Sono Bello Lawsuit Filed Over Cosmetic Surgery Infection

Cosmetic surgery centers nationwide face growing accusations of failing to meet adequate medical standards for training, sterility and infection prevention.

An Indiana woman is pursuing a medical malpractice lawsuit against the Sono Bello chain of cosmetic surgery centers, indicating that a lack of adequate sterility led to her developing a life-threatening infection.

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Sue R. Klopfenstein and her husband, Tim, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on September 11, naming Aesthetic Physicians P.C. as the defendant, which does business under the brand name Sono Bello.

Cosmetic Surgery Infections Concerns

Cosmetic surgery has grown into a $22 billion industry in the U.S., providing everything from non-invasive treatments like wrinkle reduction and Botox, to more intensive procedures such as tummy tucks and full-body liposuction. The procedures are rarely covered by insurance, leaving patients to pay out of pocket after being drawn in by aggressive social media ads that promise dramatic results with minimal recovery time.

That booming demand has been followed by a wave of cosmetic surgery medical malpractice lawsuits in recent years, often involving incidents where patients developed devastating infections or other injuries.

Since 2018, at least a dozen wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against national chains such as Sono Bello, Mia Aesthetics and Goals Aesthetics, with many of the lawsuits alleging that clinics perform risky operations on vulnerable patients without proper safeguards.

The complaints, like Klopfenstein’s, note that procedures at the clinics, which can cost more than $20,000, are sometimes performed on high-risk patients without adequate medical safeguards. The cosmetic surgery chains face accusations of employing undertrained doctors, failing to properly sterilize equipment and surgical areas, and lacking hospital access for medical emergencies.

The reports raise broad concerns about lax oversight, high-pressure sales consultations and minimal interaction between patients and surgeons before cosmetic procedures. In many instances, patients reported meeting their doctor for the first time shortly before the surgery. However, many of these companies include arbitration clauses in their contracts that shield them from resolving medical malpractice lawsuits in public trials and limit the ability of patients to pursue recourse in open court.

According to Klopfenstein’s lawsuit, she underwent liposuction and a mini tummy tuck at the Sono Bello surgical center in Indianapolis in March 2024, performed by a physician employed by Sono Bello.

However, she indicates that the surgical center failed to provide adequate sterility during the procedures, which were being performed by negligent and poorly trained medical personnel. This led to breaches of the standard of medical care, such as failing to provide a prophylactic antibiotic asepsis to lower the risk of infections.

After the surgeries, Klopfenstein was diagnosed with a deep tissue surgical site infection.

“That infection was diagnosed as a staph aureus necrotizing fasciitis that required emergency life-saving treatment, multiple surgeries and debridements, permanent scarring, pain, and limitation.”

— Sue R. Klopfenstein and Tim S. Klopfenstein v. Aesthetics Physicians P.C.

The couple indicates the Sono Bello center failed to document many portions of the care it provided, which other lawsuits have revealed often hide additional breaches of medical standards. These previous discoveries have found failures in facility standards, surgical team protocols, infection prevention procedures, instrument sanitation, sterility and other procedures.

The couple presents claims of medical malpractice and negligence, seeking compensatory damages.

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