Laguna Beach Plastic Surgeon Dr. Mowlavi’s $6 Million Settlement

The insurance company of a Laguna Beach plastic surgeon accused of medical malpractice is agreeing to pay $6 million to 36 plaintiffs including popular Laguna Hills health and exercise guru Chalene Johnson.

Dr. Mowlavi Lawsuit

Johnson was among the plaintiffs who sued Dr. Arian Mowlavi about two years ago (which we reported on at that time). Mowlavi subsequently filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in the Central District of California.

But Golnoush Goharzad of Goharzad Law, an Irvine personal injury law firm, views the $6 million settlement as not setting a precedent.

“We often see far bigger numbers in the personal injury world for injuries to one plaintiff,” Goharzad told OrangeCountyLawyers.com. “This settlement included 36 patients whose lives were absolutely ruined.”

As a result of the settlement, Goharzad predicts Mowlavi will likely find it difficult to find another company to insure him.

Mowlavi, who was licensed by the California Medical Board 20 years ago, previously promoted a specialty in VASER liposuction and Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL). “Assuming he is allowed to practice medicine, nobody would agree to insure him,” Goharzad said. “However, since he was already on a 10 year probation from a 2021 complaint with the Medical Board, I assume he will have his license revoked shortly.”

VASER refers to vibration amplification of sound energy at resonance.

NBC previously reported that Mowlavi was prevented from doing VASER lipo without more training and supervision and Mowlavi agreed to monitoring and multiple years of probation.

“It surprises me that he had not developed a bad reputation earlier,” Goharzad said in an interview with OrangeCountyLawyers.com. “Often, people choose plastic surgeons based on word of mouth and recommendations from friends or family. It surprises me that he was able to maintain such a busy practice despite the number of complaining patients.”

California Medical Board Accuses Dr. Mowlavi of Gross Neglegence

The California Medical Board (CMB) filed a new accusation against Mowlavi on January 25, which is in addition to the Orange County District Attorney’s civil suit alleging unlawful medical practice, mayhem, battery, and financial fraud.

Although Mowlavi’s outpatient surgery center was accredited by QUAD, the CMB accuses Mowlavi of committing gross negligence in his care and treatment of an unidentified patient.

“[Mowlavi] performed VASER liposuction on patient A in an unsafe manner, causing injury to the skin of the abdomen and creating a full thickness burn that ultimately became infected and resulted in septic shock,” the complaint states. “[Mowlavi] created a false postoperative note dated December 3rd, 2020, purporting to represent an inpatient visit that never occurred.”

Neither Dr. Mowlavi nor Johnson responded to requests for comment.

The CMB also declined to comment.

“Red tape always moves slowly and the medical board shares a lot of the blame in what happened to some of these patients,” Goharzad said. “At the very least, the terms of his probation and supervision should have been much more strict while the investigation was pending.”

The Orange County District Attorney (OCDA)’s Office filed a civil complaint last year in June alleging unlawful medical practice, mayhem, and battery. The OC DA, however, declined to comment. DOWNLOAD COMPLAINT

“The DA’s suit is based largely on financial fraud, accusing Dr. Mowlavi of transferring assets for the purposes of hiding them from creditors,” Goharzad added.

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