This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Someone has had the audacity to threaten the Hubbards with a class action lawsuit stating they are selling "snake oil" to us. Considering it can not possibly be the people they have scanned, it could possibly be the people that perhaps wanted to be scanned and perhaps thought the price too high, or even wished the cost to be $0.

In any case, the Los Angeles law firm and other party involved is not known but the Hubbards have been nothing but helpful with our quest for answers and do not deserve this ridiculous and frivolous law suit.

On the other hand perhaps the case could work in our favor as a media draw to our cause...?

Hard to say, but the Hubbards deserve our support for being willing to help us after helping their son; something they could have chosen not to do.

as we have seen so many times, its always easy to be negative about something. It takes lot more effort to produce something ...

It would be interesting to see the people behind the law suit. But I am really doubtful if true names will come out. But one thing is for sure, there is a concerted effort going on behind the scene to disrupt any progress. Every time a Drs name comes out, it gets shut down. Cannot be a coincidence ...
Hopefully this time true villians will come out and not send their proxy for the fight ...

Mahatma Gandhi once said.

"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win."

They've just got to the fighting stage. Be ready to Party when we win.

Colmmc.

If a legal support fund is created.. I will participate.
Any chance that this might be an 'ambulance chasing' law firm working unsolicited?

So true, colmmc. To get an idea of some of the promising treatments and even cures that have been shut down or sabotaged by those invested in the status quo, read the book When Healing Becomes A Crime by Kenny Ausubel. It addresses cancer, not MS, but it will turn your stomach.

Let us not underestimate the depths to which some of those in power will go, who would like to see Dr. Zamboni's hypothesis buried. I maintain hope that the truth about CCSVI will ultimately prevail, because of the power of the internet and our MS activists (thank you, Joan and all!!), and also because of the self-interest of interventional radiologists and vascular surgeons. And let us not forget the truly caring, competent and open-minded neurologists out there, who will also be our allies. (I've met one.)

I fear the war has just begun. (I hope I'm wrong.)

People in the USA love lawsuits. Especially the lawyers . I don't have a clue what basis there is for such a lawsuit against the Hubbards. There is no requirement for them to offer the testing or procedure for free. This whole CCSVI phenomenon has become a 3 ring circus when it should be about science and compassion for human suffering. Freedom in the United States has turned into "freedom to sue". What happened to the freedom to choose whatever treatment that the patient and doctor deem suitable ?

ozarkcanoer

The premise for the lawsuit is interesting. A class action lawsuit, huh? On what grounds?

The basis behind any lawsuit is that a party incurred injury at the hands of another party. So in this class action, who has been injured?

Class actions are also a neat way of hiding the identity of the parties. Nice little tactic.

I am not an attorney, but I have a lot of expertise in this area (due to my line of work). If I received that letter, I would do the following (in this order):

- Obtain competent counsel. Have said counsel respond to the letter with a cease-and-desist order under the premise of harassment.

- After that has been done, fax the letter to the media along with prepared statement. Stress compassion, the science behind CCSVI and the premise that everyone deserves the right to treatment of a condition that prevents proper blood flow from a major organ. Highlight that the treatment is done globally and is the standard to repair a blockage regardless of the cause.

- Wait. The class action could proceed, in which case their counsel could file motions to dismiss, or even file a countersuit; if the defendants are who I believe they are, that could be most interesting.

But regardless, they (nor we) should give up. If it is a fight they want, then damn it, give them a fight. None of us are Liberated until all of us at least have the right to be.

_________________
Three veins angioplastied.  One renewed life.  

I agree, lawsuits are filed over stupidity and I also agree that we are adults here and we have the right to choose our medical treatments.

A quote from a FBer: "In a case like that you either have to prove fraud, (they can't do that) or negligence (and they can't necessarily do that, either)."

Here here BooBear!

boobear, can the hubbards countersue in a class action? i'm no attorney for sure but it sounds like defamation of character amongst other things. i think it is another attempt to try to scare and stop good dr.'s from doing this. but guess what, this class action suite just might come back and bite these dirty low life, pond scum sucking, pukes fileing this suite right square in the ass. wow, i am more convinced than ever that ccsvi and what they learn from it is gonna bring home the mother load as far as helping many many people. i don't recall a resistance to any other treatment thats been out there that has caused so much turmoil and na saying. and they want it to look like they are looking out fo our interest. YEAH RIGHT!

Blossom, The Hubbards can countersue but the problem with that is IF the other party has already filed suit then the countersuit will not be heard until the first one completes. Basically it does no good in the short term. I think they should publicly announce this suit and its baseless claims and let those of us who have been scanned stand with them explaining we are not being duped into anything and are well aware of what we have asked him to do for us.

What would they countersue for?

Defamation would be one option.

Best,
Rosie
My blog: http://gothicrosie.wordpress.com/
transverse myelitis May '07 & optic neuritis Oct '07
DXd RRMS Dec. ‘07: No lesions & 3 OG bands
Hubbard MRV scan Jun. ‘10

I believe all aspects of a lawsuit are privileged from defamation. Otherwise every plaintiff would be liable.

It's because people with MS do qualify as being a 'vulnerable population.' So we have been injured, and the fact that we disagree does not even matter because of the vulnerable population thing, when we pay money for an unproven treatment.

_________________
"However, the truth in science ultimately emerges, although sometimes it takes a very long time," Arthur Silverstein, Autoimmunity: A History of the Early Struggle for Recognition