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Ad firm, two doctors sued over death of Lap-Band patient

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Relatives of a Lawndale woman who died in December after Lap-Band weight-loss surgery have sued the 1-800-GET-THIN advertising company and two doctors involved in her care.

The lawsuit contends that the ad company falsely represented that the woman would receive “a higher level of care” by “top-rated surgical specialists.” In fact, the lawsuit said, one of her doctors was on probation with the Medical Board of California at the time of the surgery and a second was under investigation by the agency.

Tamara Walter died Dec. 26, three days after she had a Lap-Band device surgically implanted at an outpatient clinic at 9001 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills, which has used several names including Beverly Hills Surgery Center, according to the lawsuit. Walter, 52, is one of four patients to die in the days after Lap-Band procedures at clinics that are connected to the advertising campaign, according to lawsuits and coroner reports.

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Manufactured by Irvine-based Allergan Inc., the Lap-Band is a tube that is surgically placed around the stomach to discourage overeating.

The latest lawsuit, filed Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, said Walter’s treatment “fell below the applicable standards of care” and caused her death.

Earlier this year, the Los Angeles County coroner said in a report that the anesthesiologist who treated Walter provided “suboptimal” care, faulting him for leaving her in the care of a nurse during her recovery from the surgery.

Walter’s family said in the lawsuit that Dr. Daniel Shin was the anesthesiologist who treated Walter. Shin was on probation with the state medical board at the time of her surgery because of his conviction for assault with a deadly weapon, according to medical board records.

Shin could not be reached Tuesday. He has not responded to previous interview requests. Two brothers, Michael and Julian Omidi, listed as officers in corporations affiliated with 1-800-GET-THIN, also could not be reached.

The lawsuit said that 1-800-GET-THIN and an affiliated company, Top Surgeons, represented to Walter that she could expect “a higher level of care” by “top-rated surgical specialists.”

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“These defendants knew that Tamara Walter’s physicians did not possess the above-stated qualities,” the lawsuit said.

stuart.pfeifer@latimes.com

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