Seasoned New York attorney, Beth Parlato, has been working tirelessly on 85 cases (and counting) with the same issue: family members with hospitalized Covid patients want to try ivermectin because the current hospital protocol is failing. The law firm of Ralph Lorigo, (with 130 cases so far) asked Parlato (who has her own firm) to take on the overwhelming swarm of ivermectin-based cases that need pertinent expertise and a track record of success. Lorigo came into the spotlight for being the first attorney suing a hospital that refused to administer ivermectin to a patient with Covid-19. Jason Jones, (a deputy and father of six,) has been in intensive care at a hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, since early October. After an initial favorable judgment in court for Parlato and Jones, Texas Health Huguley Hospital appealed and overturned the order. However, Parlato’s persistence won’t be deterred, because, to her, it’s a matter of life or death.
—-Our patients who get ivermectin live, the ones who don’t get it die. That’s a fact.” —- Beth Parlato
Before recruiting Parlato for these special cases, Lorigo became the go-to ivermectin litigator after a friend with an elderly relative was hospitalized with Covid-19. Lorigo’s friend found promising research with the anti-parasitic, Nobel-prize-winning therapeutic that has been safely dosed to humans by the billions. (India is utilizing ivermectin, and although it has a billion more people, it has 16.5 million less cases and half the deaths of the US.)
Lorigo won, and the ailing woman progressed off her ventilator and is now back in her home. Intrigued by the success of the drug, (often ridiculed by mainstream media outlets, and its efficacy unsubstantiated by the FDA,) Lorigo connected with an association called Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC). The FLCCC is a group of physicians who created an alternative protocol “centered around the drug, ivermectin—which is effective for prevention as well as treating early and late phases of COVID-19,” according to their site.
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Lorigo’s novel case received a lot of press. After appearing on a video podcast that had thousands of viewers, Lorigo was inundated with cases. He asked Parlato to take some of the caseload. “He wanted a lawyer who believed in the cause…and I thought ‘yes, this is way more important than anything I’m doing at my firm.’”
Political Party Affiliations Predict Patient Outcomes
Lorigo serves as Conservative Party Chairman for Erie County, and Vice-Chair for the State of New York, which is how he came to know Parlato. Years ago, Parlato ran for Congress with the GOP endorsement. “Obviously if you are a conservative in New York, you are not winning, but it was just something that I did. So, I got to know him pretty well and he knows my politics. Unfortunately, this is a political issue, and it shouldn’t be. It absolutely shouldn’t be, but it is.”
Parlato and her team google their judges to confirm their political party affiliation prior to trial. “If we have a judge that’s left-leaning, we always lose, and if we have a judge that’s right-leaning, we win. It’s disgusting.”
Speeding Up Her Strategy
Among her cases, Parlato says “the grim reality is, there is a great number (about 30 so far) that die before we ever get it into court.” Those senselessly tragic outcomes weigh on her, especially because she becomes close to the families.
The main roadblock to getting these cases to court quickly is filing for Power of Attorney or Guardianship, which can take a week.
Parlato recently devised a way to bypass this step by tracking down a healthcare proxy for the patient. Parlato says, fortunately, nine out of 10 times the patient has already signed one with their primary care doctor, or perhaps while filing paperwork at a previous hospital visit. The easy access to a previously signed proxy means she can now get her cases to court in 24 hours in New York, and 72 for out-of-state cases. (Regarding out-of-state cases, she partners with local attorneys but remains the main litigator during virtual court proceedings.)
The Fragile Fate of Jason Jones
The Jones case is a multi-faceted story; it was the first of its kind to even escalate to appeals, and the family’s GoFundMe was shut down with $36,000 due to “prohibited conduct.” (The popular fundraising site has a history of deleting campaigns for people who oppose vaccine mandates or died from a Covid vaccine. A representative assured that the money raised prior would be awarded to his wife Erin Jones, despite cutting the fundraiser.)
Dr. Mary Bowden
Another notable piece of this story includes the FLCCC doctor Erin Jones found, who was willing to prescribe ivermectin. Dr. Mary Bowden is an ENT and has a private practice called BreatheMD.
Another Texas hospital, Houston Methodist, (where she recently joined the staff,) has accused her of “spreading misinformation” on her social media regarding the success of her protocol with ivermectin and monoclonal antibodies.
She replied with a resignation letter: “During the past two years, I have worked hard to provide early treatment for victims of Covid-19. My efforts have been successful. I have treated more than 2000 Covid-19 patients, including many with co-morbidities, and none of these patients have required hospitalization.”
Bowden has also been criticized for announcing that she would begin taking on only new unvaccinated patients after she realized unvaccinated patients were being turned away from surgical care. This was spun by the media, slapping an anti-vax label on Bowden.
While Bowden is vaccinated, she says she opposes vaccine mandates “on principle.” She acknowledges that vaccines “are an important tool in the fight against Covid-19,” but states that because “vaccines are not 100% effective,” early treatment “must still be part of any strategy for patient care.”
“I do not spread misinformation, and my opinions are supported by science. There is substantial evidence for the efficacy of ivermectin in treating Covid-19, and no evidence for serious or fatal side effects associated with the doses used to treat Covid-19.”
In a press conference, Bowden said she was caught off-guard by the defamation she received by Houston Methodist. (Houston Methodist was one of the first to mandate vaccines for employees. 150 have quit regarding the mandate.) In turn, she asked for “transparency” regarding their success rate with treating more than 25,000 Covid-19 patients, which she says they will not provide. Parlato talks more about this later.
Keeping Up with the Joneses
Independent journalist Emily Miller has written several articles chronicling the Jones case since the beginning. The outpour of interest and support she’s garnered prompted her to create a thread devoted to his latest updates.
Prior to his admittance at Huguley, Jason was denied his request for ivermectin at a total care clinic. He visited another local hospital, but left because he had reservations about remdesivir, (the FDA EUA approved anti-inflammatory for Covid-19 patients.) “He had done some research prior, before even getting Covid, about the side effects, the kidneys shutting down and the liver” said Mrs. Jones. “He wasn’t being listened to, so he said ‘come get me.’”
The Huguley Staff
At Huguley, his condition worsened, and was put on a ventilator. “He told me, ‘Get a lawyer, they are going to kill me.’” Her husband gave his last wishes to Erin in anticipation of his death.
When she spoke with his doctor, Dr. Jason Seiden, Director of Critical Care Medicine, Erin Jones said he told her “It’s just a shame — all you unvaccinated– you get sick and come running to the professionals.” (TrialSite contacted Huguley for comment but received no response.)
Seiden said he “wasn’t going to deviate from the protocol” by adding ivermectin. Seiden explained that typically once a patient is on a ventilator, “it’s just a wait and see.” The goal was to see Jason Jones’ oxygen levels rise, then flip him off his stomach to start weaning him off the ventilator around week three, but if not, Seiden said: “then we’ll be having a different conversation,” according to Erin Jones. A nurse ultimately told her that the conversation would be “hospice,” a.k.a end-of-life care.
Erin Jones began to doubt the staff’s urgency of weaning her husband off the ventilator when his oxygen levels did improve but was still left on his stomach. The suspicion of inattentiveness was when Erin Jones sought legal counsel. After that, Seiden and Erin Jones had minimal communication. Seiden was removed from the case with no explanation.
Huguley vs. Jones
Initially, Parlato was granted an emergency order that Bowden should be given privileges at Huguley, and an outside nurse could administer the ivermectin. The hospital feigned cooperation with the judgment, then refused to adhere to the ruling when they obtained a stay order. They called the police on Erin Jones and the nurse. With her order in hand, she welcomed the call. The hospital administrators told the Fort Worth Police that ivermectin “will kill him.”
“It’s not like I got (the ivermectin) off the street,” said Mrs. Jones, “I went to a compound pharmacy to get it filled.”
In appeals, Huguley hospital stated their reasons for disallowing Bowden to administer the drug.
They explained that Bowden is not a credentialed member of the hospital, doesn’t have intensive care experience, and “did not review Mr. Jones’ records or visit with Mr. Jones prior to administering the prescription.”
Lorigo pointed out that ivermectin is prescribed to all immigrants at the US border, who also are not seen, nor are their medical records reviewed. However, Erin Jones did provide Bowden with her husband’s medical history to the best of her knowledge during their telehealth visit but also said that when she asked for his official medical records from Huguley, the hospital evaded her.
The hospital’s defense testified that Seiden made a 4 a.m. emergency visit to the hospital to put a chest tube into Jason Jones when his lung collapsed, to convey that Seiden was committed to Jason Jones’ recovery. However, Seiden revealed that the ventilator puts additional pressure on the patient’s lungs which results in lung collapse.
Seiden explained that there could be complications in trying to crush up ivermectin pills into a feeding tube for Jason Jones and that the recommended dosage was around 100 times higher than what is administered for anti-parasitic purposes. Lorigo confirmed the NIH protocol when using ivermectin is the same dosage that Bowden prescribed.
Seiden also mentioned a few side effects that were of concern, the most severe being arrhythmia, although he said there was only a 4% chance.
Then, Lorigo asked Seiden about the efficacy and safety of remdesivir. Seiden admitted the drug was applied to the protocol by the FDA after just one study with 1,062 patients. Seiden confirmed knowing that “the most commonly reported adverse effects were renal failure, kidney failure,” via the WHO. Lorigo asked Seiden to confirm that there have been 7,690 adverse effects in two years, 560 deaths, and 945 cardiac disorders. “I have no reason to refute it. I have never seen the numbers,” Seiden replied.
Lorigo contrasts this with the number of adverse effects from ivermectin in 35 years: 5,695 adverse effects and zero deaths including its use around the world for the treatment of Covid-19. Seiden said he believes these numbers are the result of a lack of reporting.
The Jones family lost in appeals court. Ultimately, it decided that it does not have jurisdiction in Texas to interfere in conflicts between doctors and patients.
However, Parlato’s client in Virginia, Kathleen Davies, not only won the right to have ivermectin administered by Fauquier Hospital but it would be fined by the court $10,000 per day for every day they refused, as Huguley did.
Parlato’s Theory on Why Government Health Leaders are Opposed
After suing the same hospitals repeatedly, Parlato has gotten to know the defense attorneys well enough to ask for a genuine explanation. “I know it’s money, but let’s go beyond it because we see the facts. Our patients who get ivermectin live, the ones who don’t get it die. That’s a fact.”
With close connections in D.C., Parlato said there were already “inklings” of what would turn into a worldwide pandemic back in December of 2019 when the outbreak started in China. Early on, in terms of analyzing medicinal solutions, “ivermectin was thrown out there, and hydroxychloroquine was thrown out there.” However, since the promise of these options was promoted by the Trump administration, the democratic population didn’t embrace them as potential tools. Yet approximately 600 doctors still pursued the efficacy of both options.
When it came to fast-tracking the vaccines for Emergency Use Authorization, says Parlato, “part of the FDA requirements is that there cannot be an alternative. So ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine had to be thrown under the table.”
“This is a fact. The congressmen on the right will admit it, which is why 200 of them are taking ivermectin prophylactically…but the (Biden) administration is never going to admit that’s what happened.” Parlato said that the FLCCC came about as a result of promising alternatives being quashed for an all-or-nothing vaccine strategy.
Another part of her theory is that ivermectin has been around for decades and cannot be patented. Therefore, the drug is as inexpensive as a few dollars per pill. “The federal government was not going to put billions into a study on ivermectin as to its efficacy on Covid because there was no money to be made.”
“So they come out with remdesivir, that’s manufactured about 18 months ago, and they did only one study, only 1100 patients, it only had a fifty percent effective rate, and it’s $3600 a pill,” and yet the U.S. authorized it for emergency use, says Parlato.
Hospitals have reasons to vent patients, yet hide success rates
There have now been 65 clinical trials and over 20 countries using ivermectin, says Parlato. “The biggest study we (use) in our trials is Bangladesh, they have three times as many people and minimal deaths because ivermectin is their protocol.”
“In the U.S. our protocol is remdesivir, steroids, (and antibiotics if bacterial infection occurs) for five days…During that time (patients) will either be on the BiPAP, CPAP, or the nasal cannula and if there is no improvement in oxygen saturation levels, they put you on a vent.” In terms of money to be made, Parlato points out that each hospital receives funding in the amount of $39,000 for each Covid-19 patient on a ventilator.
“There are no statistics on how many patients are getting off the ventilator, hospitals won’t do it. They’re not inclined. You are not going to find it, we have tried.” Only through her experience in litigating these ivermectin cases is she able to estimate about a 10% success rate. “Every hospital puts their ICU doctor and the pulmonologist on the stand, and we ask what the chances are of (the patient) getting off the vent. We have to corner them.” Instead of providing their data, the hospital doctors give ambiguous responses.
“You are not going to hear me say all doctors and hospitals are bad…I know they are trying. But I think that they are not open-minded to alternative treatments.” Parlato says that the mindset in hospitals is beginning to change now that the NIH has changed its stance on ivermectin from not recommending, to a neutral stance that more studies need to be conducted to determine its efficacy either way.
Defining ‘Right to Try’ and Its Purpose
When Erin Jones heard her husband was given a 10-15% chance to live, she gave up all liability to the hospital. “That’s when my ‘right to try’ should come in.” (Texas’ law called “right to try” grants terminally ill patients legal access to receive off-label or experimental medication.) “All I want to do is to give him the medication to see if it would work because if not, I know where I am headed anyways.” Texas Senator Bob Hall also testified on Jones’ behalf, citing this Texas law.
In fairness to the hospital, Jason Jones refused parts of the protocol. So, it’s understandable, from their point of view, to believe that his health would be in further jeopardy from those decisions.
However, Seiden and Huguley would certainly have a more compelling argument regarding their hesitancy against ivermectin, if only remdesivir was not currently in their protocol. And if only they were still on the hook in terms of liability. And if only the US was seeing fewer Covid deaths with the current protocol and the addition of vaccines. And if there wasn’t “Right to Try.”
Fortunately, on December 11, Jason made a turnaround, and is now out of his coma, for reasons that Parlato and Erin Jones intend to reveal when Jason Jones is discharged. In a bizarre twist, New York state has created sites where addicts can dope with illegal drugs, under the supervision of medical care. If US citizens are allowed to use illegal and lethal drugs in defiance of medical safety, why can’t a patient on his/her deathbed receive a non-fatal drug proven safer and perhaps more promising in the fight against Covid-19?
