Startling Claim Against Doctor & Promoters

(CN) - An Arkansas woman says a doctor and the promoters of an "Ageless Beauty" seminar induced her to undergo a facial injection treatment without taking her medical history, and it left one side of her face so grossly disfigured by swelling, blisters and shingles that small children are afraid to touch her.

Renita Anne McDaniel seeks damages from Dr. Madhavi Kandula, Bioform Medica, Cine-Med and The Forum Group.

In her complaint in Pulaski County Court, Little Rock, McDaniel says she attended a 3-hour workshop called "Attaining Ageless Beauty," in May 2008.

During the invitation-only event, attendees were given wine and other alcoholic beverages, dinner, marketing material and demonstrations of treatments for which they were encouraged to act as volunteers. Among these products was a dermal filler injection known as Radiesse Derma Filler.

Assured that the treatment was safe and effective, McDaniel says she signed a consent form and submitted to a series of injections administered by Dr. Kandula.

McDaniel said she immediately suffered severe pain and obviously swelling on the left side of her face, which grew progressively worse over ensuing weeks despite extensive medical treatment.

"The extent of the swelling and disfigurement was so severe that the plaintiff was unable to sleep," the complaint states. "The plaintiff's family became increasingly alarmed by the obvious damages to the plaintiff, and certain younger members of her family were afraid of having any physical contact with the plaintiff at all."

As her condition worsened, McDaniel said, she reached out to doctors and to the company that made the filler, in hope of finding relief, but found none.

She says the swelling led to severe blistering, an overwhelming infection and an outbreak of shingles that left her permanently disfigured.

McDaniel says the defendants caused her irreparable physical and psychological harm.

She claims the defendants would have known the risk the treatment posed if they had taken her medical history, which would have revealed her history of shingles and fever blisters.

McDaniel claims that since her medical crisis, the defendants have refused to provide her with a copy of the consent form she signed or a copy of the videotape she believes was shot at the time.

McDaniel is represented by Everett & Wales of Fayetteville, and Janet Pulliam with Williams & Anderson of Little Rock.

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