Botox was approved the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1989 for the cosmetic treatment of facial lines. It is made from bacterium Clostridium, best known as the bacteria that causes botulism. Lethal in large doses, it paralyzes nerve endings in small doses, causing muscles to relax. When it is injected into the forehead area, lines and furrows disappear temporarily.
"This is a toxin. It has been studied as a biological weapon and is actually the most lethal substance on the planet"
Ray Chester's client, 48-year-old Sharla Helton, a doctor, alleged that Botox injections caused her constant pain, blurred vision and difficulty breathing—all symptoms consistent with botulism. "Botox is lethal and the problem is you can't really tell where you are injecting it," says Chester. "If you hit a blood vessel or if the Botox spreads outside the muscle it can travel body wide and lead to botulism."Unable to work, Helton had to sell her practice and quit her job as medical director at Oklahoma City hospital. "She was earning about $500,000 a year," says Chester. "It was a good-sized verdict, we could have asked for more, but we tried to be conservative about it."
Allergan, which earns about $1.3 billion a year from sales of its anti-wrinkle drug, calls the verdict "inconsistent with all credible and scientific medical evidence" and plans to appeal.
Untended consequences from Botox injections surfaced as far back as 2004. In February 2008, the FDA linked Botox to adverse reactions, including respiratory failure and death due to the toxin's ability spread through the body.
Immediately after the FDA reported the link between Botox and botulism, Dee Speers contacted Chester. Her seven-year-old daughter died after being injected with Botox to ease muscle spasms associated with cerebral palsy.
"She thought, 'Oh my God, that's what happened to my daughter,'" says Chester.
Chester sued Allergan on behalf of Speers and her daughter. He lost the case, but has continued to pursue other cases since.
"This is a toxin," says Chester. "It has been studied as a biological weapon and is actually the most lethal substance on the planet."
The FDA approval dose for Botox is 20 units, but Chester says Allergan encourages use over the approved limits by selling Botox in 50 unit vials, which can only be used once for hygienic reasons. "Over two thirds of their sales were off-label," says Chester. "And in the case of Dr. Helton, she was given 50 units in the upper part of her face."
READ MORE BOTOX AND MYOBLOC LEGAL NEWS
In September, Chester is heading for court in Orange County, California where a healthy 70-year-old nurse died after being injected with Botox to ease neck pain. "She had 100 units of Botox injected into her neck and it immediately affected her ability to swallow. She lost 40 pounds in five months and had to have a feeding tube put and ultimately went down hill and died."
Ray Chester is an attorney with McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore in Austin Texas. He areas of practice include business litigation, personal injury, product liability, pharmaceutical litigation and other contingent fee matters. He has tried over 30 jury cases and achieved numerous multimillion dollar verdicts and settlements.
READER COMMENTS
Lise Latulippe
on
In Canada right now I am presenting myself against three doctors that are trying to dismiss or through my case out but with this new information and testing positive for Botulism toxin I was granted seven weeks to get my case presented as to why it should go forward. Here is the link to the judge ruling and proof that I indeed tested positive for Botulism Neurotoxin!
liselatulippe.blogspot.com/2015/03/defense-wanted-to-dismiss-my-case-in.html
Valerie Casey
on
I had heard an ad on t.v. about Dysport & was impressed for the reason that it was revealed as to being a new & safe product of the Botox family. I had always been turned off with what I saw about Botox & knowing that is is a poison. I've had fillers before & with good results. So Dysport sounded like a great new experience. I researched it a little & couldn't find any reason to be concerned that it had serious side effects. My desire was to just soften up my laugh lines [crows feet area] & to also achieve a little lift to my eyebrows.
I made an appointment with a doctor that was advertising Dysport & with a coupon for a Christmas special, since it being a new product. I had chosen the very minimum to simply just try it & to see if I liked it. The next day my eyes were swelling & began burning. I called the nurse & she said to just keep warm packs on my eyes. Within the next week plus, my eyes felt like a sandblaster had been taken to them. My vision was strained & blurry. I remember that I really started to panic & began to cry. However, my eyes wouldn't tear WHATSOEVER. I was terrified. Anyway, my story is really lengthy. I've lost myself in so many ways & having any hope in the justice system anymore. I'm not a perfect person, yet what I continue to go through as a result that topped it off, was when I had the Dysport injected near my Lachrymal eye lands. Resulting in permanent zero tear production, vision loss, sensitivity to light for a very long time, severe eye infections, eyes were forcibly closing, so I had to sleep. Or having to constantly add eye drops every few minutes. Then 8 months later in August 2010, I woke up with severe double pneumonia & was also diagnosed with emphysema. I had never in my life had pneumonia. Oddly, the doctor said that my lungs looked like someone had taken a sandblaster to them & had worked around asbestos. I thought it was kind of strange that he 'too had said sandblaster'. Here is more info that describes the 1st few years. I've been through hell & there is no excuse as to why Dysport was not made known to me of what 'side effects' that I might possibly experience. What really got to me was how it was made available for cosmetic purposes as a BLACK BOX WARNING on the bottled label. I believed in the doctors & what I read about it in 2009. I learned a lot about the poison, but it was too late for me to go back & cancel the appointment to have it done. I desperately was reaching out for answers & help. [when I could see] I was finding out about many terrible side effects. I had always been a health crier & to not be able to cry tears, was & is devastating. To sum it up with the sudden tear loss, eye infections, my lung disease, & like the domino effect, I only got worse as my eye glands grew until m right eye bled. I was diagnosed with Malt lymphoma in my lachrymal glands. Go figure. And before I was diagnosed with the cancer, I was seeking legal help. Yet, was told because of the statute of limitations that I could not be helped. But was told TO NOT GIVE UP. WELL, I DID GIVE UP SEVERAL TIMES. I began to believe or question if I even mattered. I'm so conscientious about my body & basic common sense. I know for a fact that something is really wrong with the justice system if they could see through my eyes as to experience what I have with all of this. And then to discard it all.
Lise Latulippe
on
Dee Spears
on
Sandra
on
Annette
on
Lise Latulippe
on
Thanks again for your time and your interest in this very important matter.
Jen
on
Lise
on
Many thanks in advance:)