What if you are given medicine against your consent, saying that it will save your life, but it fails?
That’s what happened during the Covid-19 pandemic. You may wonder why I am talking about Covid-19 when the pandemic situation has changed. There is something related to that.
Though the coronavirus is not completely swiped out of the country, it has been controlled, unlike during the 2019-2021 period. But the remnants of what it has caused to the country have not yet been controlled, it seems.
Recently, two Californian women’s arduous efforts sprouted out the country’s first Remdesivir lawsuits of its kind.
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Let's see in detail what happened to those plaintiffs due to the Remdesivir administration and who is at fault.
What is Remdesivir?
When is Remdesivir prescribed to Covid-19 patients? Remdesivir injection is used in hospitalized and non-hospitalized adults and children 28 days of age and older who weigh at least 6.6 pounds to treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 infection) caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Gilead Sciences produced and marketed Remdesivir for Covid treatment during the emergency pandemic period.
It is said that in early October 2020, Gilead made a pact with the European Union to distribute Remdesivir for Covid pneumonia. This was said to be more than a $1 billion deal.
Has Remdesivir been FDA approved?
Toward the end of October 2020, the Food and Drug Administration of the U.S. gave EUA approval to treat coronavirus.
What is Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)?
The FDA's Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) authority allows it to facilitate the availability and use of medications during public health emergencies such as chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats, including infectious diseases, in order to protect public health. This can be done even without proper trials to understand the efficacy and the side effects of the drug.
What did the Studies Prove?
Since the whole world was fighting tooth and nail to control the deadly virus, Gilead reaped its revenue silently in the name of supplying a life-saving elixir. People were made to believe that ‘Remdesivir saves lives.’
However, the clinical studies prior to the approval lead the scientists to suspect its efficacy. One of the studies proved that Remdesivir did not create any kind of effect in reducing the infection. Another study revealed that it had only reduced a moderate recuperation time from the illness. But the epic finding was made by the World Health Organization (WHO) when it found that Remdesivir could not rescue people from death or reduce the recovery time from the illness.
The FDA was not in a situation to analyze the efficiency of the drug due to the severity of the situation. Remdesivir was considered the only anti-viral drug to fight against the virus. Scientists and researchers felt that Gilead did not give the FDA the study report on the efficiency of the virus.
Can Remdesivir cause liver damage?
Though most clinical trials have not shown any significant connection between Remdesivir and liver toxicity, some small-scale trials have reported that Remdesivir can cause an elevation in two liver enzymes, Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT).
The National Institutes of Health says that Remdesivir side effects can be fatal. According to them, individuals with kidney impairment or failure may experience liver or kidney toxicity as a result of the release of Remdesivir's sulfobutylether beta-cyclodextrin sodium.
What Made the Situation Worse?
We have filed a lawsuit against another Southern California hospital alleging constructive fraud in giving Remdesivir without the patient's consent and causing organ failure and death.
— Matthew P Tyson (@MatthewPTyson) August 8, 2022
Getting a dangerous drug in an emergency situation is unfortunate. But being compelled to take the drug is unlawful. During the pandemic, many such instances occurred in some hospitals across the U.S.
They were not asked for informed consent before the injection. Informed consent was even denied to those who asked for it. It is very unfortunate that many of the patients were compelled to take it.
Many people allege that Gilead made the hospitals prescribe their drugs to the patients.
Hospitals were incentivized to use Remdesivir as Covid treatment during the pandemic. This led to many deaths. Lawsuits have been filed against three California health care providers. Will more follow? pic.twitter.com/Of1G5sH0Aq
— America's Frontline Doctors (@AFLDSorg) October 10, 2022
A medical freedom fighter who understood the dangers of the drug started warning people and doctors. But her plea fell on deaf ears. The patients who were hospitalized were administered Remdesivir without the knowledge of their families.
A woman contacted her about a friend. Her friend was a forty-year-old single mother who had been admitted to the hospital for shortness of breath. Despite the efforts of the woman who fought against it and the close friend of the hospitalized woman, the doctors were able to administer the drug. She was given many rounds of Remdesivir, which caused kidney and liver damage. Her fight against the coronavirus ended in September 2021 due to multiple organ failures.
The two women tried their best to gather evidence and support from experts like Dr. Bryan Ardis, Dr. Peter McCollough, Dr. Angie Farella, and the toxicologist Dr. Janci Lindsay.
Californian Women’s War Against Remdesivir
In September 2022, two women who wanted to get justice for the death of their husbands filed Remdesivir lawsuits. They alleged that the doctors of Inland Empire hospitals prescribed Remdesivir to treat them. They were negligent in not revealing Remdesivir’s toxicity.
The lawsuits, filed in the state court against Kaiser Permanente Riverside Medical Center and Redlands Community Hospital, as well as several of their physicians, allege that doctors committed fraud by prescribing Remdesivir to the victims without their knowledge or consent. Doctors allegedly failed to explain that the drug is ineffective in treating Covid -19, is toxic to the kidneys, and can result in death, according to the complaints.
Remdesivir Deaths Kidney Failure Lawsuit
How did the story of the Remdesivir lawsuits unfold?
Let’s see what compelled those two women to proceed with lawsuits and their allegations.
Christina Briones
Christina Briones has filed a Remdesivir kidney failure lawsuit on the death of her husband, Rodney Briones. The 50-year-old man was affected by Covid-19 on August 1, 2021. When his symptoms became worse, he was taken to Kaiser Permanente. He was ambulatory on August 10 at the time of the initial consultation.
Brione was given some basic treatment and was sent home. Briones' condition worsened, and he was transported by ambulance to Kaiser on August 12, where he was admitted and given a five-day course of Remdesivir, according to the lawsuit. He was given the medicine without consent.
Brione’s condition grew worse day by day, and his kidneys started failing. He was transferred to the ventilator but succumbed to death on September 12, 2021.
Ms. Briones alleged in the lawsuit that Kaiser Riverside physician failed to provide an alternative safe drug early to treat her husband. If the hospital and the physicians had done that, her husband would have recovered from Covid-19 and been alive. A multidrug treatment therapy or care from a specialist physician would have prevented the mishap.
The lawsuit claims, “The drug does not help patients with Covid -19 survive and does not shorten the recovery time of those patients who do survive, but it does cause serious side effects and death.” Many studies have already proved its adverse side effects and ineffective nature. Even then, Briones was given Remdesivir when his condition was worsening. A better treatment than Remdesivir should have been chosen. The physician was negligent in that.
Evangeline Ortega
Evangeline Ortega’s husband, Armando Ortega, was administered Remdesivir at Redlands Community Hospital. The 65-year-old healthy man was given a medicine that was dangerous. They were not informed of the side effects of the drug.
The administration of Remdesivir caused adverse side effects on her husband. He encountered kidney damage and many other organ failures. His prolonged suffering resulted in his death on January 6, 2021.
Evangeline Ortega alleged in her lawsuit that a drug that was medically not appropriate to treat coronavirus should not have been administered to her husband. The hospital and the physician were negligent in using a dangerous drug on her husband.
Both lawsuits by Ortega and Briones are represented by the attorneys Matthew Tyson and Bryan Garrie. They have also filed another Remdesivir deaths-related lawsuit against Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica.
They have more plans to file Remdesivir lawsuits against many other hospitals like Corona Regional Medical Center and Kindred Hospital Rancho in Rancho Cucamonga for similar allegations.
They felt that the hospitals were negligent in denying the patients of their choice of treatment and not getting their informed consent. In a way, they were responsible for the untimely death of the victims. Attorney Tyson claimed, “We are helping victims to raise public awareness and hold the physicians and hospitals accountable for this atrocity.”
The flood of lawsuits are coming in - CA has at least 2 counties; Orange County & Riverside are suing hospitals for using the drug Remdesivir as the hospitals received kickbacks when they were used for Covid, which hurt patient organs. https://t.co/rbiuiWiCkV
— Zine Scene (@Zine_Scene_) October 25, 2022
Don’t think that these Californian women are the only ones who have sued hospitals for treating patients without informed consent and leading to fatalities. Danette Gillingham has filed a lawsuit over the death of her mother.
Danette Gillingham
Danette’s mother, Judith Kneeland, 74, died on September 16, 2021.
Gillingham was affected by COVID in July 2021. Her mother was hospitalized for dehydration and oxygen level. Her family was not permitted to accompany her inside the hospital. Kneeland was given an IV and placed on oxygen, according to her daughter.
She was given Remdesivir and other medications without the family’s consent. Ver soon her organs started failing, and she succumbed to death after the struggle on September 16.
Danette alleged that her mother was killed by administering Remdesivir at Clovis Community Hospital.
This Remdesivir lawsuit California woman filed against Remdesivir is one among the three against Clovis Community, CRMC, and St. Agnes.
Her attorney Dan Watkins said, “It’s going to be a battle of the experts. And we’re going to have experts who will come with mounds and mounds of information to show Remdesivir is deadly. It doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do.”
Second Wrongful Death Lawsuit
As per the Nevada Globe, the second wrongful death lawsuit on Remdesivir was filed on December 27, 2022, by Attorneys Sigal Chattah and Joey Gilbert. Patrick Casale, an heir of Marlene Strano, filed the lawsuit against Mountain View Hospital and its staff for being negligent.
Marlene Strano was admitted to the hospital on November 20, 2020, and her condition was normal for three days while she was on a bi-pap machine for treating patchy pneumonia.
The family members were not sure why she was moved to the ICU after three days and intubated for respiratory failure despite “her vital signs were stable, her pulse ox was normal, and her chest x-ray was improving.”
After the Remdesivir administration, Ms. Strano had seizures and later had a hypotensive shock. On December 7, 2020, she died of acute hypoxic respiratory failure, renal failure, and septic shock.
They alleged that the hospital failed to use other inexpensive but effective treatment options other than administering the costly Remdesivir, which turned out to be dangerous for Ms. Strano.
Can Gilead Get Away From Liability?
Remember, these lawsuits against Remdesivir are not actually filed against the manufacturers but only against the facilities and physicians.
But do you think the manufacturers have no role in these fatalities? It is high time to think of the responsibilities of the manufacturer in marketing a drug that is expected to save lives.
In the beginning, Gilead marketed the drug, known as Veklury in the United States, to be used in hospitals to treat very sick patients with COVID-19 for the past year and a half.
However, later Gilead revealed that Remdesivir could also help high-risk patients avoid the hospital. In other words, it may aid patients suffering from immune suppression or diabetes in avoiding severe COVID-19 disease.
Through such studies, Gilead tried to prove to the healthcare world in the emergency situation that Remdesivir could do wonders. But as we have seen in the studies from the WHO, it is discovered that it is not as efficient as claimed by Gilead.
Has Gilead intentionally marketed a defective or less effective drug to reap benefits? That too at the cost of risking the lives of the patients. Doesn’t Gilead have any responsibility for all these fatalities reported of Remdesivir? Will Gilead be held accountable for its negligence? – all these are million-dollar questions.
It is to be kept in mind that when the already available Covid-19 treatment medications like monoclonal antibodies and COVID pills became scarce, Gilead marketed its so-called “highly-efficient” Remdesivir as a life savior.
The drug did not come to the market for a low price. The clinics have paid $520 per vial or $2,080 per course to purchase it. This also reinforces the fact that Gilead exploited a life-and-death situation to aggregate wealth.
The incidents of Remdesivir-related deaths across the U.S. may lead to medical malpractice lawsuits in the present. But during the course of litigation, if the pieces of evidence point the fingers at Remdesivir’s toxicity as the culprit behind the fatality, then Gilead will be in the soup.
Many studies have already shown that it is ineffective in treating coronavirus. If the attorneys can prove that Gilead knowingly marketed the dangerous drug at a critical time, many product liability claims, Remdesivir class action lawsuits, or mass tort lawsuits may be filed in the near future.
Even if it claims that the drug was developed in an emergency to combat a deadly virus, it cannot escape responsibility for not ensuring the drug's safety and efficacy.
Let’s wait and watch the course of these Remdesivir deaths kidney failure lawsuits to know what is awaiting Gilead in the Remdesivir lawsuits.
Lawsuit Against Gilead
A product liability action filed against Gilead Sciences and St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea Inc. in the Eastern District court of Michigan, was transferred to the federal court. The case was filed on behalf of Daniel Nowacki, Kathleen P. Nowacki, and Mark Nowacki.
According to the lawsuit, Mark suffered injuries as a result of receiving Remdesivir, an antiviral medication that Gilead withdrew because it included glass particles.
As of now, we can't predict the course of the lawsuit. Let's wait until any significant step is taken by the court.
I take this opportunity to remind all the patients who have undergone serious side effects after the Covid-19 treatment to ensure that your medical records are error-free and have documented all the changes in your health during the treatment. Medical records are the only solid evidence that proves that you are endangered by the drug or physician.
An expert medical record review company like LezDo can dig out the shreds of evidence of malpractice or negligence from even the most intriguing medical records. Your medical records can be churned out to prove your injuries and damages.
Discover hidden insights in medical records for a stronger claim!
Before winding up, listen to what the American Frontline Nurses have to tell you about this forced use of Remdesivir on patients.
I’ve been trying to warn you since 2020.
Now it’s 2023 and #Remdesivir #Veklury continues to use to harm people including pregnant women and children.
Thank you @Brokentruth for this video#teratogenic#Unsafeforpregnancy#Brokentruth#americanfrontlinenurses
Please ReTweet! pic.twitter.com/o9g8vm08qI— AmericanFrontlineNurses (@AFLN2021) January 1, 2023
As the next wave of a new version of Corona Virus is on the way to causing a disaster, we should be alert and aware of what medicine is going to be given to our loved ones. Say "No" to unsafe medicines like Remdesivir.
Many people are still in search of attorneys to steer forward their claims. I hope this Twitter thread might be of some use to such people in a dilemma.
I only handle California. Check with https://t.co/hRT00vAcBp for a Florida attorney. Good luck!
— Matthew P Tyson (@MatthewPTyson) November 17, 2022
To wind up,
Though you are in an emergency or life-threatening situation, you have all the right to know the details of your treatment and give consent to it before getting it administered. Informed consent is your right. You can definitely move forward with a lawsuit when you feel wronged by getting inappropriate treatment without your consent.
Let’s hope these Remdesivir lawsuits bring a solution to those who suffered and those who are waiting for an opportunity to claim their damages.
Let us know your views on the Remdesivir lawsuits and the possibility of a class action lawsuit Remdesivir might face.
Visit our Twitter Account:
1/6 Can the life-saving Remdesivir be dangerous?
Yes, two Californian women, Christina Briones and Evangeline Ortega say so.
They allege that their husbands died due to Remdesivir administration.#remdesivirlawsuits #remdesivirtoxicity #remdesivirdeaths #lezdomedlegal pic.twitter.com/zdSelFrohl— LezDo MedLegal (@LezDoMedLegal) October 31, 2022
