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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burzynski Clinic | 5/6 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burzynski_Clinic | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T09:17:44.243805+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Texas Medical Board === In December 2010, the use of chemotherapeutic agents by the clinic has been characterized as "random" and their use of unapproved combinations "with no known benefits but clear harms" by the Texas Medical Board, which regulates and licenses physicians in the state of Texas, led to a case against Burzynski by that board. Burzynski was acquitted because he had not personally written the prescriptions. In July 2014, the board filed a 202-page complaint against Burzynski to the Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings. The complaint addressed allegations by the Board including misleading patients into paying exorbitant charges, misrepresenting unlicensed persons to patients as licensed medical doctors, and misleading patients into accepting care from providers without significant education or training related to cancer treatment. Citing examples of problems with 29 patients, which were listed in the document, the board said that "unapproved combinations of highly toxic chemotherapy" were prescribed "in ways that caused harm to several patients." In July 2015, Burzynski's counsel, Richard Jaffe, withdrew from the case citing a potential conflict of interest, a result of Jaffe's pursuing actions against Burzynski in bankruptcy court. With the addition of replacement counsel, the hearing was set to begin in November 2015. In November 2015, the Texas Medical Board took Burzynski to court in Houston, Texas. Burzynski was accused of bait-and-switch tactics, improperly charging patients, not informing patients that he owns the pharmacy they were required to use to fill their medications, and of off-label prescribing of drugs. Burzynski's former attorney Richard Jaffe has filed suit in Federal Court claiming unpaid legal fees of over $250,000. Burzynski through his current attorney denied all charges. On March 3, 2017, the Texas Medical Board sanctioned Burzynski, placing him on probation and fining him $40,000. After being sanctioned for over 130 violations, he was allowed to keep his medical license and to continue to practice. Staff recommendations had been more punitive. Probation terms included additional medical training, disclosure of the Board's ruling to patients and medical facilities, and monitoring of his patient records.
=== Lawsuits === In 1983, a federal court issued an injunction against Burzynski, barring him from shipping antineoplastons in interstate commerce without FDA approval. Burzynski continued to use antineoplastons and was charged with 75 federal counts of mail fraud and violations of federal drug laws. In 1994, a 20-day trial resulted in the dismissal of the 34 counts of mail fraud. On the other 41 counts, the jury deadlocked, failing to come to a verdict. In a separate administrative proceeding, the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners charged Burzynski with violations of Texas state law relating to his use of antineoplastons. An administrative law judge ruled that Burzynski violated a section of the Texas Health and Safety Code dealing with prescriptions for unapproved drugs. The Texas Court of Appeals ultimately upheld this determination in a 1996 decision. In 1994, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision that Burzynski had defrauded a health insurance fund into reimbursing about $90,000 for antineoplaston treatment. The appeals court ruled that Burzynski "may not trick the plaintiff into paying for an unlawful, unapproved drug." In 1998, a federal judge ordered that Burzynski repay an insurance company over $200,000 he charged six patients for his unapproved treatments. The judge concluded that Burzynski was "unjustly enriched" by the insurance payments, but that the violations did not rise to fraud or misrepresentation. In 1998, the parents of a 10-year-old girl with brain cancer sued Burzynski for fraud, saying he had misled them about the efficacy of his treatments. The girl, Christina Bedient, died of cancer after being treated with antineoplastons in 1996. Burzynski settled the suit by refunding some of the family's expenses. In December 2010, the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners filed a multi-count complaint in the Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings against Burzynski for failure to meet state medical standards. In November 2012, a Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings administrative law judge ruled that Burzynski was not vicariously liable under Texas administrative law for the actions of staff at the clinic. In January 2012, Lola Quinlan, an elderly, stage IV cancer patient, sued Burzynski for using false and misleading tactics to "swindle her out of $100,000". She also sued his companies, The Burzynski Clinic, the Burzynski Research Institute, and Southern Family Pharmacy, in Harris County Court. She sued for negligence, negligent misrepresentation, fraud, deceptive trade and conspiracy. The case was dismissed after Quinlan died.