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Doctor Wins 270k For ACA Report

Doctor Wins 270k For ACA Report – Plastic surgeon Peter Anthony Haertsch has been awarded $267,919 in damages for being defamed in Channel 9 news program about a Gold Coast meter maid’s botched boob job.

The acclaimed Sydney surgeon and burns specialist, who was awarded an Order of Australia for his work with the Bali bombing victims, says he was “absolutely humiliated” by the segment, aired on A Current Affair on August 1, 2008.

Mr Haertsch took action against journalist Kate Donnison and Nine, accusing them of defaming him and manipulating his interview to make him out to be a “monster” or “Dr Death” in the report about a breast enlargement gone wrong.

In the report, meter maid Andrea Chia described her stitches bursting before the implants began falling out, ending her career.

Dr Haertsch was interviewed for the program, but he told the New South Wales Supreme Court his responses were heavily edited and manipulated and “in no way” reflected his answers.

He said Ms Chia had ignored his advice before and after the surgery.

Dr Haertsch heads the burns unit at Sydney’s Concord Hospital and has received multiple awards for his voluntary work in countries such as Pakistan, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Tanzania.

His barrister Stuart Littlemore QC likened him to eye surgeon Fred Hollows, calling him an “unsung Australian hero”.

But since the ACA report, Dr Haertsch said his reputation had been threatened, his marriage put under strain, he had become introverted and unsociable, lost weight and had difficulty sleeping.

Tags: Bali Bombing Victims, Barrister, Botched Boob Job, Breast Enlargement, Burns Unit, Channel 9 News, Chia, Concord Hospital, Current Affair, Defamed, Dr Death, Eye Surgeon, Fred Hollows, Gold Coast Meter Maid, New South Wales, New South Wales Supreme Court, News Program, Order Of Australia, Plastic Surgeon, Voluntary Work
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