“Dance Moms” celebrity Abby Lee Miller filed a lawsuit against a reputable Los Angeles hospital on Tuesday, claiming that surgeons left a foreign object in her body during a procedure.
Miller, best known for her leading role on the popular reality television series, is taking legal action against Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and two doctors, citing medical malpractice, professional negligence, and medical battery.
The former reality TV star, now 59, claims the doctors left a catheter in her abdomen following spinal surgery in 2020. She is requesting nearly $1.5 million in compensation.
“Abby Lee Miller suffered for years from an object left inside of her during spinal surgery; despite complaints to various physicians, not one ordered imaging of any kind to diagnose the source of her pain,” Nadine Lewis, Miller’s attorney, said in a statement.
Since the surgery in 2020, Miller — who is paraplegic — said she repeatedly reported the discomfort to physicians who “systemically dismissed her chronic pain and let her suffer for years with a catheter inside of her abdomen,” the suit reads.
Miller’s abdominal discomfort “had escalated into persistent and debilitating pain, impacting her quality of life on a daily basis” by March 2024, according to the suit. Later that year, while she was seeking care for an unrelated issue at a different hospital, she was referred to an emergency room for the pain.
Two days later, in June 2024, a CT scan revealed that a foreign object was inside her abdomen, the suit says, and she had the bright blue catheter surgically removed.
“This is not just medical battery, it reflects a larger, devastating truth: women’s pain is too often ignored or dismissed by the very professionals sworn to care for them,” Lewis said. “Abby’s case is a chilling reminder: even when women are vocal and visibly in distress, their pain is still not believed.”
A spokesperson for Cedars-Sinai said in a statement that the hospital can’t comment pending legal matters nor discuss any patient’s medical treatment due to federal and state privacy laws.
“However, the care and safety of our patients, staff and visitors are always Cedars-Sinai’s top priorities,” the hospital said. “We are dedicated to ensuring that we meet the highest standards of care for all those we serve.”
A receptionist for Dr. Hooman Melamed, one of the physicians Miller is suing, hung up the phone when asked if the doctor would like to comment.
Dr. Paul Dwan, the other physician cited in the suit, declined to comment.
In 2017, Miller made national headlines when she was sentenced to a year in federal prison for concealing assets from a bankruptcy court, and one count of failing to report an international currency transaction.
Elizabeth Maline contributed.
