According to a new report, Dr. Now – the star doctor from the TLC series My 600 Lb Life has been fired – and the series is potentially being canceled, Media Take Out News has learned.
The explosive report came from a person who is described as a “prominent former cast member” who asked to remain anonymous (we assume for legal contract reasons).
So what happened to cause the Dr.’s dismissal? Well it’s sort of scandalous.
This former cast member proceeded to tell media outlets they haven’t actually had their stomach stapling surgery and are currently stuck in limbo. According to the cast member, there are some issues involving Dr. Now, the network, and the insurance involved in paying for the surgeries the TLC doctor performs.
And it’s not just one 600 pounder that hasn’t gotten their surgery.
According to report, there are nearly a dozen cast members that have been approved for the surgery but are now stuck in limbo.
Here’s the real tea. The lawsuits piling up against Dr Now from former cast members (and their family members in some cases) are becoming too expensive of a problem for TLC to want to deal with.
Furthermore, the lawsuits present a massive issue for the insurance company that foots the bill for Dr. Now’s surgery and any additional care. The pile of lawsuits has turned Dr. Now into a liability for the insurance company.
The cast member alleges that the insurance company has dropped Dr. Now and refused to cover any more of his patients.
Between the lawsuits and the lack of insurance, we are being told Dr. Now has become too much of an expense for the network to want to continue to work with him.
Dr. Now was sued by Colleen Shepard in 2007 after Tina Shepard died one year after a gastric bypass surgery performed by the doctor. She claims that he failed to follow up properly. The doctor has since explained that they called Tina Shepard repeatedly in order to engage her in follow-up appointments, but that she never showed up.
Dr. Now faced two lawsuits in 2012, both of which were dismissed. One involved a patient claiming the doctor diagnosed her husband improperly, and the second claimed Dr. Now left a roughly 6.6 inch piece of tubing inside her that punctured her colon.
The TLC doctor faced a $250 million suit by a patient claiming he botched her abdominoplasty — the patient dismissed the suit in 2018. Finally, Dr. Now was accused of leaving a stainless steel connector as well as tubes inside a 72-year-old woman in 2017. The claim seems to be ongoing.
