🏥 Abby Lee Miller Files $1.4M Lawsuit Against Cedars-Sinai Hospital
Abby Lee Miller, best known for leading young dancers on the hit reality series “Dance Moms,” is now leading a legal battle against Cedars-Sinai Marina Del Rey Hospital.
The 59-year-old TV personality has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit alleging the hospital left a catheter inside her body after a 2020 spinal surgery.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, June 3, in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claims the retained catheter caused years of pain and discomfort that were repeatedly dismissed by her doctors—including two physicians who performed her life-saving surgery.
⚠️ What Abby Lee Miller Alleges Happened
According to the legal documents obtained by PEOPLE, Miller began experiencing unexplained abdominal pain following her spinal surgery.
Despite voicing her concerns to multiple physicians over the years, Miller says her complaints went unheard.
It wasn’t until June 2024—four years post-surgery—that a CT scan revealed the truth: a foreign object was still inside her body.
The scan confirmed the presence of a retained catheter, prompting an emergency procedure to remove it immediately.
The lawsuit explains that a retained surgical object—defined as any foreign material accidentally left inside a patient during surgery—is a serious yet avoidable error, estimated to occur in 1 out of every 5,500 surgeries.
💬 Miller’s Attorney Speaks Out
Miller’s attorney, Nadine Lewis, did not hold back in her statement:
Abby Lee Miller suffered for years from an object left inside of her during spinal surgery; despite complaints to various physicians, not one ordered imaging of any kind to diagnose the source of her pain…
Four years post-surgery, Abby discovered that her surgeons had left a bright blue catheter inside of her abdomen.
Lewis also pointed out that, as a paraplegic cancer survivor who already lives with chronic pain, Miller trusted her doctors to help her—not dismiss her.
The lawsuit accuses the hospital and its medical professionals of medical negligence, professional negligence, and medical battery, with Miller seeking $1.4 million in damages.
🧑⚕️ Who’s Named In The Lawsuit?
One of the named defendants is Dr. Hooman M. Melamed, an orthopedic spine surgeon who once treated Miller and publicly spoke about her cancer diagnosis in 2018.
At the time, Melamed had clarified that what was initially thought to be a spinal infection turned out to be Burkitt lymphoma, a rare and aggressive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Dr. Melamed has not commented publicly on the lawsuit as of June 4.
📃 Cedars-Sinai Responds
While Cedars-Sinai Hospital did not comment on the specifics of the lawsuit—citing patient privacy laws—the hospital released the following statement:
The care and safety of our patients, staff and visitors are always Cedars-Sinai’s top priorities.
We are dedicated to ensuring that we meet the highest standards of care for all those we serve.
🎗️ Miller’s Ongoing Health Journey
Abby Lee Miller’s health struggles began in 2018 when she was hospitalized and later diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma.
The diagnosis came just a year after she served time in federal prison for bankruptcy fraud.
Though she has faced life-altering challenges, Miller has remained in the public eye, sharing her story and fighting for her health.
Now, she’s fighting for justice.
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