Dr. Benjamin Brown, a Florida plastic surgeon, has been charged with second-degree felony manslaughter by culpable negligence following the death of his wife, Hillary Brown, during cosmetic procedures performed after hours at his clinic, Restore Plastic Surgery, in Gulf Breeze.
The incident occurred on November 21, 2023, when Dr. Brown was performing several procedures on his wife, including abdominal scar revision, bilateral arm liposuction, lip injections, and an ear adjustment. Authorities responded to a medical emergency call, finding Hillary in cardiac arrest; she was hospitalized and died a week later.
The Department of Health’s report revealed that Hillary, despite lacking medical training, prepared her anesthesia and intravenous bags before the procedure, a serious breach of safety protocols. According to the complaint, “the minimum prevailing professional standard of care requires that physicians not permit a patient to prepare medication for use in their own surgery.” In addition to preparing her anesthesia, she ingested various medications, including Valium, an antibiotic, and a painkiller, although this was not documented.
During the procedures, Hillary showed early signs of lidocaine toxicity, which included twitching, blurred vision, and seeing “orange.” Despite these symptoms, Dr. Brown continued to inject lidocaine into her face. As her condition deteriorated, Hillary became restless, and her muscle spasms intensified. The Department of Health stated that such signs demand an immediate emergency response.
A medical assistant on-site urged Dr. Brown multiple times to call 911 as Hillary’s condition worsened, but he reportedly refused, saying “no” or “wait.” Ten to twenty minutes later, Hillary suffered a seizure and became unresponsive. Only then did Dr. Brown instruct his assistant to call emergency services, though the assistant later reported to authorities that she made the final decision to call 911 on her own. Emergency room doctors treated Hillary for lidocaine toxicity, and she was placed on life support, ultimately succumbing to her condition on November 28, 2023.
An administrative complaint filed by the Florida Department of Health with the state Board of Medicine seeks penalties up to suspension or revocation of Dr. Brown’s medical license. Last month, the Department issued an emergency order limiting Dr. Brown’s practice to hospital settings under another physician’s supervision.
The order described Dr. Brown’s handling of his wife’s case as “careless and haphazard,” stating, “The level of disregard that Dr. Brown paid to patient safety, even when the patient was his wife, indicates that Dr. Brown is unwilling or incapable of providing the appropriate level of care his future patients.”
Dr. Brown, who was arrested on June 17, 2024, and later released on a $50,000 bond, has indicated through his attorney, Barry Beroset, that he intends to plead not guilty. “Dr. Brown intends to plead not guilty and vigorously fight the allegations against him in court,” Beroset stated. The arraignment is scheduled for next month, marking the start of legal proceedings in a case that has highlighted critical issues of medical ethics and patient safety.
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