Florida plastic surgeon charged with death of wife after procedure in his practice

Dr. Ben Brown, the Florida plastic surgeon accused in the death of his wife, Hillary Brown, turned himself in to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office on Monday after a judge signed an arrest warrant last week.

He was booked into the Santa Rosa County Jail and charged with second-degree manslaughter, which amounts to involuntary manslaughter. Brown, 41, was held on $50,000 bail at his first court appearance Monday afternoon.

Brown’s arrest was a relief for Hillary’s family.

Ben Brown arrested: Gulf Breeze plastic surgeon Ben Brown arrested and charged in death of his wife Hillary Brown

“My family will forever live in a sea of ​​tears because of the actions of a reckless individual,” said her father, Marty Ellington. “His ego and arrogance overshadowed the need for help, prolonged the lack of oxygen to her brain and ultimately led to her death. Ben Brown took away my grandchildren’s mother, my only daughter and our brightest star. Hillary made the ultimate sacrifice so Ben Brown can never hurt anyone again. Maybe in prison he will get the attention he deserves.”

Here’s what we know about Ben Brown and Hillary’s death.

How did Hillary Brown die?

In a social media post on November 24, Brown wrote about his wife’s coma.

In the post, Brown wrote: “We need prayers for a miracle. Hillary went into cardiac arrest Tuesday afternoon. We called 911 and began CPR. Her heart came back but her brain is not doing well. She has been in a coma since she passed out on Tuesday. Hillary Ellington Brown, you are my soulmate, my world, my everything. Please come back. Please!”

According to an incident report from the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, Brown called 911 around 4:15 p.m. on Nov. 21 from his plastic surgery practice, Restore Plastic Surgery, in the Tiger Point neighborhood of Gulf Breeze.

The call notes stated that a woman had suffered cardiac arrest: “DR. POSS ON MEDICATED PATIENT.”

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“I interviewed the medical technician (name redacted) who advised that the patient was Hillary E. Rogers Brown, currently Dr. Brown’s wife,” wrote one congressman. “Hillary Brown was undergoing several surgical procedures when she suffered several seizures and then went into cardiac arrest.”

Ultimately, the state found that Hillary had shown signs of lidocaine poisoning while undergoing a minor muscle plication/abdominal scar revision, liposuction on both arms, lip injections, and ear surgery.

Florida Department of Health investigation reveals new details about Hillary Brown’s death

The FDOH’s 30-page emergency order provided further details about Hillary Brown’s death. According to the order, Brown waited at least 10 to 20 minutes before beginning CPR, did not have life-saving equipment on hand in his office when her heart stopped beating, and did not follow proper medical protocol when administering sedatives such as lidocaine, which ultimately led to her death.

The state said Hillary, who is not a licensed medical professional, was allowed to prepare and take her own anesthetic solution before the procedures Brown performed on her. The state said Hillary showed signs of lidocaine poisoning during the surgery before she became unresponsive, but Brown continued to give her lidocaine and operate on her.

The health department also described numerous violations of basic standards of medical care that constitute “medical malpractice,” including performing unauthorized procedures on patients such as Brazilian butt lifts, failing to follow sterility protocols, and performing poor work on patients that resulted in infections and improper wound care.

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After Hillary’s death, investigations were launched against Ben Brown

On March 1, the Pensacola News Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported that the Florida Department of Health was investigating Brown.

Florida Republican Rep. Michelle Salzman of Pensacola, who chairs the House Health Care Regulation Subcommittee, said she has worked with the Department of Health to see if there is anything she can do to protect future patients, but was told “all laws are in place to prevent them from doing so.”

Salzman said Brown’s case ultimately exposed loopholes in the law that allowed Brown to have patients sign arbitration agreements. By signing those agreements, patients effectively gave up their right to a jury trial if they wanted to pursue a medical malpractice case.

Local personal injury attorneys also said they have turned away some of Brown’s former patients who wanted to sue him for medical malpractice because Brown had minimal insurance coverage.

The death of Hillary Brown sparked calls for new patient protection laws

Salzman and Florida State Rep. Alex Andrade, who represents the district where Brown’s practice was located, have since called for changes in the state’s legislation.

Andrade has stated that he will work to draft legislation that would prevent doctors from performing surgical procedures on their own family members.

“The only law or rule that doesn’t seem to exist right now, as far as I can confirm, is the prohibition on operating on family members for such elective surgery,” Andrade said. “As a layperson, I thought that was already in the laws. I will definitely submit this bill for them, so I’m happy to confirm that.”

Demands for new laws: Allegations against Dr. Ben Brown prompt lawmakers to call for new laws to protect patients

Salzman said she has reached out to Florida’s Surgeon General about Brown and is also working with the Florida Medical Association, personal injury attorneys and others to close loopholes in the law that have allowed a number of “bad actors” in the medical field to evade responsibility and not pay compensation to patients for work that resulted in injuries.

“The two biggest issues we have with these patients demanding accountability for the way they were treated in (Brown’s) practice are the settlement agreement and self-insurance,” Salzman said. “Those two things have just crippled this process for our community to get better outcomes for themselves and of course for other people.”

Salzman said the Florida Medical Association (FMA) and private business owners have resisted the changes she wants in the past, but she is moving forward anyway, saying the FMA has agreed to work with her on any proposed legislation.

Florida partially restricted Ben Brown’s medical license in May

On May 2, the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) issued an emergency order immediately restricting Brown’s ability to practice medicine, requiring him to practice only in state-approved hospitals and under the supervision of a licensed physician.

The state issued the order based on several factors, including its investigation into Hillary Brown’s death. The state said Hillary Brown, who is not a licensed medical professional, was allowed to prepare and ingest her own anesthetic solution before the procedures Brown performed on her and that she showed signs of lidocaine poisoning during the surgery before becoming unresponsive.

The state said Brown waited at least 10 to 20 minutes, searching for life-saving and other medical equipment, before staff called 911.

In the order, the Department of Health also stated that two of Brown’s patients suffered from botched procedures, infections and improper wound care, and that they underwent procedures that the patient did not consent to, such as a Brazilian butt lift.

Florida’s Surgeon General called for penalties against Ben Brown a month before his arrest

The Surgeon General of Florida asked the Florida Board of Medicine to impose penalties against Brown, including permanent revocation or suspension of his license, restrictions on his practice, a fine, a reprimand, probation or remedial measures.

The health department said disciplinary action was necessary because Brown violated several state laws, including failing to maintain the minimum standard of medical care, failing to maintain accurate and complete medical records, performing unauthorized procedures and allowing an unlicensed person to practice medicine.

In the administrative complaint, the state further alleges that Brown also violated the law by performing unauthorized fat injections, known as Brazilian butt lifts, on two patients and by falsely recording in the files that a patient requested the fat injections. They claim he also failed to keep records of wound complications and patient follow-up appointments and that he allowed his wife to perform laser treatments without a license.

Brown has not yet commented publicly on the allegations against him, but his family issued a statement in early May in response to the emergency order restricting his medical license.

“This is an ongoing investigation and therefore we cannot comment on specific details. However, this public order was issued without Dr. Brown having the opportunity to dispute the allegations against him in a hearing. These allegations are inaccurate and misleading and Dr. Brown looks forward to the opportunity to defend himself and present the actual facts in a future hearing. Dr. Brown continues to live an endless nightmare without his wife Hillary by his side and these inaccurate allegations only further deepen his immense pain.”

This article originally appeared in the Pensacola News Journal: Ben Brown, Florida plastic surgeon arrested. What we know so far