Court Sides with Science in Parental COVID-19 Vaccine Dispute
A Family Court judge in Nevada has awarded final medical decision-making authority to a mother who wanted her children (ages 8 and 10) vaccinated against COVID-19. The case arose because the father, who had joint custody of children, was opposed to their receiving the vaccine. In presenting her case, the mother noted that she and her ex-husband were able to agree on most things, but there were several instances in which he had failed to seek or administer appropriate care when the children were ill. At a preliminary hearing, the father said that he disagreed with recommendations of American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the children’s’ pediatrician. After this hearing, I submitted an expert declaration that outlined how medical facts are established and described how …
Continue Reading >Attorney Wesley Paul Sanctioned for Filing a Frivolous Suit
In November 2015, Drs. Robert M. Goldman and Ronald Klatz filed a lawsuit claiming that an article I wrote and posted to Quackwatch libeled them and interfered with their business enterprises. This article summarizes what the suit was about and links to the relevant court documents. In December 2000, Goldman and Klatz agreed to pay $5,000 each to the State of Illinois and to stop identifying themselves as M.D.s in Illinois unless authorized to do so by the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation. The official documents indicate that each acquired an “M.D.” degree from the Central America Health Sciences University School of Medicine in Belize but was not licensed to use this credential in Illinois. My Quackwatch article, which was dated March 6, 2001, included …
Continue Reading >Court Dismisses Another “Chemical Sensitivity” Suit
In 2018, a federal dismissed a lawsuit filed by Cynthia and Robert Madej, Ohio residents who claimed that Cynthia was so sensitive to chemicals that repaving of a gravel road near her home could cause her serious physical harm or even death. Local residents and the county engineer (Jeff Maiden) were concerned for many years that driving on the road was unsafe because it would cause clouds of dust so thick that drivers could not see see whether there were cars in front of them. Residents also complained that potholes were injuring tires, the road was subject to frequent flooding, and the dust was a health hazard and caused frequent clogging of nearby heating and air-conditioning filters. Maiden believed that the best way to fix …
Continue Reading >Doctor’s Data vs. Barrett Lawsuit Settled Amicably
Joint News Release July 18, 2017 The libel suit filed by Doctor’s Data (DDI) against Dr. Stephen Barrett, Quackwatch, Inc., and the National Council against Health Fraud, Inc., has been settled amicably. The suit, filed in 2010, charged that Dr. Barrett had improperly criticized DDI on Quackwatch.org and other sites that he controls. DDI is a CLIA- and OSHA-certified laboratory that provides specialty testing to health care practitioners. One of its tests measures the levels of lead and other toxic metals in the urine. The lawsuit centered around an article by Dr. Barrett about how doctors were using test reports on urine specimens that had been obtained after administering a chelating drug to the patient. This test process—called “provoked” or “challenge” testing—has been criticized by …
Continue Reading >The Toledo Clinic Sued for False Diagnoses of Alzheimer’s Disease
The Toledo Clinic, a multispecialty medical center with offices throughout Ohio, is being sued by more than 40 people who allege that Sherry-Ann Jenkins, Ph.D., who directed the now-defunct Toledo Clinic Cognitive Center, made false diagnoses of Alzheimer’s disease and that the medical center’s management failed to take sufficient steps when it became aware of the problem. In addition to Jenkins and the Toledo Clinic, the defendants include Jenkins’s husband, Oliver Jenkins, M.D., and the directors, officers, credentialing offices, radiologists, and neurologists on the clinic staff as “John Doe” defendants. The 128-page lawsuit, filed In Lucas County Court on January 30, 2017, asserts the following: The Toledo Clinic Cognitive Center, which opened in early 2015, claimed to provide treatment for memory loss with an “all-natural, …
Continue Reading >Fraud Charges Filed against Alfred Sapse for Causing Chronically Ill Persons to Undergo Experimental Stem Cell Implant Treatment
US Department of Justice News Release, July 15, 2010. LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas man who purports to be a retired physician and allegedly caused over 100 chronically ill patients to undergo experimental stem cell implant procedures and investors to pay him large amounts of money, has been indicted on federal mail and wire fraud charges, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada. Alfred T. Sapse, 84, of Las Vegas, is charged with seven counts of mail fraud, 13 counts of wire fraud, and criminal forfeiture. Sapse was arrested this morning in Las Vegas by Special Agents with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations, and appeared before a United States Magistrate Judge this afternoon …
Continue Reading >Unlicensed “Life Coach” Loses Suit against Nutrition Licensing Board
Steve Cooksey, who fancies himself qualified to advise diabetics about nutrition, has failed in an attempt to prevent the North Carolina Board of Dietetics/Nutrition from limiting his ability to give nutriiton advice. The suit was filed on his behalf by the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit corporation purporting to “protect the constitutional rights of Americans.” The lawsuit, filed in federal court, stated the following: Cooksey used a diet of fats, meats, fish, eggs, and fresh vegetables to lose 78 pounds, control his diabetes, and regain his health. After adopting a diet and exercise strategy that caused Cooksey to lose weight and bring his diabetes under control, Cooksey decided to share what he believed via the Internet and started a free Web site to share his beliefs …
Continue Reading >Outrageous Whistleblower Prosecution Fails
An attempt to prosecute two nurses who complained that a doctor was trying to sell herbal products to his hospital clinic patients has failed. In a bizarre case that has drawn national attention, Anne Mitchell and Vickilyn Galle were charged with “misuse of official information,” which is a third-degree felony under Texas law. Winkler County Memorial Hospital is a 25-bed, government-owned hospital in Kermit, Texas. Mitchell who began working at the hospital in 1986, and was the hospital’s compliance officer and worked as utilization management backup. Galle, who began working at the hospital in 1987, was in charge of quality improvement, and utilization management. The pair also shared the job of medical staff coordinator. The situation arose after Mitchell and Galle learned that Rolando G. …
Continue Reading >Attorney General Cuomo Secures Settlement with Plastic Surgery Franchise That Flooded Internet with False Positive Reviews
‘Lifestyle Lift’ Will Pay $300,000 in Penalties and Costs to New York State New York Attorney General News Release, July 14, 2009 New York State Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a settlement with cosmetic surgery outfit Lifestyle Lift over the publishing of fake consumer reviews on the Internet. Under the settlement, Lifestyle Lift will stop publishing anonymous positive reviews about the company to Internet message boards and other Web sites, and will pay $300,000 in penalties and costs to the State of New York. The case is believed to be the first in the nation aimed at combating “astroturfing,” a growing problem on the Internet. Lifestyle Lift employees published positive reviews and comments about the company to trick Web-browsing consumers into believing that satisfied customers …
Continue Reading >Doctor Convicted of Performing Unnecessary Surgeries on Healthy Patients in $154 Million Medical Insurance Fraud Scheme
Orange County District Attorney Press Release, August 4, 2011 A doctor charged in the largest medical fraud prosecution in the nation, the 19 co-defendant Unity Outpatient Surgery Center (Unity) scheme, was convicted today of performing unnecessary and dangerous surgeries on over 160 patients in order to fraudulently bill medical insurance companies. Michael Chan, 65, Cerritos, pleaded guilty to the court to 40 felony counts including conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, insurance fraud, aiding and abetting capping with white collar crime sentencing enhancements. He faces a sentence ranging from probation up to 28 years in state prison at his sentencing on a date that is to be determined. Of the 19 defendants charged in the Unity case, 13 were indicted by a criminal grand jury on …
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