CJ-2026-1281 - Susan M. Miller v. OU Medicine, Inc., d/b/a OU Medical Center

What's This Case About?

Let’s get one thing straight: Susan Miller survived cancer. And then, according to her, the medical system tried to break her all over again.

This isn’t just a story about a botched surgery — it’s about a woman who beat one of the most terrifying battles a person can face, only to be left screaming into a void while her surgical wound festered and her calls for help were met with silence, eye rolls, and outright mockery. All while under the care of one of Oklahoma’s most prominent medical institutions. Susan and her husband William Miller aren’t suing because they’re mad — they’re suing because, after 55 days of being told “this is normal healing,” she was finally diagnosed with a Staph infection so serious it required 117 days of wound care, trapped her in her home, and left her permanently disfigured. And get this — they’re doing it pro se, meaning they’re representing themselves. No lawyers. Just a cancer survivor and her husband, going toe-to-toe with OU Medicine, OU Physicians, and the surgeon who allegedly ghosted her post-op.

Susan Miller, a resident of Yukon, Oklahoma, had undergone a DIEP flap surgery — a complex, reconstructive procedure often performed after mastectomies, where tissue from the abdomen is used to rebuild the breast. It’s not just cosmetic; it’s deeply personal, often symbolic of reclaiming one’s body after cancer. The surgery was performed on February 20, 2024, at OU Medical Center by Dr. Guilherme C. Barreiro, a plastic surgeon employed by OU Physicians. On paper, this was a fresh start. In reality, it became a medical nightmare. Right after surgery, Susan claims she was given little to no aftercare instructions, and Dr. Barreiro never once checked in on her — not a call, not a visit, not even a “Hey, how you feeling?” Meanwhile, she started noticing classic signs of infection: redness, swelling, pain. She reached out — repeatedly — to the plastic surgery clinic, only to be told the doctor was “booked up” and her concerns were dismissed. Her emails? Ignored. Or worse, met with what she describes as “disdain” from nurse practitioners.

At one point, she was actually laughed at by a nurse practitioner, Nicole Oweis, when she insisted she had an infection — despite the fact that her family doctor had already confirmed it with lab tests and prescribed antibiotics. Let that sink in: a licensed physician diagnoses an infection. The hospital’s own staff laughs and says, “Nah, you’re fine.” This isn’t just arrogance — it’s medical gaslighting at its most infuriating. Susan was forced to seek emergency care elsewhere, relying on her primary care provider to treat what should have been managed by the surgical team. It wasn’t until April 16, 2024 — 55 days after surgery — that she was finally seen by a wound care specialist and diagnosed with Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, or MSSA. That’s a real, dangerous infection. And it had been festering for over two months.

What followed was 117 days of wound care — meaning nurses coming to her home, bandages, pain, isolation. Vacations were canceled. Her life ground to a halt. And the damage? Permanent. The Millers allege irreversible disfigurement, ongoing pain, emotional trauma, and a total loss of quality of life — all at a moment when Susan should have been healing, celebrating, and embracing life post-cancer. William, her husband, says he’s lost intimacy with his wife, her companionship, and watched her suffer through a preventable ordeal. And let’s not forget — they’re suing not just for the medical failure, but for the attitude. The filing doesn’t just accuse Dr. Barreiro and the institutions of negligence — it calls it gross, willful, and wanton. That’s not legalese for “oops.” That’s the kind of language you use when someone looked at a patient in distress and said, “Eh, not my problem.”

So why are they in court? Legally, they’re claiming medical negligence — meaning the care Susan received fell below the standard that any reasonable doctor or hospital should provide. They’re also leaning hard into respondeat superior, a legal principle that holds employers responsible for the actions of their employees. In plain English: OU Medicine and OU Physicians can’t just throw Dr. Barreiro under the bus — they hired him, privileged him, and entrusted him with patients. If he dropped the ball, they did too. And because the neglect was so severe — ignoring confirmed infections, mocking patients, failing to diagnose for over two months — the Millers are also asking for punitive damages. That’s not about covering medical bills. That’s about punishment. That’s the legal system’s way of saying, “You didn’t just mess up — you acted like you didn’t care.”

Now, let’s talk money. The Millers are asking for over $150,000 — split between $75,000 for actual damages (medical bills, pain, lost quality of life) and another $75,000 in punitive damages. Is that a lot? For a couple suing a massive medical institution on their own? It’s actually kind of modest. Big hospitals routinely pay out millions in malpractice cases. But here’s the thing — this isn’t just about the number. It’s about the message. They’re not asking for a mansion or a yacht. They’re asking for accountability. For recognition that being laughed at while infected is not “part of the healing process.” For the idea that a cancer survivor shouldn’t have to beg to be taken seriously.

And that’s where we come in — because as entertainers, not lawyers, we have to say: the most absurd part of this whole saga isn’t even the infection. It’s the attitude. It’s the idea that a top-tier medical center — one affiliated with a university, no less — could treat a patient like an annoying inconvenience instead of a human being. It’s the fact that Susan had to go outside the system to get basic care. It’s the nurse practitioner laughing at a confirmed infection. That’s not medicine. That’s hubris. And we’re rooting for the Millers — not because we know every detail will hold up in court, but because everyone deserves to be heard, especially when they’ve already survived the worst. You beat cancer. The least the system can do is not make it worse.

Case Overview

$150,000 Demand Jury Trial Petition

Jurisdiction

District Court of Oklahoma County, Oklahoma

Filing Attorney

Susan M. Miller and William M. Miller

Relief Sought

$75,000 Monetary

$75,000 Punitive

Plaintiffs

Susan M. Miller individual
Rep: Pro se
William M. Miller individual
Rep: Pro se

Defendants

OU Medicine, Inc., d/b/a OU Medical Center business
OU Health Partners, Inc., d/b/a OU Physicians business
Guilherme C. Barreiro, M.D. individual

Claims

#	Cause of Action	Description
1	Medical Negligence	Plaintiffs allege Defendants' negligence caused Susan Miller to suffer pain, suffering, irreversible and permanent disfigurement, incurred medical bills, suffered loss of quality of life, suffered mental, emotional and physical pain and suffering, and other financial damages.

Petition Text

1,254 words

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF OKLAHOMA COUNTY STATE OF OKLAHOMA SUSAN M. MILLER, and WILLIAM M. MILLER, Plaintiffs, v. OU MEDICINE, INC., d/b/a OU MEDICAL CENTER; OU HEALTH PARTNERS, INC., d/b/a OU PHYSICIANS; and GUILHERME C. BARREIRO, M.D., Defendants. Case No. CJ-2026 - 1281 PETITION COME NOW, the Plaintiffs, Susan M. Miller and William M. Miller, and for their cause of action against the Defendants, OU Medicine, Inc., d/b/a OU Medical Center (hereinafter "OUMC"); OU Health Partners, Inc., d/b/a OU Physicians (hereinafter "OU Physicians"); and Guilherme C. Barreiro, M.D. (hereinafter "Dr. Barreiro"), state as follows: JURISDICTION AND VENUE 1. Plaintiffs, Susan M. Miller and William M. Miller (hereinafter "Susan Miller" and "William Miller"), are presently, and were at all times relevant herein, residents of Canadian County, State of Oklahoma. 2. Defendant, OUMC, is presently, and was at all times relevant herein, a corporation and medical facility licensed to practice healthcare and do business in Oklahoma County, State of Oklahoma. 3. Defendant, OU Physicians, is presently, and was at all times relevant herein, a corporation employing physicians licensed to practice medicine in Oklahoma County, State of Oklahoma. 4. Defendant, Dr. Barreiro, is presently, and was at all times relevant herein, a physician licensed to practice medicine in Oklahoma County, State of Oklahoma. 5. This Court has jurisdiction over the matters and the parties herein, as the acts occurred in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma. 6. The Plaintiffs consent to this Court’s jurisdiction. GENERAL ALLEGATIONS 7. Plaintiff, Susan Miller, was a patient of Defendants when she underwent surgery DIEP flap surgery performed by Defendant, Dr. Barreiro, on February 20, 2024. 8. Defendant, Dr. Barreiro, is an employee and agent of Defendant, OU Physicians. The surgery was performed at Defendant, OUMC. 9. Dr. Barreiro, did not bother to speak with the Plaintiffs, Susan Miller and William Miller, after her surgery and received very little aftercare instructions. 10. Plaintiff, Susan Miller, began experiencing signs of an infection very shortly after the surgery but was repeatedly refused appointments to see Defendant, Dr. Barreiro, as he was “booked up”. Her requests for appointments were either ignored or denied; her emails to the Plastic Surgery Clinic at Defendant, OUMC, were ignored or responded to with disdain by nurse practitioners and other medical support staff, indicative of the pervasive air at OU Plastics under Defendant, Dr Barreiro. 11. Plaintiff, Susan Miller, was forced to seek medical care for her infection via emergency rooms at other hospitals and via her family doctor who diagnosed the infection and prescribed antibiotics. 12. Plaintiff, Susan Miller, was eventually able to be seen by Nicole Oweis, APRN, at the Plastic Surgery Clinic, and was again treated with disdain and laughed at and told she did not have an infection despite her family doctor having confirmed the infection via laboratory testing and prescribing antibiotics. 13. Despite her best efforts, it was not until April 16, 2024 that Plaintiff was able to be seen by wound care and diagnosed with a Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) infection. She had waited 55 days for someone to take her complaints and symptoms seriously, being told it was all a “normal part of healing”. 14. Plaintiff, Susan Miller, then underwent 117 days of wound care, unable to leave her home, cancelling vacations, and requiring home health numerous times a week. 15. Defendants negligently rendered treatment to Plaintiff, Susan Miller, that fell below acceptable medical standards. 16. Defendants’ negligence was gross, willful and/or wanton, and displayed a willful disregard for the Plaintiff, Susan Miller’s, welfare, wellbeing, and life. 17. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ negligence, Plaintiff, Susan Miller, was forced to undergo months of pain, suffering, and anxiety at a time in which she should have been celebrating the fact that she was now cancer free, and that would not have ordinarily occurred in the absence of medical negligence. 18. Defendants and their representatives, agents, and employees grossly, willfully, wantonly, and negligently failed to timely diagnose and/or treat Plaintiff, Susan Miller’s, medical condition, causing her permanent disfiguring medical complications. 19. As a direct and proximate result of the Defendants’ negligence, Plaintiff, Susan Miller, sustained the injuries set forth below, resulting from an act, omission, or instrumentality under the exclusive control and management of Defendants, and that the events causing Susan Miller’s injuries and other damages were of a kind which ordinarily do not occur in the absence of negligence by Defendants. 20. As a direct and proximate result of the Defendants’ negligence, Plaintiff, William Miller, was deprived, and will continue to be deprived of, the companionship and love of his wife; he has suffered, and will continue to suffer, the loss of the intimacy within the marital relationship; suffered, and has suffered, and will continue to suffer, other financial damages. 21. At the time of the events giving rise to this action, Defendant, Dr. Barreiro, an employee of Defendant, OU Physicians, was privileged, credentialed and otherwise entrusted to care and treat the patients at Defendant, OUMC. 22. Defendants, OUMC and OU Physicians, negligently retained, supervised, privileged and otherwise entrusted the care and treatment of its patients to Defendant, Dr. Barreiro. 23. Upon information and belief, Defendants, OUMC and OU Physicians, were negligent under the Doctrine of Respondeat Superior for the actions of their employees and/or agents, including but not limited to, Defendant, Dr. Barreiro. 24. As a result of Defendants’ gross, willful, and wanton negligence, Plaintiff, Susan Miller, sustained pain and suffering; irreversible and permanent disfigurement; incurred medical bills; suffered a loss of quality of life; suffered mental, emotional and physical pain and suffering; and other financial damages. Plaintiffs allege that these damages exceed $75,000.00, exclusive of interest, attorneys’ fees and costs. 25. As a result of Defendants’ gross, willful, and wanton negligence, Plaintiff, Susan Miller, will continue to sustain pain and suffering; irreversible and permanent, disfigurement; continue to incur medical bills; continue to suffer loss of quality of life; and continue to suffer mental, emotional and physical pain and suffering; and continue to incur other financial damages. Plaintiffs allege that these damages exceed $75,000.00, exclusive of interest, attorneys’ fees and costs. 26. As a result of Defendants’ gross, willful, and wanton negligence, Plaintiff, William Miller, sustained, and will continue to sustain the deprivation of the companionship and love of his wife; the loss of intimacy within the marital relationship; and other financial damages. Plaintiffs allege that these damages exceed $75,000.00, exclusive of interest, attorneys’ fees and costs. 27. Plaintiffs adopt and re-plead the foregoing allegations, and further allege and state that the Defendants’, OUMC, OU Physicians, and Dr. Barreiro, negligence was gross, willful, and wanton, and displayed a willful disregard for Plaintiff, Susan Miller’s, welfare, wellbeing, and life. As such Plaintiffs believe that punitive or exemplary damages should be imposed in their favor and against Defendants, individually, in an amount to exceed $75,000.00 exclusive of interest, attorneys’ fees and costs. WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs, Susan M. Miller and William M. Miller, pray this Court enter judgment in their favor against Defendants, and each of them, for the above causes of action, and in amounts in excess of $75,000.00, plus attorney fees, costs, interest and any other relief the Court deems equitable and just. WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs, Susan M. Miller and William M. Miller, pray this Court enter judgment in their favor against Defendants, and each of them, for the above causes of action, and in amounts in excess of $75,000.00 for punitive or exemplary damages, plus attorney fees, costs, interest and any other relief that Court deems equitable and just. Respectfully Submitted to this Court: Susan M. Miller 12401 Rockgate Drive Yukon, Oklahoma 73099 (405) 397-2392 Pro se Plaintiff William M. Miller 12401 Rockgate Drive Yukon, Oklahoma 73099 (405) 397-2392 Pro se Plaintiff