Two Patients Sue Lung Institute Over ‘Sham’ Stem Cell Treatments [UPDATE]
by Erin Shaak
Last Updated on May 8, 2018
Rivero et al. v. Lung Institute, LLC
Filed: December 29, 2017 ◆§ 8:17-cv-03113
A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed against Lung Institute, LLC over allegations that the company’s 'unambiguous quackery' has deceived patients into paying thousands of dollars for 'sham' stem cell treatments.
Case Updates
May 22, 2020 – Class Certification Granted
The judge overseeing this lawsuit, which has been remanded to Florida’s Hillsborough County Circuit Court, recently granted the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification.
According to court documents, the class action will cover anyone who underwent venous, adipose and/or bone marrow “stem cell” therapy and/or supplemental therapies at the Lung Institute facility in Tampa within the four years prior to the filing of the initial complaint.
A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed against Lung Institute, LLC over allegations that the company’s “unambiguous quackery” has deceived patients into paying thousands of dollars for “sham” stem cell treatments that fail to produce the promised results. The defendant allegedly claims its three “stem cell therapy” procedures can “regenerate, repair, or regrow” lung tissue and “heal degenerating organs.” In reality, the lawsuit attests, the defendant’s procedures are not backed by any medical literature or human studies and are instead supported by the “testimonials” of incentivized doctors and patients.
According to the complaint, the defendant “intentionally circumvents FDA regulation by purporting to inject patients’ own ‘stem cells’ back into their bodies.” The plaintiffs both allege that after paying thousands of dollars for the procedures, which insurance companies allegedly refuse to cover, they saw no improvement in their conditions and exhibited none of the defendant’s promised results.
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