Dance Moms star Abby Lee Miller has filed a $1.4 million lawsuit against Cedars-Sinai Marina Del Rey Hospital, alleging medical malpractice after a catheter was reportedly left inside her body for four years.
The 59-year-old reality TV personality underwent life-saving spinal surgery at the hospital in 2020 following her Burkitt lymphoma diagnosis.
According to legal documents filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on June 3, Miller began suffering from persistent abdominal pain after the surgery.
Despite repeatedly informing her doctors — including the surgeons involved — her complaints were allegedly dismissed.
In June 2024, a CT scan finally revealed a retained catheter inside Miller’s abdomen.
She immediately underwent an emergency procedure to remove the foreign object, which her lawsuit describes as a “retained surgical object” — a serious medical error estimated to occur in 1 in 5,500 surgeries.
Miller is suing for medical negligence, professional negligence, medical battery, and other claims.
“Abby suffered for years while her trusted physicians ignored her pain. It took four years for imaging to finally uncover the cause — a bright blue catheter left behind during surgery,” her attorney, Nadine Lewis stated.
Cedars-Sinai hospital declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
Miller, who has battled significant health challenges since her Burkitt lymphoma diagnosis in 2018, was previously known for her role on Lifetime’s Dance Moms (2011–2019) and her legal troubles, including a 2017 federal prison sentence for bankruptcy fraud.
