Clinical Negligence

Dead or Alive front man and Celebrity Big Brother star Pete Burns has received an out of court settlement of £450,000 after a doctor who treated him with lip fillers admitted negligence.

The payment follows treatment which the singer started to receive in 2000 from Dr Maurizio Viel at the London Centre for Aesthetic Surgery.

The 49-year-old star originally received treatment for the correction of problems associated with a previous implant of a product named Alloderm, which had diminished in size and failed to provide sufficient volume and definition.

But Dr Viel then went on from 2002 to inject Mr Burns’ lips with a filler called OUTLINE Original, disregarding warning signs on the product relating to its use in conjunction with other products.

Despite evidence that the, 49-year-old singer was suffering a reaction to the filler during 2003, Dr Viel continued to administer an excessive number of follow-up injections, contrary to product guidelines, causing swelling, blisters, discharge and lumps.

Pete said: "As I looked in the mirror it felt like everything I had worked for was ruined due to the disabling injuries I suffered caused by Dr. Maurizio Viel. I am just glad the case is now over.

"It is a terrible experience living with the trauma and worry of injury and disability, to have to re-live and recount the details and circumstances of how your injuries happened for the purposes of evidence for the court. (In my view, the legal process should be changed dramatically to enable the injured parties to get a much quicker result and compensation to fund their rehabilitation and reconstruct their lives.)

"I would like to express my sincere gratitude and thanks to Auriana Griffiths and Irwin Mitchell for all of their hard work and determined efforts to fight my case and get me justice for the injuries I suffered."

Mr Burns' solicitor Auriana Griffiths, from leading national law firm Irwin Mitchell, said: "Pete's life and career have been severely affected as a result of this negligence. He required 18 months of corrective surgery in Italy to try to remove the produce from his lips and, unfortunately, it is likely that he will suffer further flare ups in the future for which he will require further treatment.

"However, Pete is relieved finally to be able to put this ordeal behind him at last. It has been an incredibly difficult time for him."

She added that Dr Viel had admitted negligence on a number of allegations, which centred mainly on failing to heed the instructions of the manufacturer of the filler in respect of its use and included:

• Failure to have regard to the fact that no studies had been done by the manufacturers of the interaction of OUTLINE with other implants or fillers
• Failed to heed the instruction that OUTLINE should not be mixed with other products
• Repeatedly injecting Pete's lips with OUTLINE when he had already administered other fillers
• Injecting other fillers when he had already administered OUTLINE
• Over-correcting the appearance of Pete’s lips with the repeated injection of OUTLINE
• Failing to heed the instruction that further injections of OUTLINE should only be administered after a minimum period of 4 to 6 weeks

If you've suffered due to negligent cosmetic surgery you might be entitled to claim compensation. See our Cosmetic Surgery Claims or Dermal Filler Claims page for more information.