Plastic surgeon sues malicious Internet ‘reviewers’ for damages

By Jim Leonardo

08/03/2010 at 11:00AM

A California plastic surgeon has taken the step of going to court to put an end to malicious and defamatory web-based postings that have caused damage to her practice, according to her attorney.

Kimberly Henry, MD, Greenbrae, Calif., filed a lawsuit in Marin (Calif.) Superior Court against at least 12 "reviewers" who posted comments about her and her practice on the Internet, according to a report posted July 5 on the online edition of the Contra Costa Times.

Such reviews, which are often posted anonymously and without substantiation, represent a high-tech form of libel that is difficult to police and can be particularly damaging to physicians.

The lawsuit asks for injunctions against further postings related to Dr. Henry, as well as restraining orders against the defendants. It also seeks $1 million in general damages, $1 million in specific damages and non-specified amounts for legal costs and punitive damages, the news outlet reported.

The comments, which were reportedly critical of Dr. Henry's care, "exposes (her) to hatred, contempt and obloquy," attorney Eric Nordskog wrote in his court filing, causing "loss of her reputation, shame, mortification and hurt feelings all to her general damage," according to the newspaper.

Other news outlets report that 12 online reviewers are the focus of the injunction - three have been identified, while the other nine, thus far, remain anonymous.

ContraCostaTimes.com reported that the defendants had written their comments under aliases on various physician ratings sites, including Yelp.com and DoctorScorecard.com.

One of the named defendants is in the process of answering the complaint, and the status hearing on the anonymous postings is scheduled to be held this month, Nordskog told PSNextra.

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