SAN FRANCISCO — Action star Chuck Norris took on medical device manufacturers in a lawsuit filed in California on Wednesday alleging a chemical used in MRI imaging scans poisoned his wife.
Gadolinium that doctors injected into Gena Norris to improve the clarity of her MRIs have left her weak and tired and with debilitating bouts of pain and a burning sensation, the suit filed in San Francisco Superior Court says.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in May it found no evidence that retained gadolinium was harmful. A European Union agency reached the same conclusion in July but still recommended suspending some gadolinium contrast agents as a precaution.
The law firm representing the Norris’, Cutter Law, has filed numerous lawsuits in recent weeks on behalf of people who it also says are suffering from gadolinium poisoning.
The Norris’ lawsuit acknowledges no official, publicly stated link between gadolinium and symptoms reported by people who believe the metal has affected their health. But that’s in part because blood and urine testing for gadolinium only became available recently and most doctors were not aware of any disease that was associated with gadolinium other than one that affects people with kidney problems, the lawsuit said.
“One of the problems is this is a very misdiagnosed and underdiagnosed condition,” said Todd Walburg, an attorney for the Norris’.
The lawsuit accuses several manufacturers of gadolinium contrast agents of knowing about their risks, but failing to warn consumers. It seeks more than $10 million in damages, saying the Norris’ have had to spend millions of dollars on treatment for Gena Norris.
Chuck Norris starred in the TV series, “Walker, Texas Ranger.”
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.