CoolSculpting® lawsuits are legal claims for compensation by patients diagnosed with PAH (paradoxical adipose hyperplasia). Plaintiffs’ attorneys allege that CoolSculpting® creator, Zeltiq Aesthetics, failed to warn patients that the fat-freezing procedure could cause them to develop disfiguring fat deposits in the treated areas.
Shouse Law Group represents CoolSculpting® victims throughout the United States who are suffering from PAH. We are demanding that Zeltiq compensate our clients for their medical expenses (including corrective surgeries), lost earnings, and pain and suffering.
The statute of limitations to file a claim may be only a year or two depending on the state. Therefore, victims should consult our CoolSculpting® lawsuit lawyers as soon as possible.
In this article, our CoolSculpting® lawsuit attorneys discuss:
- 1. What is CoolSculpting®?
- 2. Does CoolSculpting® cause PAH (paradoxical adipose hyperplasia)?
- 3. Can PAH be fixed?
- 4. What money can I get by suing?
- 5. Who created CoolSculpting®?
1. What is CoolSculpting®?
Created by Zeltiq Aesthetics, CoolSculpting® is a patented non-surgical procedure for reducing fat. It is a service offered by various plastic surgeons and spas throughout six continents.
A doctor or technician who has been trained and certified in CoolSculpting® uses a specialized machine to subject the patient’s fat cells to low temperatures. This process – called Cryolipolysis® – causes the fat cells to freeze, crystalize, and ultimately die.
Patients should expect to see results within three-to-four months after the procedure.1
A minority of CoolSculpting® users develop an overgrown of fat cells called PAH.
2. Does CoolSculpting® cause PAH (paradoxical adipose hyperplasia)?
About one in every four thousand people who have undergone CoolSculpting® develop the complication PAH (paradoxical adipose hyperplasia). PAH is when the targeted fat tissue enlarges instead of shrinks – the opposite of what the procedure promises.
PAH appears about eight-to-24 weeks after the CoolSculpting® procedure. It manifests as hard and visibly lumpy and disfiguring fat deposits in the treated areas – which are typically a person’s belly, neck, arms, and thighs.
PAH’s bulging, often rectangular-shaped fat deposits appear to be permanent and will not go away on their own. Diet, exercise or additional CoolSculpting® treatments will not cure PAH.2
The most famous case of PAH reportedly caused by CoolSculpting® is the supermodel Linda Evangelista, who went public with her story in 2021. She revealed on Instagram that CoolSculpting® left her “permanently deformed even after two painful, unsuccessful, corrective surgeries.”3
3. Can PAH be fixed?
It may be possible to remove the hardened fat deposits associated with PAH through corrective surgery such as liposuction.
However, patients typically have to wait at least six-to-nine months after PAH appears for liposuction to be done safely and to minimize the possibility of recurrence. Plus, as Linda Evangelista’s CoolSculpting ® ordeal shows, there is no guarantee that corrective surgery adequately remedies the problem.4
4. What money can I get by suing?
Attorneys suing Zeltiq on behalf of CoolSculpting® victims who developed PAH are seeking compensation for:
- medical expenses, including corrective surgeries
- lost wages, particularly for victims such as models whose physical appearance is essential to their job
- pain and suffering, which can be far greater than any doctor’s bill or lost paycheck. Indeed, as Linda Evangelista revealed,
“PAH has not only destroyed my livelihood, it has sent me into a cycle of deep depression, profound sadness, and the lowest depths of self-loathing. In the process, I have become a recluse.”
Linda Evangelista settled her lawsuit for an undisclosed amount, though she demanded $50 million in her initial complaint.5
There are many legal grounds for which victims’ attorneys are suing Zeltiq, such as:
- defective design
- failure to warn
- negligence
The Zeltiq litigation is not a class action. Every victim is bringing their own individual lawsuit. Though there is a chance all these individual lawsuits will be joined into an MDL (multi-district litigation), which is a legal mechanism for expediting the settlement process.
5. Who created CoolSculpting®?
CoolSculpting® was created by Zeltiq Aesthetics, which was founded in 2005. Before going public in 2011 it raised $75 million in funding.
The Pleasanton, California-based pharmaceutical company Allergan (which is owned by AbbVie) acquired Zeltiq as a subsidiary in 2017. Every year Zeltiq earns hundreds of millions of dollars licensing its Cryolipolysis® devices.6
CoolSculpting® victims may be able to sue Zeltiq for substantial money damages.
Legal References
- CoolSculpting® Official Site. CoolSculpting, WebMD.
- H. Ray Jalian, et. al., Paradoxical Adipose Hyperplasia After Cryolipolysis, JAMA Dermatol(March 2014). Complication of ‘fat freezing’ procedure may be more common than thought, Science Daily (June 29, 2018).
- lindaevangelista, Instagram (September 22, 2021).
- Michael E. Kelly, Treatment of Paradoxical Adipose Hyperplasia following Cryolipolysis: A Single-Center Experience, Plast Reconstr Surg (July 2018)
- See note 3. Toyin Owoseje, Linda Evangelista settles cosmetic procedure lawsuit, CNN (July 22, 2022).
- Jof Enriquez, Allergan Buys Zeltiq Aesthetics For Nearly $2.5 Billion, Med Device Online (February 14, 2017). Zeltiq Aesthetics, Wikipedia.