Lawsuit Over Unauthorized Use Of Patient Photos

Doctors all across the country post “before and after” photos of patients on their websites. They use the images to promote the results of their work and to try and interest others in having the same procedure. It is standard practice to get permission from patients before posting the photos. However, a woman in Illinois has filed suit against her plastic surgeon because she claims he posted photos of her new breasts without her permission.

Dr. Rajendra Shah, of the New You Plastic Surgery and Laser Center in Orland Park, Illinois, is named in the suit. The woman says the center posted “before and after photos” of her 2015 breast augmentation without asking her permission to put them online.

In order to protect her identity, the woman is listed as “Jane Doe” by her lawyer in Cook County Circuit Court. According to her attorney, Kevin O’Brien, the female patient has a “highly distinctive freckle pattern on her chest which is highly recognizable by friends and family.” He went on to say that Jane Doe had told the center not to use her photos on their website for any kind of promotional or advertising reasons.

Over a year after her surgery, Jane Doe discovered that the photos were used on the website of the New You Plastic Surgery and Later Center. She also discovered that the photos had been online for over a year. They were finally taken down after the female patient discovered their existence on the website of the plastic surgery practice.

When asked how Jane Doe felt about this discovery, O’Brien said “humiliated is the word she uses.” He also said that Jane Doe was fearful of her surgery being discovered by those close to her and she is suing for $50,000.

The case is still pending in Cook County Circuit Court.