NORFOLK, Va. — A Norfolk Circuit Judge has denied Dr. Paul Marik's motion for a temporary injunction, which would've allowed him to be able to use ivermectin and other alternative drugs to treat COVID-19 at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
The judge in the case says Marik’s argument that physicians should be able to demand hospitals support alternative treatments, even if the hospital "reasonably determined those treatments to be unsafe," doesn’t meet Virginia law or established medical standards.
Sentara Healthcare had moved to dismiss the lawsuit for a lack of standing.
The judge granted in part and denied in part Sentara's motion, saying Marik has third-party standing to bring an informed consent claim on behalf of his patients but lacks standing to bring a claim under Virginia's Health Care Decisions Act.
Marik is an EVMS doctor working under contract at SNGH who sued Sentara Healthcare because they have banned the use of ivermectin and other drugs to treat COVID-19, citing safety concerns.
Following the denial of the injunction motion, Fred D. Taylor, Marik's attorney, released the following statement indicating Marik intends to take the case to trial:
“While we are disappointed that the Court did not grant the temporary injunction, our case for the rights of doctors and their patients remains alive and well. We expect to ultimately succeed on the merits of our case at trial.”
Sentara Healthcare also released a statement saying:
We are appreciative of the Court’s ruling on Dr. Marik’s request for preliminary injunction regarding Sentara Healthcare’s COVID-19 protocols. Sentara Healthcare is committed to delivering the highest quality of care to all patients at Sentara facilities. We understand some community members might see conflicting articles based on misinformation available online, but we want to assure our patients and community members that our treatment guidelines are extensively reviewed by multi-disciplinary groups of clinicians using the latest medical literature, care standards and expertise available.
Patients are safe in our care and healthcare professionals working in Sentara facilities follow evidence-based protocols as recommended by trusted agencies including the CDC, NIH, FDA and WHO. Sentara is consistently ranked among the top hospitals in the nation for quality and patient safety.
You can read the opinion from the judge below.