‘Dance Moms’ Star Abby Lee Miller Sues Cedars-Sinai Hospital For $1.4M For Leaving Catheter In Her Body After Surgery

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Massimo Di LeoJune 5, 2025, 11:51 pmNews >

Dance Moms star Abby Lee Miller is suing Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and her doctors for malpractice. The reality TV star claims Dr. Hooman Melamed and Dr. Paul Dwan negligently left a catheter in her body during a surgery that she had for a spinal cord injury in 2020, according to a complaint.

Miller’s attorney, Nadine Lewis, alleged in a statement that “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. Rather, they systemically dismissed her chronic pain and let her suffer for years.”

Miller, 59, claims that she didn’t discover the “foreign blue object embedded beneath her skin, surrounded by scar tissue” until four years later and had it removed during an emergency procedure. Miller is also suing for professional negligence and medical battery, seeking a minimum of $1.4 million in damages.

Miller is no stranger to lawsuits. In 2022, she sued a Hamptons Inn for $8 million after being trapped in a wheelchair by a falling door.

A spokesperson for Cedars-Sinai Hospital responded, noting that they “cannot comment on pending legal matters” but that “the care and safety of our patients, staff, and visitors are always Cedars-Sinai’s top priorities.”

Miller’s lawyer claimed Cedars-Sinai had 90 days to settle the matter before it was made public, but did not do so.

Dr. Melamead said that he initially believed Miller’s back discomfort was due to an infection, but later discovered that her cancer itself was causing the excruciating pain. Miller was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma, an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, in 2018. It was during a second surgery on her spine following the diagnosis that the catheter was misplaced.

Miller has lived with daily pain in the aftermath of her battle with cancer. Her lawyer stated, “This is not just medical battery; it reflects a larger, devastating truth: women’s pain is too often ignored or dismissed by the very professionals sworn to care for them. Abby’s case is a chilling reminder: even when women are vocal and visibly in distress, their pain is still not believed.”