Maryland Accident Law Blog
The Maryland Board of Physicians have charged David Geier, the son of Dr. Mark Geier, with practicing without a medical license. David worked with his dad in treating kids with autism. However, Dr. Geier’s medical license was recently suspended after he was accused of putting his autistic patients at risk. Our Owing Mills medical malpractice lawyers want to remind our readers that medical negligence can be reason for a civil lawsuit if someone is injured or dies because of it.
The Geiers believe that the mercury in vaccines is linked to autism—a theory that many in mainstream medicine, including the Institute of Medicine, don’t believe. Father and son used the drug Lupron to treat patients. This is a drug that many experts consider dangerous for kids. Lupron is approved to treat fibroids and prostate cancer. It is also used to chemically castrate sex offenders.
The board says that Mark Geier improperly cited a number of patients with a condition called “precocious puberty.” Patients were treated with Lupron injections. The board contends that by administering this treatment protocol that is known to have substantial risk of serious harm and isn’t generally accepted in the “relevant scientific community,” Dr. Geier endangered autistics kids and exploited their parents. He is also accused of failing to fully inform parents of the dangers associated with the treatment.
State authorities believe that David Geier also put patients at risk when he treated them. Health officials are trying to get him off the Maryland Commission on Autism. The commission’s Web site has him down as a doctor, even though officials have called this a clerical mistake. The Commission does, however, refer to him as its “diagnostician.”
The Geiers run offices under the name Genetic Counselors of Maryland in Owing Mills and Rockville. They also have offices out of state.
Living with autism can be very challenging. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that about 1 in 110 kids in the US have an autism spectrum disorder. That’s 36,500 out of 4 million children born every year that are eventually diagnosed with autism, which can come with different disabilities depending on where they are on the spectrum.
Son of autism doctor charged with practicing without a license, The Baltimore Sun, May 19, 2011
State looks to remove autism panelist with links to suspended doctor, The Baltimore Sun, May 6, 2011
Md. autism doctor’s license suspended, Los Angeles Times, May 4, 2011
Related Web Resources:
Autism Spectrum Disorders, CDC
Maryland Board of Physicians
Lupron, Drugs.com
More Blog Posts:
Staff Was Inattentive on The Night of Patient Murder at Jessup Psychiatric Hospital, Says Maryland Health Investigators, Maryland Accident Law Blog, February 22, 2011
Montgomery County Jury Awards Silver Spring Woman $2.35M Maryland Medical Malpractice Verdict Over Wrong Diagnosis, Maryland Accident Law Blog, October 4, 2010
Family’s Washington DC Wrongful Death Lawsuit Alleging Paramedic Malpractice Can Proceed, Says Judge, Maryland Accident Law Blog, March 9, 2011
Contact our Rockville medical malpractice lawyers today.