Cosmetic Surgeons Sue County Medical Assn. : 3 Physicians Seek $8.6 Million Damages for Group’s Refusal to List Them as Board Certified

Three physicians specializing in cosmetic surgery are seeking $8.6 million damages from the Orange County Medical Assn. in a federal court lawsuit charging that the OCMA’s refusal to list them as board certified specialists has unfairly damaged their practices.

Drs. H. Geroge Brennan of Newport Beach and Frederick Berkowitz and Michael Elam, who operate offices together in both Newport Beach and Anaheim, filed the suit Thursday in Los Angeles. They named the medical association, its 16-doctor board of directors and Executive Director John J. Rette as defendants.

The suit accuses the OCMA of violating both the federal and state anti-trust acts, unfair restraint of trade and anti-competitive business practices.

It is charged in the suit that the OCMA, which operates a referral service and publishes directories listing physicians by medical specialty, is refusing to refer patients to Berkowitz, Elam and Brennan and to list them in the directories as board certified plastic surgeons.

Policy Changed

Up until 1981, the suit states, the three physicians received referrals from the OCMA but then the policy was changed to refer patients only to those certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

According to the suit, the plaintiff doctors are certified as specialists by the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery but that the OCMA refuses to list them as such in its directories.

“This leaves the impression that we are not board certified, (and) insinuates incompetence, despite the fact that we are just as qualified and experienced as those certified by the other board,” the physicians state in the suit.

The other board to which they refer is the American Board of Plastic Surgery, which is recognized by the American Medical Assn. and the American Board of Medical Specialties.

No Comment

OCMA director Rette said Friday he had not seen the lawsuit and, therefore, could not comment on it.

However, Rette did point out that the association, in compiling its directory, followed the American Board of Medical Specialties’ list of organizations that certify specialties and that there is none for cosmetic surgery.

“This constitutes a boycott,” the suit alleges in claiming that OCMA’s actions have cost each of the suing surgeons $400,000 each. They are seeking a total of $3.6 million, in trebling of actual damages as allowed in anti-trust actions. An additional $5 million is being sought as punitive damages against the medical association.