HealthPartners faces wrongful death lawsuit over use of remdesivir for COVID

The lawsuit says that the plaintiffs' spouses "were given Remdesivir against their wishes as part of a protocol which actually harmed them."

lawsuit
Andy Barnhart talks with Alpha News reporter Liz Collin in April. (Alpha News)

Two Minnesotans have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against HealthPartners, Regions Hospital, and affiliated healthcare workers relating to the hospital’s protocols for treating COVID-19. The lawsuit claims that these protocols caused the deaths of two patients.

Specifically, the civil suit alleges that the plaintiffs’ spouses “were given Remdesivir against their wishes as part of a protocol which actually harmed them; and which protocol has served to financially enrich Health Partners, Inc., and Regions Hospital.”

Both of the plaintiffs lost their spouses. One passed away at Regions Hospital, and the other passed away after suffering cardiac arrest at Regions Hospital. The lawsuit was filed by Andrew Barnhart, an attorney with Medical Justice MN.

Remdesivir is an anti-viral drug that is administered via injection. In May of 2020, the FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for remdesivir to be used in the treatment of COVID-19 despite the FDA’s own admission that there is “limited information known about the safety and effectiveness of using remdesivir to treat people in the hospital with COVID-19.”

COVID-19 vaccines were also originally approved under an Emergency Use Authorization.

The wrongful death lawsuit, filed in Ramsey County District Court, states that remdesivir “poisons the kidneys, causes the lungs to fill with fluid, damages other organs, and published studies show a causal connection between Remdesivir and the death of heart cells, heart attacks, hypotension, and bradycardia … .”

Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that hospitals had an incentive to prescribe remdesivir because hospitals “billed a base amount of $3,200 for each Remdesivir treatment administered despite the production cost of each vial of Remdesivir being $9.”

Additionally, “hospitals could bill as much as $20,000 per patient to whom Remdesivir was administered,” the lawsuit alleges.

The civil suit says, “Plaintiffs and decedents were misled to their detriment and prejudice by the Defendants’ failure to provide complete and accurate information on the risks of Remdesivir or the available safe alternatives to Remdesivir, and by the Defendants’ failure to request or obtain Plaintiffs’ and/or decedents’ consent to administer Remdesivir to decedents.”

When asked for comment, HealthPartners, which is also the parent company of Regions Hospital, did not respond in time for publication.

Andrew Barnhart, the attorney for the plaintiffs and a paramedic, said the mission of Medical Justice MN is to “Prevent Pandemic Protocol Profiteering and to expose what has happened in hospitals thus far.”

Additionally, Barnhart said that there will be more wrongful death lawsuits coming in 2024 related to the COVID-19 protocols that were present in Minnesota hospitals. “Medical Justice MN is currently in contact with Minnesota families interested in taking legal action involving close to 75 hospital deaths.”

Alpha News has previously reported on the COVID-19 protocols of hospitals and medical facilities in Minnesota.

In 2021, Nicole Riggs’ father, Ralph Marxen, contracted COVID-19 and went to the hospital. Riggs requested that her father receive Zinc, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Ivermectin, and hydroxychloroquine. All of her requests were denied. Instead, Riggs claims her father was given over 50 medications and eventually put on a ventilator.

Ralph Marxen passed away at Abbott Northwestern Hospital.

In an interview with Alpha News, Riggs said, “I don’t believe that he died of COVID. I believe that he died from the hospital protocols put in place by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and NIH (National Institutes of Health). If he had been treated like he had regular pneumonia, he would be fine. He would be here now.”

 

Luke Sprinkel

Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.