Suit Filed In Laser Hair Removal Death
http://www.nbc17.com/health/5608125/detail.html
UPDATED: 5:53 am EST December 22, 2005
RALEIGH, N.C. – The family of a North Carolina State University student who died in January while preparing for a laser hair removal procedure has filed suit against the laser clinic and its former directors.
Shiri Berg, 22, died of a Lidocaine overdose Jan. 5 after she applied a powerful anesthetic gel to her legs in preparation for a laser treatment at Premier Body Laser and Skin Clinic, in Cary.
The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, alleges that Dr. Ira Uretzky, the clinic’s former medical director, and Dr. Samuel Wurster, the clinic’s former director, were negligent in allowing Berg to use the gel without giving her a preliminary examination or proper instructions on how to use the gel.
Premier Body closed within weeks of Berg’s death, citing a dramatic falloff in business.
Uretzky, an ear, nose and throat specialist, agreed in September to give up his medical license for six months for what the North Carolina Medical Board termed “unprofessional conduct.”
The medical board also tightened up restrictions on laser hair clinics, ordering that all patients be given physical exams before undergoing any treatment.
The 33-page lawsuit also names Triangle Compounding Pharmacy, which blended the prescription-strength gel, as a defendant.