. Since the conversation was not taped, then this is a case of her word against his. Apparently, the Jury believed her account. However, looking at the matter objectively, without emotion, is it likely that a Surgeon with as much experience and status as Dr Berman would have neglected something as fundamental as informing a patient of the risks inherent to Plastic Surgery of any kind, let alone something as complex and invasive as Breast Augmentation? Even commonsense tells you that when a patient elects to go under the knife, he or she are taking a risk. The patient must then assume responsibility for their decision. In my opinion, the Plaintiff in this case simply refused to assume responsibility for her decision. According to her version, she was practically forced to undergo this procedure. Something like this is unheard of. Did this patient travel to the Doctor's office herself, or did someone else drag her there and place her on the operating table?
In conclusion, I believe that this lawsuit is yet another example of a frivolous Medical Malpractice suit the sole aim of which is to line the Attorneys and Plaintiff's pockets with cash. If a dedicated, skilled, and compassionate Surgeon's reputation is trashed in the process, so be it. Its "collateral damage."
This is truly a pathetic example of how dysfunctional our judiciary system has become.
I went to Dr. Berman for a procedure within the last two years; he was very thoughtful and treated me with the utmost care. It was not a rushed or scary experience at all. He talked me through the procedure and took time to answer my questions in layman's terms. He was professional without being cold. I had wonderful results, and I would go to him again in the future should there be any need. Surgeons go into the field because they have a deep passion & an obvious talent..it takes years of study and practice and commitment. No doctor would intentionally harm their patient. It is obviously very sad that things went awry in Ms. Alaimo's case. But there are risks in plastic surgery. Not everyone's bodies take to serious changes--and in my own opinion, Dr. Berman is not at fault. He's performed thousands of perfect surgeries. The same exact actions he's taken on countless patients did not fare well on this particular person.
oh and yes she had this happen back in 2003????? so i would imagine the horror she went through all these years
stop being idiots and grow up............
why punish this woman. there is so much more to this then all of the "haters" out there understand. ofcourse your going to side with the doctor.
but hello it could of been your mother, your sister , your girlfriend, your wife......and then would you just say oh well too bad
or would you find out why this happened....
btw deformity doesn happen by a lil oopsie daisy in the "or"
With so many sources of information on plastic surgery -from the TV, internet, magazines, doctor's brochures, and printed consent forms- how on earth can ANYONE claim she did not know the risks of an elective cosmetic procedure?
The head plastic surgeon at Columbia Presbyterian said that the doctor did nothing wrong. Why did the newspaper decide fail to give a fair account of the facts during the trial? What do they have against the doctor?
And, if Ms. Alaimo was so unhappy with her implants, why did she never ask to have them removed?!? A 4th grader could have figured that one out.
Litigation Lotto better stop or pretty soon there won't be any doctors left on SI!
Several years ago, I fell while taking my daughter to school. My teeth went through my chin and there was a big gash in my lip. I went immediately to Dr. Berman's office. He and his staff took time in his schedule that morning to repair my face. They were very calm and deliberate. They took their time and were kind and compassionate to me. My face healed beautifully and unless you knew where to look for two tiny scars, you'd never know I had that horrible fall. Based on the careful and excellent work Dr. Berman did on my face, I would expect him to give his best to all his patients. More important is the issue of personal integrity. Given the way Dr. Berman and his staff behaved when I needed his help, I find it hard to believe that they would treat any patient in less than a professional manner.
There are so many things wrong and unjust about this particular case. It is apparent that this whole case and newpaper feeds were in favor of Ms.Alaimo. Dr. Berman deserves just, and most importantly, a fair verdict, not one out of simpathy. Ms. Alaimo claims "she was rushed into the medical room without enough time to read and understand the papers." I cannot tell you how absurd this is. First of all, if she didn't have enough time, she should have asked for it. The staff and Dr. Berman would understand. Second of all, Ms. Alaimo said she found out about Dr. Berman through websites, and patients that were at her tanning salon. With so much research, I am sure you would be aware of the consequences. If you are not happy with the research and consequences, get another doctor, no one if forcing you to get this breast surgery done. Ms. Alamio also claims that her surgery left her with a broken marriage. This is an example of the simpathy she wants the jury to feel for her. Now, anyone that has been married for 17 years, is truely inlove. If your husband or wife files for a divorce because of "disformed" breats, your marriage was never strong, or true. But again, the St. George jury will fall for it, and feel sorrow. Dr. Berman was unfairly cheated out. This case was printed in the Staten Island Advance, and on the news, totally in favor of Ms. Alamio. Hopefully in the future, doctors, including Dr. Berman, will never face this again, or face such an immiature patient.
I'm aganist plastic surgery myself, and i know that there are risks with any surgery but people need some common sense does it say on the disclosure that the patient would end up with 4 breasts? ofcouse not....the doctor made a mistake and now he has to pay for it.
samelapgan, I'm surprised by your reference to God. I'm actually in agreement with you when it comes to plastic surgery. For the most part I don't believe in it. But how can you say that the victim should bear 100 % of the burden while the one who wields the knife, the one who butcher's her, the one who feeds his greed by advertising and assisting in altering "Gods will" avoids all responsibility for his actions?
The Advance has become a "rag" newspaper this is noteworthy to smear a physician with the childish headline? just report the news this is sensationalism it certainly is not news but then again the people on this Island just love this type of reporting you don't see the NY Times running these stories they are a real newspaper. Why are doctors always the target what about some good news re the good they do.?? No one intentionally harms another human The post remarks of the "patient" SAYS IT ALL MY CHILDREN WILL GO TO THE BEST SCHOOLS please no good will come from her "wind fall"
I was a patient of Dr Berman. I had Surgery performed by him that left me scarred and deformed just like this woman. Dr Berman was negligent, and he destroyed my life and I'm not the only one. He didn't inform me of the risks involved, and chose to perform a procedure in way that was easier and more cost effective for him while putting me at great risk. However I blame myself for putting my trust in Dr Berman, which was my biggest mistake. He has lied to me repeatedly, and takes no responsibility for his mistakes and his negligence. He did nothing to help me, and he even tried to financially profit off of the botched surgery he performed on me. I had to seek out other doctors to help me and i lost 2 years of my life and over $10,000 trying to fix what Dr Berman did to me. His office staff are rude and misleading, but maybe that's appropriate for who they work for. I have not tried to sue Dr Berman, but i am glad this woman was somewhat compensated for Dr Berman's repeated negligence and indifference. I always accepted that accidents can happen with plastic surgery and that doctors are only human. However when the doctor is willfully negligent, sloppy in his work, puts financial compensation above patient welfare and is knowingly deceptive to the patient while trying to avoid any responsibility for his actions I believe he should be held accountable and it looks like he finally will be.
The jury heard the evidence and found the doctor negligent. That ends it. All you tort-reformers who say the verdict was unjust or excessive or she shouldn't complain because she accepted the risk will all be the first ones to sue if such a tragedy befalls you. There is a difference between accepting a risk of a bad outcome where the surgeon is not negligent as opposed to getting a injured when a doctor screws up. Here the jury heard the evidence, listened to the experts and concluded the doctor was negligent. They were the ones in the courtroom, not any of you. Why shouldn't she be compensated. Plastic surgeons are well compensated - they only take cash - no reduced insurance payments there - so they should be held accountable if they are negligent. It is almost certain that this doctor had a chance to settle for far less than the verdict but refused to take responsibility for his negligence and so he (and most likely his insurance company) are on the hook for injuring this woman.
I totally disagree with this verdict. Dr Berman was not given a fair trial. In order for him to be given a fair trial this case should have ben taken off Staten Island.The news had him guilty even before the verdic was out. There is something difenelty wrong with this picture. This is one of the reason why our health care system is going down the drain. You have these type of people who are not satisfied with the results of their surgery and is looking a big pay day. ( un employed with nothing to do in life) The Jurors decided on the amount of the award based on sympathy. Dr Berman did not cause her divorce, she was looking for some one to blame and use him as an excuse.Was she using the surgery to keep her husband? She signed the documents, then stated someone else sign it for her. How about the paper putting that out there for the public to see. They were not fair to to Dr Berman.I am sure Dr berman made a full disclosure of the risks associated with this type of surgery. Come on this 2010, if she does not not know how to read, have some one read it to her. I am sure someone in the office would have read it to her. All doctors do explain to their patients the risks associated with any type of surgery. I am sure Dr Berman clid explain to her the risk . Commonsense tells you that when you elects to go under the knife, he or she are taking a risk. The patient must then assume responsibility for their decision. In my opinion, this woman in this case simply refused to assume responsibility for her decision. According to her version, she was practically forced to undergo this procedureand with someone else sigining the concent, did she lied on the stand.
Daniella you said some one in that office sign the concent. Please do not judge any one, because you do not know the facts. Let God be our judge. God made us a certain way and when we are not happy with what God gave us, we try to alter our bodies and when we do not like the results, we tend to blame others. This is what happen in this case.
In conclusion, I believe that this lawsuit is example of how the judicial system fail us. Dr Berman is a very good compassionate and dedicated plastic surgeon who was not given a fair trial. Gossip should not be printed, but the truth.
From Sama.
Dr. Berman rocks!!!!!!
This case represents one of the occaisions where the justice system works. The jury was presented with the eividence that non of the indivisduals on this page were privy to. It was absolutely clear from the evidence presented that this was a case of malpractice and that the doctor if one would still choose to call him that did not make clear to her the risks.
Mike Kuharski did a great job, his client received justice, I hope that the other women this "doctor" butchered seek him out.
A word to Drew, as someone who has worked within the judicial system for over 20 years I can tell you that a med mal case in NY is very very difficult to prove it is a stacked deck against the plaintiff. As far as the damages being out of proportion, I don't believe they are high enough. This is a woman who lost her breasts, not a man with a scar on his arm, psychologically and emotionally this woman is virtually ruined. Before you blather on about something you are clearly not familiar with imagine if it was your wife,daughter or mother, Yes it was elective surgery but you can believe that most doctors do not make clear the risks if they did they would be out of business. No one would have this surgery if they saw a picture of what this woman looked like after.
Futher for your information at the trial there were copies of the doctor's documents presented that did not have the plaintiff's signature, someone else had signed her name, draw your own conclusion to that if you can get off your soap box long enough.
Several years ago there was a national study that proved 90 percent of all med mal cases are against the same 10 percent doctors, figure out what that means and I suspect this won't be the last time we read about "doctor" Berman's negligence.
Let me ask you drew if your testicles were ruined how much would it be worth to you?
Danielle you were lucky I am certain that if your surgery turned out like hers you would just walk away and live deformed and happy the rest of your life.
Theresa you have absolutely no way of knowing why she had the surgery, and again not all the documents were actually signed by her the doctor and his wife are lucky they weren't prosecuted for forgery. I'll say again if you believe that the risks were accurately portryed to the plaintiff the jurors who actually saw and heard the evidence did not you are basing your knowledge on pieces of an article not days of testimony.
I've worked on many cases Drew where the jury was presented with someone who suffered greatly and was sympathetic yet there was no money awarded. You were not there for days listening to testimony and seeing evidence presented. as far as the article influencing the jury there was another article which detailed how the doctors expert discounted the plaintiff's case, woldnt that have influenced the jury as much? Of course the fact that they were there the entire time again comes up.
Yes kristen anything can go wrong on the operating table but here the jury found the doctor was guilty of gross negligence he was found to have been at fault and not that it was fate. i suggest the next time drew, theresa,kristen drag yourselves down to court and hear the case as its presented arm chair quaterbacking is nonsense here, this was a State Island jury the most conservative juries over all in the entire city. The lack of understanding here signifies your lack of experience in these matters and your need to express your opinions over riding your common sense and the lack of compasiion you exhibit demonstrates the type of people you are.
Jeff Harrell did a great job reporting here hopefully enough people will see this and avoid this "doctor" and hopefully he'll report on any future trials involving doctor butcher.
Umm, so first of all I would like to say that this woman should have gotten botox instead of a breat augmentation. And second, if you read about it, she is unemployed...SHES GONNA DO ANYTHING FOR MONEY. She CANNOT say that she is being rushed into surgery. There are SOOO many risks involved with surgery. He did hand her a disclosure about it and she could have READ it, she was just being LAZY or she didn't know how to read. But she did sign it and that means that she UNDERSTANDS the risks involved. And there are so many shows out there about Doctors and plastic surgery to know the risks. This woman is nuts. She must have realized that after she got her boobs done that she didn't like them and that she didn't have a job or any money left so she decided to file a lawsuit. She's unacceptable. He went to school for how many years and she was a TANNING SALON owner, she didn't go to school.They teach this stuff in Med school, and I know because my brother goes there. She should have NOT been awarded this money what-so-ever. I'm sure Dr B. had a LEGIT reason for him to change the procedure under the knife. She makes me so mad. This woman needs to be on pills and off the streets and away from out children.
Jumping on a bandwagon? wow okay, be alittle mature now.
Procedure B , whatever you want to call it was what was BEST for the patient. If she got procedure A she could have been in worse condition than she is now. She was already under the knife there is no way that she could have gotten what she wanted. I have head of Dr. Keith Berman from many friends and family members and he is the BEST surgeon on staten island. She must have not told him the whole story, because all of my friends and family members turned out FINE.
So because you don't like implants, she should not have gotten them. OK
And being advised of the risks of procedure A, and then doing procedure B with different risks is okay.
And of course this presumes that the doctor advised her of the risks of procedure A which a jury that had all of the evidence decided was not the case.
But you don't like the jury's verdict so it really doesn't matter what evidence they heard. Yours must be better. You sound very open minded. I'm going to jump on your bandwagon...Not.
This was a MEDICAL PROCEDURE! ANYTHING can go wrong while on an operating table!
Steven -- are you on another planet?? She got awarded 3.5 million dollars for a risk that she knew that could happen! Noone forced her to do the surgery. She had to know ALL RISKS and PROCEDURES before getting breast implants. She should be lucky nothing else happened to her ! She was even talking about how now she can get all this money and put her kids in the best schools, meanwhile she knew that something like this could happen! It happens everyday.
Ruth-- she is not undergoing a MEDICAL procedure , she got fake things put into her breats so they could be larger, That is a type of deformity to me . She knew all risks and maybe she should have read them because noone forced her to do so.
Dr. Berman was not at fault here , this lady knew what she was doing, NO ONE forced it on her. Everyone knows what can happen when you get plastic surgery!
The survey question contains an inherent bias. The NO choice uses the words, "...this type of surgery." Wouold the wording be the same if the surgery was a facial reconstruction after an assault? Or if the surgery was to correct a deformity that prevented one from walking normally? Or to correct a birth defect such as a cleft palate?
But beyond the unfortunate wording in the survey, when someone has surgery, the expectation is that the result will be an improvement, certainly not a negative result such as being deformed. If I were to have knee- replacement surgery, I would have the expectation that my pain would be lessened and my walking improved. I wouold not expect to come out of the surgery as a cripple.
Doctors do not have carte blanche when they weild a scalpel!
I'm surprised by the commentary. If she is walking around mutilated, isn't that accepting responsibility. She has it. Its done. It can't be fixed. Why is a wealthy doctor who produces this type of result portrayed as a victim. He will go on. He will retain his wealth, his car, his home, his vacation home...
He accepts zero responsibility for what he has done in the name of money. And this group seems to encourage it. Piling on a mutilated victim as though encouraging a doctor to perform these procedures and obtain these results somehow benefits our society.
I feel like this group is on another planet. Is it so difficult to comprehend that you will never be in the position of this doctor, but you certainly could be the victim of lousy medical care. Does anyone understand the implications of lousy medical care, the suffering produced by it?
Is it just unimportant because the suffering is not our own?
And why does matthew assume there was not full disclosure. Is there such little faith in the legal system that this group feels that a terse newspaper article has more information than that which was submitted to the jury? Maybe their decision was correct. Is that outside the realm of possibility.
Or do the authors above feel that the same society that produces such wonderful doctors has obtained the opposite result with the legal system.
The answer is that the medical system is sound as is the legal system. This doctor placed his own self interest in front of that of his patient. He did not have to do what he did. His livelihood was not in jeopardy. Instead he departed from accepted medical practice with regard to this patient making her a victim at his hands. I choose to presume the doctor and the patient got a fair trial...Full Disclosure. The victim got compensated. Good.
Fact is that I get better medical care because of it and whether you realize it or not, you do too. Letting professionals get away with stupidity does not make the medical system better. If our system cannot withstand it, then we have bigger problems.
Dr. Keith Berman was not at fault here. This patient should have known what she was going into when she was having PLASTIC SURGERY. Anything can happen while a doctor is operating. Dr. Keith Berman did what was BEST for her; if he did not do so then she could have been in a more serious condition than she is now. She signed the documents which made a full disclosure of the risks associated with the procedure. Did she not read it or something? Saying you are rushed into a medical procedure and not understanding what all the medical risks are just absurd. We live in the United States no one is making you get breast implants, that is your own choice that you are doing that. That is her own fault, not the doctor. Any middle aged woman would know the risks for any kind of medical procedure. She just did this so she could get the money, and as she said “My kids are going to go to the nicest schools,” said Ms. Alaimo, a former tanning salon owner who is currently unemployed. Maybe if you are unemployed you shouldn't be getting breast implants and then trying to blame a risk that may happen during a procedure to the most prestigious doctor on Staten Island.
If this woman was so unhappy wit implants why did she not ask to have them removed?
It's O.K. not to read the consent before surgery? Are you kidding me?
Patients need to have some sense of personal responsibility in this world.
I'm sure there's more to this story than is being reported.
the surgeon is not a any fault what so ever. The lady should have know that with this surgery could have problems and some bad thing may happen. Did the woman disclose all her medical history?who knows!?the evidence prestend to the jury should included her full medical record!. maybe there was other conditions existing that was not presented to the jury. FULL DIS CLOSER SHOULD BE MADE.
I really don't understand why you would express such resentment over compensating a woman for so tragic an injury. She could be anyone. The doctor told he was doing one procedure and then did a completely different one. He didn't tell her the second one was easier for him and more risky for her and I'm sure he didn't cut his bill to reflect the work. Here is middle aged woman who has is deformed for the rest of her life...as though a paltry 3.5 million dollars could make it right. Its maybe a couple of years pay for the doctor. So what. You have sympathy for the doctor. Save it. I guaranty he could care less about you.
I would like to say that I fully agree with the comment ablove from Drew! I would also like to say I had breast Augmentation done by Dr Berman almost seven years ago, along with several other females that I referred to him, and honestly WE LOVE HIS WORK! It is sad that the system is so screwed up and awarded this lady so much money....This was a surgery SHE WANTED! THERE IS A RISK FOR EVERYTHING & ANYTHING YOU DO IN SURGERY!
I strongly disagree with this verdict. There are risks inherent to even minor surgical procedures, let alone something as complex as breast augmentation. People seem these days to be oblivious to this fact. Patients refuse to take responsibility for the decision to have elective procedures. This places great pressure on the best of surgeons. There are cases where physicians perform procedures resulting in the death of patients and the amount of the jury's award is substantially less than in this case. Also, I believe that Dr Berman was a victim of negative publicity right from the start of this case. The proof is that an extremely biased and unflattering story was published on Dr Berman BEFORE THERE WAS A VERDICT! In other words, Dr Berman was tried and convicted by the MEDIA before the Supreme Court made their ruling.
How fair is that?
It seems to me that if cases like this can be successfully prosecuted, then there must be something wrong with our legal system. Patients who are not satisfied with the results of their surgery will be encouraged to sue in the hope of collecting a big financial award. These awards are often all out proportion to the actual damage--if any--that was done. Jurors decide on the amount of the award based on sympathy with the plaintiff. How can pain and suffering even be quantified? In Dr Berman's case, the plaintiff blamed her divorce on the procedure which she elected to undergo. She signed the documents which made a full disclosure of the risks associated with the procedure. Did she know what she was signing? She claims that she did not. I assume that she can read. Why, in that case, did she neglect to take the time out to read the documents before she put her signature on it? Or, if she did not understand the contents of the documents, she could have elected to halt the procedure until she could consult with someone who could interpret the documents?
Also, there is the issue of whether she was advised of the risks associated with the procedure during the initial consultation. She claims that she was not. Dr Berman claims that he did in fact advise her. Since the conversation was not taped, then this is a case of her word against his. Apparently, the Jury believed her account. However, looking at the matter objectively, without emotion, is it likely that a Surgeon with as much experience and status as Dr Berman would have neglected something as fundamental as informing a patient of the risks inherent to Plastic Surgery of any kind, let alone something as complex and invasive as Breast Augmentation? Even commonsense tells you that when a patient elects to go under the knife, he or she are taking a risk. The patient must then assume responsibility for their decision. In my opinion, the Plaintiff in this case simply refused to assume responsibility for her decision. According to her version, she was practically forced to undergo this procedure. Something like this is unheard of. Did this patient travel to the Doctor's office herself, or did someone else drag her there and place her on the operating table?
In conclusion, I believe that this lawsuit is yet another example of a frivolous Medical Malpractice suit the sole aim of which is to line the Attorneys and Plaintiff's pockets with cash. If a dedicated, skilled, and compassionate Surgeon's reputation is trashed in the process, so be it. Its "collateral damage."
This is truly a pathetic example of how dysfunctional our judiciary system has become.