Three Damage Claims Keep Court, Feds,
County Officials Hopping
By John Millrany - August 22, 2001Legal claims concerning dietary supplements, hospital treatment and tobacco-caused cancers have been resolved, at least for the present, in three recent incidents in California.
From Washington, DC, it was announced that Tustin-based Liverite Dietary Products is settling federal charges that it falsely claimed it products could prevent such serious liver diseases as cirrhosis and hepatitis, even claiming a cure for hangovers.
The Federal Trade Commission Aug. 21 ticketed Liverite and four operators of the company and the developers of its Websites for $60,000 and ordered them not to make such claims without backing them up with scientific evidence.
The FTC reported that Web information and product packaging in radio and print advertisement falsely claimed clinical tests proved Liverite products are "the ultimate liver aid." Promotions claimed that the products would prevent and treat hangovers and alcohol-induced liver diseases plus alleviate side effects of various drugs such as painkillers, allergy medications, immunosuppressants and anabolic steroids.
The Feds said Liverite used sophisticated technology to draw people to its Websites, including links from internet surfing using such terms as AIDS and liver diseases.
Also on Tuesday, Los Angeles County Supervisors unanimously approved a $2.45 million settlement for Kathleen Kariotis, who was paralyzed from the waist down after treatment at two county hospitals.
After being transferred from a private hospital, Kariotis spent three days at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center suffering from back pain and leg numbness, according to county documents. Following preliminary diagnoses including lupus and kidney stones, she left against medical advice, but returned the next day. She then was transferred to County-USC Medical Center. Record show she had to wait 24 hours for a standard scan that indicated she had an epidural abscess.
One hour after the scan results, she underwent surgery but remained paralyzed.
According to county attorneys, the medical staff at Olive View should have diagnosed the abscess earlier and there was an unacceptable delay in the tests at County-USC. The settlement came after staff lawyers projected that a jury could find as much as an $11 million damage settlement for the victim.
Coming in four days ahead of a judge-imposed deadline, 57-year-old cancer victim Richard Boeken agreed to a record $100 million settlement against the nation’s biggest cigarette maker Phillip Morris, rather than going down the road to score an even larger possible reward from a jury trial.
Phillip Morris said it would appeal the award, which was part of an initial punitive award of $3 billion that didn’t happen. However, the company is required to post a $100 million bond with Los Angeles Superior Court pending a final outcome.
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