Proposed GET-THIN Settlement Requires Billboard WLS Warnings
April 20, 2013Top Surgeons, a company behind the 1-800-GET-THIN ad controversy has agreed to a $1.3 million settlement that will include $100,000 to be spent on billboards warning the public about the risks of weight loss surgery. The proposed settlement could be considered a victory for the defendants who were said to be making upwards of $21 million a month.
Five patients died from 2009 to 2011 after undergoing the Lap-Band surgery in clinics associated with the 1-800-GET-THIN ad campaign. Accusing the marketing firm of false advertising and misleading ads, a class action suit was filed in 2011 by the families of Laura Faitro and Ana Renteria, two of the patients who died. The lawsuit claims that the marketing firm misled the public by stating that their surgeons were board-certified and top industry specialists when it was found that one of their surgeons was on probation with the medical board and another had his license revoked at the time.
Other lawsuits were also filed alleging that company profits were placed above patient safety. Accusations of unsanitary conditions and physicians who were not qualified were amongst the complaints. Some of those lawsuits have been settled for undisclosed amounts.
A letter from the Food and Drug Administration was sent to the GET-THIN marketing company in 2012 claiming that the ads were illegal due to the omission of alerting the public of the risks of Lap-Band surgery and the company promptly removed the ads.
Along with ads featured on television, radio, and the Internet, larger than life billboards promoting the Lap-Band were once prominent on the sides of Southern California freeways. With the slogan "Let your new life begin, call 1-800-GET-THIN", commercials and ads featured amazing before and after photos with the number of pounds lost.
The class action lawsuit also sought damages from two brothers, Julian and Michael Omidi, who owned and managed Top Surgeons and sought damages from several other companies. However, in the proposed settlement, Top Surgeons would be the only company to pay.
The settlement proposes to pay $500,000 to the 11,000 members of the class action suit, $652,000 in legal expenses for the plaintiffs, $75,000 in administrative fees, and $36,000 to named plaintiffs.
The settlement offer recently went before Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Freeman for approval but the judge rejected the settlement citing that the $500,000 payment to 11,000 plaintiffs is insufficient. The judge also requested more information on the plans for the $100,000 to be spent on the billboards explaining the risks of weight loss surgery and questions if that amount is reasonable.
The Judge will reconsider the settlement on June 24.
You can view a copy of the proposed GET-THIN settlement and the the Judge's order below:
-This article was updated at 7:20 EST, Saturday April 20.