Decatur, GAMost advertising offering men improved performance in the bedroom are tricks and scams offered by snake oil salesmen, according to attorney Fred Orr. "There's a lot of fraud out there--these ads that promise men they can have a bigger penis or offer sex for life--all this is just garbage," says Orr, "but a lot of people are making millions and millions of dollars off of the insecurity that almost every man has in this area." And in this case, medical malpractice.
Orr recently obtained a $9.5 million verdict against the Boston Men's Health Clinic in Georgia on behalf of a 53-year-old man who paid the clinic $1200 to cure his erectile dysfunction. Not only was John Henry Howard not cured, he was actually injured by the drug injected into his penis.
"I told the jury I didn't think a man on the face of the earth would go into those places if they knew they were going to stick a needle in their penis," says Orr. "But they don't tell them that in the advertising."
Two years ago, Howard went to the Boston Men's Health Clinic in Buford, Georgia after hearing an ad on the radio. Staff pitched their "secret formula" as safer and more effective than drugs. "They get the men into the clinic with promises of cure," says Orr. "They give them a sales story that Viagra, Cialis and Levitra are dangerous and can kill you, which is absolutely not true."
A clinic doctor injected Howard's penis with a drug called papaverine. It produced instant results and Howard promptly slapped down his credit card for a six-month supply. All he had to do was inject himself 3 times a week and his potency would be restored forever.
Papaverine was used to treat erectile dysfunction up until 1998 when it was replaced by safer drug treatments like Viagra. The FDA now advises against using papaverine for erectile dysfunction patients.
Howard injected himself at home as instructed and once again had an erection. The problem was that it did not dissipate. Three days later, he went back to the clinic. The doctor tried draining some blood from his penis to reduce the pressure. When that didn't work, the clinic sent Howard to an emergency clinic at hospital.
The Boston Men's Health Clinic has been in business since 1999 and has 22 clinics in 12 states and the District of Columbia. Although the clinics have been sued for malpractice in the past, this is the first time they have been sued for fraud.
"The bottom line is the Boston Men's Health Clinic represented its treatment provided a cure for erectile dysfunction," says Orr. "And, in fact, there is no cure for erectile dysfunction. There are treatments, but no cure."
"Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra allow a better blood flow, but they do not cure the problem," says Orr. "And the injections that Boston Medical Group recommend and claim are a safe and risk free treatment certainly doesn't cure erectile dysfunction."
Orr spent two years preparing the suit against the Boston Medical Clinic in Buford and speaks sensitively about the subject in direct and clear terms. He also praises his client John Henry Howard for having the courage to pursue the suit against the clinic.
"He is the most courageous client I have ever had," says Orr. "He and his wife were both subjected to quite a bit of interrogation in the courtroom.Think about the questions that a defense lawyer would ask in a case like this: How was their sex life before and how was it after and so on."
Orr believes that there are a lot more victims of fraud that have not bothered to come forward because of the embarrassing nature of the complaint.
Meanwhile, the Boston Men's Health Clinic is still operating. The company is owned by Quoc Ha who also serves as its Chief Financial Officer and it is controlled through off-shore companies.
Fred Orr is a graduate of Emory University School of Law and a former adjunct professor of law at Emory University School of Law. His practice includes medical malpractice, personal injury, wrongful death, fraud and intentional torts. He is a member of the American Association of Justice and is the immediate Past President of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association.