WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) – A Delaware judge has ruled against a man losing his battle with COVID-19 who sought to obtain a court order requiring his health care providers to treat him with ivermectin.
Patients do not have a right to a particular treatment, Chancery Court Vice Chancellor Morgan Zurn wrote on Sept. 24. Though David DeMarco obtained a prescription for the drug, which is used to fight parasites but has become a controversial preference for COVID patients, it came from a doctor who had never met DeMarco.
Staff at Wilmington Hospital refused to honor the prescription, leading DeMarco to seek relief from the court.
“This court will wield its equitable powers only to enforce a right or duty; in their absence, relief is not available,” Zurn wrote. “The patient has this Court’s sincerest sympathies and best wishes, but not an injunction.”
DeMarco checked in to Wilmington Hospital on Sept. 9, was diagnosed with COVID-19 and placed in isolation in the intensive care unit.
DeMarco said he did not wish to be placed on a ventilator but a week later, his condition had deteriorated to the point that he was “on the brink” of requiring one.
He had discussed ivermectin with his doctors but they declined to treat him with it. He claims its anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties will help his body deal with COVID.
On Sept. 16, he obtained a prescription from Dr. Adam Brownstein, who had not previously treated him and issued the prescription without examining him. Staff at the hospital refused to use ivermectin in his treatment.
DeMarco filed suit Sept. 17. On Sept. 19, he left the hospital against his doctors’ wishes so he could self-administer ivermectin.
“During this time, DeMarco took one ‘large’ dose of the prescribed ivermecting,” Zurn wrote. “Within hours, (Mary DeMarco) encountered what she described as a ‘catastrophic equipment failure’ when DeMarco’s oxygen mask broke in her hands.”
Mary called 911 and DeMarco ended up back at Wilmington Hospital. He is now on a ventilator.
“In short, DeMarco is gravely ill,” Zurn wrote.
However, Zurn does not agree that the hospital’s refusal to use ivermectin breaches a patient/physician contract and the Hippocratic Oath. DeMarco is also arguing he has a right to self-determination under Delaware law.
DeMarco backed his stance at a hearing with testimony from Dr. Ryan Partovi, who does not have a medical degree and does not treat ICU patients. Partovi, who has a doctorate from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, says he is a consultant for COVID patients.
Partovi feels ivermectin would improve DeMarco’s chances of survival.
Wilmington Hospital turned to the chair of its Department of Medicine, Dr. Vinay Maheshwari, to refute Partovi’s assertions.
“There has been no high-quality, or even moderate-quality, studies that have showed its benefit or efficacy with the use of ivermectin in this disease process. That’s actually across all continuums, but more specifically there’s been no moderate- to high-quality studies that prove its efficacy in patients that are hospitalized or have severe critical illness,” Maheshwari said.
“In addition to that, there is risk associated with ivermectin. There is risk for liver failure, there’s risk for shock or hypotension, or low blood pressure. There’s risk for seizures. This has been described in the literature.
“And across the country, we have had many reports from poison control centers and toxicology centers reporting severe cases of severe adverse reactions related to ivermectin. Many of those are related to self-administration with unknown doses outside of a hospitalized setting.”
Ultimately, Zurn ruled the hospital does not have an enforceable duty to treat DeMarco with ivermectin and that DeMarco does not have a legal right to that treatment.
“Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate irreparable harm: the material fact of whether DeMarco will be harmed if deprived of ivermectin is hotly disputed, and the weight of the record to date favors Defendant on that point,” Zurn wrote.