Judge Orders Hospital to Offer Unapproved Drug to COVID Patient

December 16, 2021 by Tom Ramstack
Judge Orders Hospital to Offer Unapproved Drug to COVID Patient
The Fauquier County Courthouse.

FAUQUIER COUNTY, Va. — A Virginia judge ruled last week that a hospital has no authority to block a family’s choice to be treated for COVID-19 with the controversial drug ivermectin.

The drug is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned in an advisory in August that ivermectin has made some patients seriously ill.

Nevertheless, the family of Fauquier County, Virginia, resident Kathy Davies says they might have no other chance to save her life. She was on a ventilator in intensive care at Fauquier Health hospital for more than a month.

Doctors have been preparing the family for the possibility she might not survive.

Her son, Chris Davies, is an X-ray technician at the hospital who heard about some COVID-19 patients finding relief with ivermectin.

The drug is most commonly used to deworm horses and cattle. An advisory on a Food and Drug Administration website says, “There’s a lot of misinformation around, and you may have heard that it’s okay to take large doses of ivermectin. It is not okay.”

When Chris Davies asked doctors at Fauquier Health to try ivermectin on his mother, they refused. He and his father sued to get a court order.

The hospital’s attorneys initially argued against an unapproved treatment.

A statement from the hospital said that “we cannot compel physicians to administer treatment that is against their clinical judgment and is not within the accepted medical standards of care. We believe that we have navigated these complexities as swiftly as possible and have remained in compliance with standard hospital practice, including federal and state regulations, throughout this matter.”

Judge James Fisher agreed with the Davies family. He ordered the hospital to allow the treatment or face a $10,000-a-day fine. 

The hospital staff complied. Kathy Davies received her first ivermectin treatment on Dec. 13.

Tom can be reached at [email protected]

A+
a-
  • COVID-19
  • ivermectin
  • Litigation
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Law

    March 25, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    DC Attorney General Warns Sports Teams About Relocating to Virginia

    WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia’s attorney general is invoking a contract provision with local professional sports teams in the... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia’s attorney general is invoking a contract provision with local professional sports teams in the city’s latest bid to keep them from relocating to Northern Virginia. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb told Monumental Sports and Entertainment in a letter last week... Read More

    March 22, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Judge Upholds DC Law Giving Noncitizens Voting Rights

    WASHINGTON — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Thursday against the District of Columbia Board of Elections that sought to... Read More

    WASHINGTON — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Thursday against the District of Columbia Board of Elections that sought to invalidate a law giving noncitizens a right to vote in local elections. The Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act would allow anyone who is a resident... Read More

    March 20, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Trump Wins Right of Appeal to Try to Disqualify Georgia Prosecutor

    ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump is getting another chance to exclude a prosecutor he accused of political reprisal in... Read More

    ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump is getting another chance to exclude a prosecutor he accused of political reprisal in his upcoming criminal trial in Atlanta on charges of illegally trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election vote count in Georgia. Trump asked the judge overseeing... Read More

    Pro-Trump Michigan Attorney Arrested After Hearing in DC Over Leaking Dominion Documents

    An attorney facing criminal charges for illegally accessing Michigan voting machines after the 2020 election was arrested Monday after a... Read More

    An attorney facing criminal charges for illegally accessing Michigan voting machines after the 2020 election was arrested Monday after a hearing in a separate case in federal court in Washington, D.C. Stefanie Lambert was arrested by U.S. Marshals after a hearing over possible sanctions against her... Read More

    March 15, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Fani Willis Can Continue Case Against Trump With Single Condition, Judge Rules

    ATLANTA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can continue to pursue an election interference case against former President Donald... Read More

    ATLANTA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can continue to pursue an election interference case against former President Donald Trump and several others — as long as the prosecutor with whom she had a romantic relationship steps aside, a judge in Georgia ruled on Friday.... Read More

    March 13, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Georgia Judge Dismisses Some Charges Against Trump

    ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants facing criminal prosecution in Georgia for trying to overturn the 2020... Read More

    ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants facing criminal prosecution in Georgia for trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election won a partial court victory Wednesday. A Georgia judge dismissed six of the 41 charges against the former president and his accused fellow conspirators.... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top