The Georgia Composite Medical Board has renewed the license of Atlanta cosmetic surgeon Harvey “Chip” Cole while he battles 11 lawsuits from patients alleging he ruined their faces.
Cole’s medical license was renewed in March for another two years, according to his profile on the board’s website. The profile shows Cole, who denies any wrongdoing in the lawsuits, no longer has hospital privileges.
Northside Hospital, which is accused in the lawsuits of negligently credentialing Cole, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in December that he is not a member of its medical staff and does not treat patients at its facilities.
Cole and his wife, Susan Cole, filed for bankruptcy in late October, declaring $13.6 million in debts and $37,000 in assets.
The bankruptcy case, which is pending in the federal bankruptcy court in Atlanta, came after four patients filed lawsuits in 2024 — one in February and three in September — in Fulton County against Cole and his business, Oculus Plastic Surgery. Another six lawsuits were filed between November 2024 and January 2025.
The latest case was filed against Cole and Oculus on Tuesday.
Jason Jones, the medical board’s executive director, said no public action has been taken against Cole. He said the board treats each complaint against a licensee “with the utmost seriousness.”
“Every investigation is unique and requires time to ensure that all concerns are thoroughly addressed,” Jones said Tuesday. “We are currently reviewing and assessing all internal processes to ensure continued integrity and effectiveness in our regulatory responsibilities.”
Certain board records, including license renewal applications, complaints to the board and its investigative records, are confidential under state law.
Jones said the board encourages people to thoroughly research health care practitioners, offering consumer resources and license verification on its website. He said anyone harmed by a licensee should file a complaint with the board.
Several of the patients suing Cole also filed complaints against him with the board, their attorney said. It’s unclear whether the board has finished investigating those complaints.
Credit: Courtesy photos
Credit: Courtesy photos
Attorney Alex Seay, who represents nine of the patients suing Cole, said they’re disheartened his license was renewed after the board received complaints about him.
“This is such a slap in the face to our clients,” Seay said Wednesday. “This is why our civil justice system is so important. The agencies in charge of protecting Georgians are not doing it.”
Attorney Scott Bailey, who represents Cole and Oculus in the medical malpractice lawsuits, said Monday that they’re in the process of exchanging relevant information and evidence with lawyers for the plaintiffs.
Bailey said Cole voluntarily relinquished his credentials at Northside.
“That decision was made independently of any pending civil suits,” he said.
All but two of the cases are pending before Judge Wesley Tailor in the Fulton County State Court. The plaintiffs in one of the other cases, Julie and Kirk Kimmerling, moved their lawsuit from Tailor’s docket to the DeKalb County State Court on March 27.
The complaint filed Tuesday is also in DeKalb.
The lawsuits allege that Cole botched patient surgeries at Northside locations in 2022 and 2023, leaving the patients’ faces permanently damaged and disfigured.
Credit: Courtesy Jennifer Messer
Credit: Courtesy Jennifer Messer
In the Kimmerling case, Cole is accused of cutting a blood vessel and nerves in Julie Kimmerling’s neck during a surgery at Northside’s Meridian Mark Outpatient Surgery Center in January 2023. She lost more than a liter (33 ounces) of blood, spent six days in an intensive care unit and has permanent brain injuries and facial paralysis, according to the complaint.
In his formal answer to the Kimmerling complaint, Cole denied all allegations of negligence and said Julie Kimmerling’s treatment is outlined in her medical records, which “speak for themselves.”
Cole has been the subject of medical malpractice lawsuits in Georgia for more than 20 years. The Kimmerling complaint cited five historic cases filed against Cole and his practice in Fulton County, alleging his incompetence has been public knowledge for decades.
Cole settled a lawsuit over the 1999 death of Jeannie Huff, whose blood pressure fatally dropped during an eyebrow lift surgery in his office. Another case, alleging a female physician’s face became infected after Cole operated on her using dirty instruments, was settled midtrial, according to her attorney.
In 2008, Cole’s patient, Betty Nestlehutt, and her husband won a $1.2 million verdict in their case accusing Cole of destroying the blood supply to both sides of Nestlehutt’s face, which was covered in gaping wounds and permanently disfigured.
Credit: Supplied
Credit: Supplied
Bailey said Cole prioritizes patient safety and satisfaction. He said it is a basic tenet of cosmetic surgery that each patient’s anatomy is distinct and there are known complications that are “rare but well-recognized.”
In their bankruptcy, Cole and his wife sought to protect various assets from liquidation, including a 2021 Jeep Wrangler, two firearms and thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, clothes, electronics, household goods and furnishings.
The couple’s liabilities included $5.4 million owed to the U.S. Small Business Administration, $4.6 million to New York-based business solutions company Newtek and more than $176,000 in outstanding federal, state and county taxes.
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