WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) – After filing a complaint in the Circuit Court for the City of Norfolk, Virginia on November 9, Paul Marik, MD, one of the most highly published critical care physicians in the world and the Director of the ICU at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital will be given his day in court.
The hearing set for Thursday, November 18, could lead to the reinstatement of several treatments that are currently banned by the Sentara Healthcare System.
“It’s shocking that physicians aren’t being allowed to practice medicine,” said Children’s Health Defense (CHD) president and general counsel Mary Holland. “The restrictions on doctors are unethical and costing people their lives.”
Marik was recently told by Sentara Healthcare that he could no longer administer a range of highly effective COVID-19 treatments to critically ill patients — the same treatments he has successfully used to reduce COVID deaths in the ICU by as much as 50%. The result of the prohibition has been a sharp increase in patient mortality.
Because Dr. Marik can no longer stand by while patients needlessly die without proper treatment, he filed a lawsuit to allow him and his colleagues to administer the combination of FDA-approved drugs and other therapies that has saved thousands of critically ill COVID-19 patients in the last 18 months.
On Friday, November 12, Sentara Hospital then filed a motion to dismiss Dr. Marik’s complaint against them for prohibiting several medications that he has been using to safely and effectively treat critically ill COVID patients since last year.
According to the subsequent response filed by Dr. Marik, Sentara’s dismissal motion is a “paper thin” effort to avoid the real life and death issue facing the hospital, by claiming that Dr. Marik lacks “standing” to bring his complaint because he himself (as opposed to his patients) has allegedly suffered no harm.
“Sentara’s defense avoids the very real harm to both the patient’s right to receive life-saving treatment and the right of her doctor to prescribe it,” said Fred Taylor, attorney for Dr. Marik.
“This case is about whether a hospital administration can legally prohibit critically ill COVID-19 patients from receiving information and treatment, if they and their doctors so decide it is medically appropriate for them,” Taylor continued. “Virginia law is clear, the attending physician and not the hospital has the authority to use the treatment they have deemed appropriate.”
In addition to the declarations of support and over 20 advance directives that were submitted to the court, the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) has received an outpouring of support for Dr Marik from around the world.
“It is truly inspiring to hear from so many that support this case and the right of doctors to follow their Hippocratic Oath and treat our patients the best we know how,” said Paul Marik, MD, chief, Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School, who practices in the Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
“We hope for a positive outcome on Thursday and that the court decides to put the power of medical decisions back in the hands of doctors and our patients,” Dr. Marik added.
More information will be posted on the FLCCC homepage as it becomes available.
The FLCCC Alliance was organized in March 2020 by a group of highly published, world renowned Critical Care physician/scholars – with the academic support of allied physicians from around the world – to research and develop lifesaving protocols for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in all stages of illness.
Their MATH+ Hospital Treatment Protocol – introduced in March 2020, has saved thousands of patients who were critically ill with COVID-19. Now, the FLCCC’s new I-Mask+ Prophylaxis and Early At-Home Outpatient Treatment Protocol with Ivermectin has been released – and is a potential solution to the global pandemic.
“The Sentara Healthcare System’s prohibition of the MATH+ protocol is a threat to every doctor and every patient in the U.S.,” said Pierre Kory, president and chief medical officer of the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC).
“We know the protocol is effective. Patients who could have been saved by MATH+ are dying because of the hospital’s baseless restriction. We will continue to see more deaths that could have been prevented until the court takes action and orders the hospital to reverse course.”
“The FLCCC stands behind Paul 100%,” continued Dr. Kory. “We take an oath as doctors to do no harm. I can’t think of a way of doing more harm to a patient than to not administer a treatment that you know can help them. No doctor should be forced to watch their patient die knowing that more could have been done to save them and that is exactly what Sentara is doing.”