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Five members of a six-panel jury determined yesterday
that Grasmere plastic surgeon Dr. Keith S. Berman botched a March 2003
breast-lift surgery that left Ms. Alaimo
with four "double-bubble deformities" and awarded the
46-year-old Willowbrook mother of two $3.5 million in damages.
With the exception of a lone holdout who found the
doctor was not at fault, the jurors gave Ms. Alaimo $1 million for pain and suffering since she
went under Dr. Berman's knife on March 8, 2003, and $2.5 million for
pain and suffering she will endure over the next 35 years.
The jury deliberated for nine hours Tuesday afternoon
and yesterday morning before reaching their verdict and bringing the
civil trial at state Supreme Court, St. George, to a close. They had
spent more than a week listening to testimony from Dr. Berman, Ms. Alaimo and dueling expert
witnesses.
Ms. Alaimo,
who brought the $5 million lawsuit against Dr. Berman, sat stunned when
the multimillion-dollar verdict was read.
"I really don't believe that's what (the jury)
said," Ms. Alaimo
exclaimed through a beaming smile outside the courtroom. "I was,
like, thank God somebody actually believes me."
Dr. Berman, who works out of an office at 1050 Hylan
Blvd., was not present in the courtroom for the verdict.
His attorney, Jerry Giardina, declined comment
afterwards.
"I think the evidence was overwhelming, despite
Dr.Berman's multiple efforts to confuse this jury and mislead this
jury," said Ms. Alaimo's
attorney, Michael J. Kuharski. "And I'm proud they were able to
see through it."
Ms. Alaimo
was referred to Dr. Berman through online My Choice Medical when she
sought a breast-lift in 2003 at the age of 40, after giving birth twice
and nursing both of her children.
During the first consultation session, Ms. Alaimo said Dr. Berman showed her a
book of pictures depicting women with successful breast augmentation
surgeries and told her, "You're going to look beautiful."
Ms. Alaimo
maintained that Dr. Berman never consulted her on the risks involved
prior to the surgery, and that she was given a 12-page disclaimer and
consent package to sign as she was being "rushed" into the
operating room on the morning of surgery.
Dr. Berman testified that he initially planned to
perform a Level II breast lift procedure but shifted to a Level I
procedure while Ms. Alaimo
was on the operating table; he said he slipped the implant "into
the only place it would fit."
The surgery left Ms. Alaimo
with scarred and disfigured "double-bubble" breasts which,
with two swollen bubbles one atop the other, gave her the appearance of
having four breasts.
After two failed corrective procedures - the first by
Dr. Berman and the second by Dr. Roger Mixter in Milwaukee, where she
was sent all-expenses-paid by My Choice Medical - Ms. Alaimo said she sank into a deep
depression that destroyed her 17-year marriage because she refused to
undress in front of her husband.
After yesterday's verdict, Ms. Alaimo was breathing easier and
talking excitedly about using the money to help her family.
"My kids are going to go to the nicest
schools," said Ms. Alaimo,
a former tanning salon owner who is now unemployed.
Her former husband, Dominic Alaimo, whom she divorced in 2004, was also in her
post-verdict thoughts.
"For me, that would be the best thing to happen,
for the family to get back together," she said. "I'm
definitely going to say a lot of nice things to him ... in a nice
way."
The verdict should serve as an encouragement to other
victims of bad plastic surgeries, she said.
"It was a pretty tough trial to endure, to have
people see pictures of my nude breasts," Ms. Alaimo said. "For (the jurors)
to recognize this, they validated it for me - I do really have a
problem and they validated it.
"I just hope there's somebody else out there that
doesn't have to hide now," she added. "I hope this does give
other women the courage to step forward to say something happened. They
shouldn't have to hide behind the big scarves and the big
turtlenecks."
Jeff Harrell covers courts for the Advance. He may be
reached at harrell@siadvance.com.
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