Kentucky doctor suspended after allegedly letting his unlicensed wife give shots
Regulators have suspended the license of a Kentucky doctor whose wife allegedly gave Botox injections to a patient even though she was not medically trained.
The patient said she developed swelling in her face after an injection and had trouble with her eyes, including blurry vision, drainage and a gritty feeling, according to a complaint released Wednesday.
The doctor, Paul E. McLaughlin of Mount Sterling, was on probation from another case last year in which patients in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana reportedly developed infections after receiving flu vaccinations from a company operated by his wife, Fairshinda McLaughlin, under his medical license.
The new suspension order bars McLaughlin from practicing, though there is a procedure for him to seek to continue seeing patients while the case is pending.
“Dr. McLaughlin looks forward to presenting his side of the story regarding the allegations of the complaint shortly,” said his attorney, Ben Weigel.
In the earlier case, the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure alleged McLaughlin had improperly delegated his medical responsibilities to his wife — described as unqualified and unlicensed — and failed to properly treat people who developed abscesses after getting flu shots, contributing to a public health crisis.
Dr. McLaughlin denied he’d fallen short in his professional obligations, but signed an agreed order to resolve the case.
In addition to placing McLaughlin on probation for five years, the board fined him $5,000 and required him to undergo additional training. That order was effective July 19, 2019.
Just over two months later, on Sept. 27, 2019, a woman contacted a nurse at the Montgomery County Health Department to report problems after receiving Botox injections from Fairshinda McLaughlin.
The patient, who was not named in the complaint, said she had swelling in her face after receiving an injection.
Fairshinda McLaughlin prescribed a cream to help but the woman did not use it because of the cost and potential side effects.
McLaughlin is not a licensed prescriber, according to the complaint.
The patient said she developed problems in her eyes after more injections by Fairshinda McLaughlin in late July or early August 2019.
Fairshinda McLaughlin called in prescriptions for antibiotics and a steroid, but after no improvement in her eyes, the patient went to a clinic and an eye doctor, according to the complaint.
The state Department for Public Health contacted the licensure board in November 2019 with a concern about the “unsupervised administration of Botox/fillers by a non-licensed, non-medically trained individual, as well as potentially inappropriate prescribing” that could hurt people.
When a board investigator went to Dr. McLaughlin’s office in December, a woman who said her name was Judy said Fairshinda McLaughlin wasn’t available, according to the complaint.
When the investigator went to Dr. McLaughlin’s office, he saw photos that showed Judy was actually the doctor’s wife.
McLaughlin told the board he was aware of the orders and procedures his wife performed.
However, a board consultant said he found no evidence McLaughlin examined the patient before his wife prescribed antibiotics and couldn’t confirm the doctor was aware of the treatment his wife provided.
The consultant said given Fairshinda McLaughlin’s lack of licensing in nursing or any health field, it was a departure from acceptable medical practice for McLaughlin to let her do procedures, especially after the allegations in the earlier case.
