Two thumbs down: Blogger to pay $30,000 for defamatory post on surgeon who performed her breast augmentation

A blogger who posted a negative review of the doctor who performed her breast augmentation surgery has been ordered to pay $30,000 in damages and to take down the post, which the judge in the case ruled as defamatory. Rosa Campagna Deck, who blogs on a website called Relentless Rose Reviews, had argued in the defamation case filed against her by Dr. Brian Peterson, a Kelowna. B.C. plastic surgeon, that her negative review was fair comment based on her dissatisfactory experience and on facts. But B.C. Supreme Court Justice Gordon Weatherhill disagreed, stating in his ruling that while fair comment deals with statements of opinion or commentary, it does not cover defamatory statements of facts that are untrue. “The defendant’s description of a number of the background facts that make up the posts, I conclude, misrepresents the facts,” Weatherhill wrote. “In my view, a reasonable person knowing the proven background facts could not honestly express the opinions set out in the posts. Moreover, the posts contain defamatory statements of fact that cannot be justified. The plaintiff is thus liable for her libel.” Read: Ontario doctor wins $50,000 in damages in cyber libel case In addition to a November 2018 post on Relentless Rose Reviews—which complained about having a deformed downward breast, “Aka, torpedo tit” and concluded that “you couldn’t pay me to go back” to Dr. Peterson—Deck also posted a Google review. “The defendant published the posts using the internet, a medium with tremendous power to harm a person’s reputation by spreading falsehoods far and wide,“ wrote Weatherhill. Deck had decided in 2015 to undergo breast augmentation after giving birth to her daughter and met with Dr. Peterson in August of that year. During the initial consultation, Dr. Peterson noted that Deck had a sunken chest, also known as pectus excavatum, which resulted in a depressed sternum and asymmetry between the left and right sides. Dr. Peterson explained that this condition could complicate the surgery and suggested using two different-sized implants to compensate for the deformity. However when Deck with Dr. Peterson’s nurse to pick the size of implants she wanted, she opted for implants of the same size for each breast. The surgery took place on November 3, 2015 and within days, Dr. Peterson started getting numerous calls and text messages from Deck, who said she was concerned that her left breast was higher than the right and that the lower half of her left breast was black and blue. Dr. Peterson told her during a subsequent examination that the implant would drop into place over time and suggested a follow-up in about three months. In December, Deck returned to see Dr. Peterson and wanted him to do something about her breasts. He explained that it was too early in the process and that she should allow for more time for the left breast to drop and align with the right breast. He also said if this didn’t happen he would perform a capsulotomy to expand the pocket on the lower pole of the breast to allow the implant to drop. A month later, after being informed by Deck that she was unhappy and frustrated with the result of her surgery, Dr. Peterson arranged for her to see another surgeon. Dr. Peterson met again with Deck, who made a secret audio recording of the meeting. That recording, which was entered as evidence in the case, captured Dr. Peterson recommending a lower pole capsulotomy and saying he was confident the procedure would fix the issue. He also told her he wanted to ensure she was happy with the results and that he would perform the surgery at no cost to her. That same day, Deck met with the other surgeon, who recommended a similar procedure. She decided to have the second surgeon perform the procedure —with larger implants that were each different in size—but wanted Dr. Peterson to pay for the second procedure, including the cost for the bigger implants. Dr. Peterson told the court that although he would pay for the capsulotomy, he did want to pay for the new implants because he had originally suggested that she use asymmetrically sized implants. The defamation suit was launched four months after Deck published the first review, which she refused to take down as Dr. Peterson had asked. Deck countersued with a claim for professional negligence, which was subsequently dismissed. Weatherhill wrote his ruling on August 25. As of August 30, the review remains on Deck’s website. Read: B.C. woman files lawsuit against Northern Health citing medical negligence in son's death

Two thumbs down: Blogger to pay $30,000 for defamatory post on surgeon who performed her breast augmentation

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