Lawsuit Filed in Cancer Case
May 12, 2001
A study conducted by the University of Oklahoma and sponsored by Immunex Corporation is the subject of a lawsuit filed today. The study involved testing the effectiveness of a new vaccine to prevent a certain type of skin cancer. Fourteen patients and their families sued the university and company accusing the study's lead investigator, Doctor J. Michael McGee, of battery and other unethical behavior.
The patients allege that Doctor McGee violated the requirements of the Nuremberg Code, the medical experimentation protocol adopted after Nazi atrocities in World War II. The lawsuit claims that Doctor McGee used the patients as guinea pigs and failed to adequately secure their consent to certain experimental procedures. "These subjects were vulnerable because they had [melanoma], [and] are desperate for any cure. [They] have the... right to be treated with dignity -- they have the right not to be guinea pigs," said an attorney who represents those suing the university. "[They] are vulnerable to being seduced into participating into trials that [violate] regulations," he says.
The vaccine being tested in the experiment caused many severe side effects including boils and mood changes. The vaccine was injected in over 90 patients and nearly 40 died, although it is not clear whether the vaccine caused their deaths. A nurse who participated early in the study resigned after she "realized the trial was off track." The nurse blew the whistle and Federal regulators stepped in to halt all studies conducted at the University of Oklahoma.
The lawsuit alleges that Doctor McGee told study participants that the vaccine was a cure for skin cancer, a clearly misleading statement according to court papers.
-- Article Courtesy of InjuryBoard.com
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