Family files lawsuit over fatal Brazilian butt lift procedure

In 2021, Erica Russell, a 33-year-old mother of 5 from Tennessee, died when a health care provider punctured her intestines, bladder, liver and abdominal wall during an illegal Brazilian butt lift procedure. Her family has now taken legal motion, filing a wrongful death lawsuit against her doctor, Dr. John Sampson, and Seduction Cosmetic Center in Coral Gables, Florida.

According to in accordance with reports from , Russell died on June 16, 2021, after Sampson punctured her liver, bladder, gastrointestinal tract and abdominal wall with a cannula. Fat deposits entered her bloodstream, causing a blockage resulting in “fatal cardiac arrest.”

Russell died just two hours after the BBL procedure. The law firm representing her family, Stewart Tilghman Fox & Bianchi & Cain, said: “What happened to Ms. Russell should never have happened. It’s assembly line medicine and that is what killed her.

Sampson was not authorized to perform BBL treatments because he was prohibited from performing them at Seduction Cosmetic Center in Coral Gables, Florida. He was fined $20,000 for the previous incident but retained his license to practice.

Sampson, while working on the Seduction Cosmetic Center, performed six different surgeries prior to the 2021 incident, totaling 14 hours of illegal surgery.

Further investigation revealed that although Sampson was not authorized to perform the surgery, he claimed to have “artistic and cosmetic privileges at Seduction” and that he was the “designated physician” when Russell signed the BBL documents.

Sampson was accused of violating the “minimum standard of care” throughout the procedure because he administered incorrectly compliant fat injections and caused the pulmonary embolism that ultimately killed Russell.

As a results of the lawsuit, Sampson was faraway from the Seduction Cosmetic Center website.

The Russell family’s attorney, Stephan Cain, said: ‘It’s unbelievable that the surgery center could allow this to occur. This doctor should never have performed this surgery, much less seven surgeries in sooner or later.

Uplifting words in regards to the mother of 5 were spoken during her funeral, attended by her friends, family and T-Mobile colleagues.

“To know Erika was to love her. Erica exceeded all limits. And when I say she was the epitome of strength, no matter what and despite what she was going through, she made sure that everyone was good – everyone,” Russell’s friend said throughout the funeral service.