Lawsuit: Pomona Hospital Experimented on Unknowing Patients

Lawsuit claims medical staff conducted secret research projects

A lawsuit filed against Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center claims the facility allowed surgeons to conduct secret research projects in which patients were unknowingly implanted with a medical device that is not approved by the FDA.

“No ordinary person is going to consent to that. Most people are going to try traditional route first, whose safety and efficacy has been established, before you go down the road of Frankenstein,” said attorney Bijan Esfandiari.

Esfandiari represents one of the 17 patients who were allegedly implanted with OP-1 Putty, a surgical putty designed to generate bone growth in a specific area.

The lawsuit claims the unregulated putty migrated into other areas of the patients’ bodies causing excess bone growth, which pinched against nerve centers, causing debilitating pain.

“It is true that if you do experimentation that others may benefit, but you still have to get the consent of the person. You don’t want to turn them into a guinea pig.” Esfandiari said.

Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center told NBC4 News it could not comment on pending litigation.

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