D.A. Alleges Doctor Conducts Unsafe Breast Exams
The Orange County district attorney’s office sued the medical director of a Mission Viejo clinic on Thursday, alleging that he violated state safety and health laws while conducting breast examinations.
The lawsuit alleges that Dr. Konstantinos Melahoures allowed employees of Southland Family and Urgent Care Center to “repeatedly and unlawfully administer or use diagnostic X-ray” on patients “without being certified or permitted to do so.”
As a result, poor quality X-ray images were produced during mammographies, the lawsuit alleges.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Michelle M. Lyman warns in the suit that “breast cancer may go undetected in (his) patients who believe that they have received a properly conducted mammographic screening, when in fact they have not.”
Lyman is asking the court to order Melahoures to stop “unlawful, unfair and fraudulent business practices.” Melahoures could not be reached for comment.
The county also contends in the suit that the doctor continued to operate the mammography machine at the clinic despite a “cease and desist order” issued by the state Department of Health Services, prohibiting its use.
The lawsuit also seeks at least $250,000 in civil penalties from Melahoures.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
