The NSW Coroner has found there is sufficient evidence for the Director of Public Prosecutions to consider laying charges against the parents of a baby who died after they treated her with homeopathic remedies.
Gloria Thomas died in May 2002 in Sydney Children's Hospital of sepsis, or bacterial infections.
The nine-month-old, who was severely malnourished, had been suffering from such terrible eczema that much of her skin was split.
The inquest at Glebe Coroner's Court has been told the cracks in her skin caused the baby agonising pain and were a potential source of entry for the bacteria that killed her.
Parents Thomas Sam, a homeopath, and IT professional Manju Samuel treated her with homeopathic remedies rather than her prescribed medication.
State Coroner Mary Jerram terminated the inquest today after finding there was a reasonable prospect the evidence presented to the inquiry could convince a jury to convict "a known person or persons of a serious crime".
Ms Jerram said the evidence showed the known person or persons caused Gloria's death and that their negligence warranted criminal punishment.
"In my view there is a prima facie case to consider and there is a reasonable prospect that a jury would convict," Ms Jerram said today.
The coroner also recommended a central body be established for homeopaths in NSW with mandatory membership.
Ms Jerram said such a system would have multiple benefits for the public.
"I therefore recommend the NSW Department of Health consider introducing a mandatory system of registration for persons practising or wishing to practise homeopathy," Ms Jerram said.
The parents of the dead child were not present in court today.
AAP
A central body won't do jack shit, since homeopathy is bullshit medicine anyway. What they need is to have homeopaths and so called alternative medicine practitioners be subjected to the same rules governing negligence that professional doctors face. Then lets see how long they last with lawsuits and the need for insurance to cover these law suits.
Then against I wouldn't be surprise if some patients preferred to sue real doctors rather than quacks because real doctors sometimes tell patients what they don't want to hear or the perception that doctors have lots of money.
Never apologise for being a geek, because they won't apologise to you for being an arsehole. John Barrowman - 22 June 2014 Perth Supernova.
Countries I have been to - 14.
Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, USA.
Always on the lookout for more nice places to visit.
Nitram, slightly high on cough syrup: Do you know you're beautiful?
Me: Nope, that's why I have you around to tell me.
Nitram: You -are- beautiful. Anyone tries to tell you otherwise kill them.
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" -- Leonard Nimoy, last Tweet
I don't see why Homeopathic 'doctors' aren't subject to the extremely vigorous and merciless rigors of all those conditions placed on regular doctors. As in, if you screw up badly, you can very easily get sued and might never work in your field again.
After all, the end result is the same. This is someone who is involved in taking care of someone's body. Even if that someone may be a complete tool who believes anything they've read on the Internet. Le sigh.
How is it justified as treatment if those who claim it works can't prove that it does in fact work?
Bloody hell, the wiki article
last line of the first paragraph (quote about the guy who invented this shit)
Hahnemann wrote that this process aroused and enhanced "spirit-like medicinal powers held within a drug"
And this is considered an alternative to pharamaceuticals? I'd rather deal with the possible side effects (many of which are uncommon) than the side effects of homeopathy, namely staying sick, getting sicker or even dying.
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Why is everyone talking about lawsuits? This was the mother of the child, so she's not going to sue herself. It's a matter for criminal courts based on the accusation of parental negligence, not lawsuits.
The fact is that, like it or not, parental override of medical advice is and has always been a thorny political issue. Especially when they're doing something that has not a shred of evidence to back it up, because then it is arguably a religious belief.
"It's not evil for God to do it. Or for someone to do it at God's command."- Jonathan Boyd on baby-killing
"you guys are fascinated with the use of those "rules of logic" to the extent that you don't really want to discussus anything."- GC
"I do not believe Russian Roulette is a stupid act" - Embracer of Darkness
"Viagra commercials appear to save lives" - tharkûn on US health care.
Darth Wong wrote:Why is everyone talking about lawsuits? This was the mother of the child, so she's not going to sue herself. It's a matter for criminal courts based on the accusation of parental negligence, not lawsuits.
If the product is advertised as a viable treatment for any medical condition, then the manufacturer should be subject to a lawsuit under truth in advertising regulations.
"This is supposed to be a happy occasion... Let's not bicker and argue about who killed who."
-- The King of Swamp Castle, Monty Python and the Holy Grail
"Nothing of consequence happened today. " -- Diary of King George III, July 4, 1776
"This is not bad; this is a conspiracy to remove happiness from existence. It seeks to wrap its hedgehog hand around the still beating heart of the personification of good and squeeze until it is stilled."
-- Chuck Sonnenburg on Voyager's "Elogium"
Darth Wong wrote:Why is everyone talking about lawsuits? This was the mother of the child, so she's not going to sue herself. It's a matter for criminal courts based on the accusation of parental negligence, not lawsuits.
If the product is advertised as a viable treatment for any medical condition, then the manufacturer should be subject to a lawsuit under truth in advertising regulations.
What manufacturer?
Time makes more converts than reason. -- Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776
Darth Wong wrote:Why is everyone talking about lawsuits? This was the mother of the child, so she's not going to sue herself. It's a matter for criminal courts based on the accusation of parental negligence, not lawsuits.
If the product is advertised as a viable treatment for any medical condition, then the manufacturer should be subject to a lawsuit under truth in advertising regulations.
Have you ever looked at one of those labels? They very rarely make specific claims. Even conventional over-the-counter medications often say something vague like "For relief of cold symptoms" rather than something specific like "Your stuffy nose will clear up within 20 minutes, your eyes will stop watering, and you will stop sneezing."
Traditional medications might not even say that much. A package of tree bark, for example, might say something like "The tea made from this tree bark is traditionally used by the Hopi tribes as a cure for digestive problems." It is impossible to sue for false advertising in that case because the label could very well be 100% correct; if the Hopi tribes actually used it that way then the label is completely accurate.
"It's not evil for God to do it. Or for someone to do it at God's command."- Jonathan Boyd on baby-killing
"you guys are fascinated with the use of those "rules of logic" to the extent that you don't really want to discussus anything."- GC
"I do not believe Russian Roulette is a stupid act" - Embracer of Darkness
"Viagra commercials appear to save lives" - tharkûn on US health care.
The only reason homeopathy gained any respectability at all is because at the time it was developed it was, arguably, better than the blood-letting, mercury-based potions, and other semi- or totally hazardous things passing as "medicine" at the time. In other words, plain water was safer than doctoring at one time.
Problem is, some people are still living in the 19th Century.
Couldn't see the kid wasn't getting better? You bet - the level of denial that can occur in these cases is unbelievable.
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.Leonard Nimoy.
Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy
Darth Wong wrote:Why is everyone talking about lawsuits? This was the mother of the child, so she's not going to sue herself. It's a matter for criminal courts based on the accusation of parental negligence, not lawsuits.
.
It was in response to the recommendation in the article that a body should be set up to oversee homeopaths, rather than to this specific case per se. Presumably the idea is that this self regulating body would weed out bad practitioners like medical boards. Unfortunately since homeopath is itself bullshit, I doubt this would be effective, which is why I proposed lawsuits in the same vein as medical negligence suits.
Never apologise for being a geek, because they won't apologise to you for being an arsehole. John Barrowman - 22 June 2014 Perth Supernova.
Countries I have been to - 14.
Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, USA.
Always on the lookout for more nice places to visit.
