The family of a Tennessee mother of five who died after undergoing an illegal Brazilian butt lift has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her doctor and the surgery center.
Erica Russell, 33, died on June 16, 2021, after Dr. John Sampson punctured her intestines, bladder, liver and abdominal wall during her surgery. Russell died after a fatty deposit blocked her bloodstream and “caused a fatal cardiac arrest.”
According to a Press release From Stewart Tilghman Fox & Bianchi & Cain, the law firm representing her family, Russell’s proceedings began at 8:31 p.m. and just over two hours later, she was dead.
‘What happened to Mrs Russell should never have happened. “This is assembly line medicine and that’s what killed her,” said attorney Michael Levine.
Sampson has since been banned from performing Brazilian butt lift surgeries at Seduction Cosmetic Center in Coral Gables, Florida, and fined $20,000, but was able to keep her license.
Sampson and the center did not respond to DailyMail.com in time for this report.
Erica Russell, 33, died on June 16, 2021, after Dr. John Sampson punctured her intestines, bladder, liver and abdominal wall during a Brazilian butt lift procedure.
Russell’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against his doctor John Sampson (pictured) and Seduction Cosmetic Center in Coral Gables, Florida.
Sampson has since been banned from performing surgeries at Seduction Cosmetic Center and fined $20,000. Further investigation found that Sampson was not approved to perform surgeries at the cosmetic center.
A Brazilian butt lift, also known as a BBL, is a cosmetic procedure that involves a transfer of fat from one part of the body to the buttocks to create a fuller butt.
BBLs and butt augmentation procedures have gained popularity over the years due to curvy celebrities like the Kardashians and rapper Cardi B.
Because the surgery uses your own fatty material, BBL is said to leave the patient with a more natural-looking result than other forms of plastic surgery.
Seduction Cosmetic Center offers this procedure for $3,500 and also advertises other cosmetic surgeries such as breast augmentations, abdominoplasty, liposuction, vaginal rejuvenation, and a host of other options.
Before beginning Russell’s botched surgery, Sampson performed six procedures over a total of 14 hours at the cosmetic center, according to the lawsuit.
Further investigation found that Sampson was not approved to perform surgeries at the cosmetic center, even though Russell signed paperwork before his procedure stating that he had plastic and cosmetic privileges at Seduction as a “Designated Physician.”
During Russell’s procedure, Sampson pierced the mother’s intestines, liver, bladder and abdominal wall with a cannula, a tube used to suction fat from the body.
Russell was a mother of five and worked at T-Mobile before her death. Her family, friends and devastated co-workers held a memorial service for her on June 27, 2021.
State investigators say the doctor violated the “minimum standard of care” because he also injected fat under the gluteal muscle and into the “deep gluteal planes” during the surgery.
At 10:50 p.m., the fatal injuries caused severe bleeding in his abdominal cavity and he suffered a pulmonary fat embolism, the law firm said.
He died after a fatty deposit blocked his bloodstream and “caused fatal cardiac arrest.”
Sampson has since been removed from social media and the cosmetic center’s website, but on his personal Instagram, his bio still says he works at Seduction.
‘It’s incredible that a surgery center could allow this to happen. “This doctor should never have performed this surgery, let alone seven surgeries in one day,” said Stephan Cain, another attorney for the family.
Her devastated family held a memorial service for Russell after her passing, where many family members, friends, and coworkers from her job at T-Mobile spoke highly of her.
“Erica was a person who, if you didn’t know her, you probably wanted to know,” one of her co-workers said.
Seduction Cosmetic Center offers a BBL for $3,500 and also advertises other cosmetic surgeries such as breast augmentations, tummy tucks, liposuction, vaginal rejuvenation, and a host of other options.
During Russell’s procedure, Sampson pierced the mother’s intestines, living tissue, bladder and abdominal wall with a cannula, a tube used to suction fat from the body. Russell died after a fat deposit blocked her bloodstream and ’caused a fatal cardiac arrest.’
Another woman, who said she was her best friend, cried and said she “was the last person” Russell spoke to before surgery.
“She texted me, ‘I love you, best friend,’ I said, ‘I love you too, talk when you’re out.’ I’ve been waiting for my baby to call me since June 16,’ the friend said while I was trying to hold back my tears.
Many of her loved ones remember Russell as a devoted mother who constantly talked about her children and made sure she did everything she could for them.
‘To know Erica was to love Erica. Erica did everything she could. And when I say she was the embodiment of strong, no matter what or despite what was going on, she made sure that everyone was good, everyone,” said another friend at the service.
