Done right, laser skin resurfacing is considered routine and safe. But patients are sedated for the procedure, and when Loveless went under, something went wrong. Georgia’s Composite State Board of Medical Examiners concluded that Kim and the clinic were not prepared to handle the emergency. (Both deny wrongdoing.) With neither an anesthesiologist nor monitoring equipment, Kim–an ophthalmologist–didn’t notice as Loveless’s pulse rate and blood pressure dipped dangerously low, according to a complaint on file with the state board. Her breathing had almost completely stopped before anyone realized that she was in trouble. The clinic staff called 911, but Loveless was dead by the time she reached the hospital.
A civil suit charging malpractice, negligence and wrongful death was settled for “just under $3.5 million,” by Kim and the clinic, according to David Boone, the lawyer for Loveless’s estate. Both Kim and the clinic denied liability. Kim was also stripped of his license to practice medicine in Georgia. The doctor could not be reached for comment; his lawyer in the licensing hearing, Carla Johnson, says that she hasn’t been in contact with Kim for several months and can’t speak for him. He still could be free to practice in another state. The clinic’s owners have reopened at the same site. They say they’ve hired board-certified plastic surgeons and that the new facility is properly equipped.
Loveless’s cousin Nina Harbour still can’t understand why she put herself at risk. “She was perfectly beautiful as she was,” Harbour says, “but in the climate she worked in, she always felt she had to look younger.” The result was tragedy.
