The doctor declined comment to WKYC, but Black’s response to the lawsuit indicates that he believed the liquid was vinegar but denies all other allegations in the suit.
Laura’s husband, Paul, has demonstrated outside Paragon’s offices with signs claiming the practice had permanently injured his wife.
“It soaks in and continues to soak in and burns from the inside out,” Paul said. “It’s not meant to go inside anyone’s body.”
A Cleveland State chemistry professor demonstrated just how caustic potassium hydroxide is by placing a partial hot dog into a container with the chemical, and the meat began falling apart within minutes.
“It literally breaks up the skin,” said Professor David Ball. “It decomposes the skin.”
Laura said a doctor called her a couple hours after she left Paragon and instructed her to go immediately to Akron General Hospital’s emergency room.
According to hospital records, a plastic bottle cap was found behind her cervix, and the couple says Paragon gave inaccurate information about the pH level of the liquid sprayed inside Laura’s body.
The doctor’s office claimed it was a harmless 7.5 level but was in fact 12 or higher, which Ball said would be damaging to the body.
Laura said her injuries have prevented her from having sex with her husband or swimming with her children and has caused ongoing, irregular bleeding.