A junior doctor who posed as a patient to write a defamatory Google review was targeting the surgeon who supervised him as a student, a court has found.

Dr Erik de Tonnerre undertook a clinical placement at Royal Melbourne Hospital in 2018 under the supervision of vascular and endovascular surgeon Dr Korana Musicki, the Federal Court of Australia heard.

In September 2020, he posted a Google review under the name Dave Cross, claiming to be one of Dr Musicki’s patients

In a one-star review he wrote: “terrible experience, was super keen to get me onto the table but then impossible to get a hold of for follow-up, vague about incurred expenses, ended up with a massive bill. Had no issues with the surgery but overall negative experience and no follow-up [sic]”.