Robert Silverman says he is leaving ‘to pursue other career opportunities.’ The campaign came under increasing scrutiny after the deaths of five patients since 2009.
An anesthesiologist says in a lawsuit that he refused to sign a contract allowing affiliated surgery centers to set up a corporation to bill insurers for his services, but it was done anyway.
A judge has dismissed a lawsuit that accused a columnist for The Times of illegally recording conversations with the president of the 1-800-GET-THIN marketing firm.
The California medical board faults Dr. Daniel Shin in his care of Tamara Walter, who died in 2010 after she had a Lap-Band implanted at a Beverly Hills clinic affiliated with the 1-800-GET-THIN ad campaign.
The county’s board of supervisors schedules a hearing to examine how it can ensure ‘truthful advertising’ on billboards within unincorporated areas that would comply with 1st Amendment free speech guarantees.
The agency says the marketing company’s billboard, radio and television ads that tout Lap-Band weight-loss surgery underplay serious risks to patients.
Paula Rojeski, 55, of Orange County died shortly after undergoing Lap-Band surgery at a clinic affiliated with the 1-800-GET-THIN ad campaign, according to records. The coroner has not determined the cause of death.
The agency, on its advisory panel’s recommendation, approved broader use of the Lap-Band despite concerns. It also appears that the agency didn’t consider the firm’s checkered past over its Botox marketing.
A Lap-Band billboard in East L.A. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)
