A Washington woman who recently won a lawsuit against Denver-based Dex Media Inc. is calling for an investigation by the Colorado attorney general’s office into the phone-book company’s advertising practices.
Michelle Knepper claims that Dex encourages physicians in one specialty to advertise in other categories.
In February, a Portland, Ore., jury awarded Knepper $1.5 million in compensatory damages against Dex for fraudulent advertising. Dex is appealing the verdict.
Dr. Timothy Brown, who advertised in both the Dex categories of dermatology and plastic surgery, performed a liposuction procedure on Knepper in 1996 that left her permanently disfigured and with nerve damage.
Brown, who was board-certified in dermatology but not plastic surgery, settled with Knepper before trial.
For decades, Dex has had a disclaimer on every page of its specialty physician section advising people to call “the proper state agency or local medical association” for information concerning physician qualifications, said Jerry Brown, Dex spokesman.
“We require that anyone that advertises in the medical portion of our books has to be a legally certified doctor,” Brown said. “We don’t check out everybody’s credentials, but we take their word for it.”
The current Dex policy is that if physicians claim to be board-certified in the yellow pages, they must be certified in the category in which they advertise.
Dex publishes 270 directories, encompassing more than 4,000 categories, in 14 states. Knepper’s attorney, Greg Smith, said that letters requesting investigation have been sent to attorneys general in all 14 states.
“If this is happening to me, it’s happening to other people,” Knepper said. “People need to be protected.”
The Colorado attorney general’s office said it received Knepper’s complaint and will review it.
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-820-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
