Kenneth Rose began seeking treatment from Kostenko at Coal Country Clinic for chronic pain in June 2014, according to a complaint filed June 1 in Raleigh Circuit Court.
Rose claims while being treated at the clinic, he never signed any waiver of confidentiality which would allow the dissemination of his private health information to others and, while at the clinic, he was treated in a group setting in which Kostenko would give lectures to patients about different subjects in order to help the Oxycontin prescription work more effectively.
Kostenko videotaped his lectures and placed them on YouTube, with the intension to inform people on the use of the opioid pain medication, Oxycontin, according to the suit.
Rose claims at the end of the sixth lecture, titled “Addiction,” Kostenko left the videotape recording after the end of the lecture and, while it was still recording, Rose’s name was called and is audible on the video, to receive his prescription.
When Rose went to get his prescription from staff at Coal County Clinic, his whole person was recorded and identifiable on the video posted on YouTube, according to the suit
Rose claims he was not even aware he was being recorded, nor was he aware that his name and picture were posted on Kostenko’s YouTube page.
On April 13, CBS Evening News ran a story on Kostenko’s practice and used footage from the YouTube videos, clearly showing Rose’s face, according to the suit.
Rose claims he began receiving telephone calls from friends and family accusing him of being a drug addict , as well as being confronted by his fiancée’s parents about the story and is no longer welcome in their home.
Kostenko was negligent and caused Rose to suffer public humiliation and has been labeled an addict in his community, according to the suit.
Rose is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. He is being represented by Joshua R. Martin of Neely & Callaghan.
Kostenko sued CBS News for the January news segment, as well as another segment that aired in April. Kostenko alleged the January news segment was done without even contacting him for comment. The April news segment, he alleged, used strongly edited clips in order to “fit the perception” that Kostenko was a drug trafficker owning a pill mill.
In April, Kostenko sued the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, alleging corruption was the cause of the drug problem in the state.
In November, the DHHR sued Kostenko for defying state orders to shut down his clinic.
Raleigh Circuit Court case number: 16-C-349
