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Declassified record · U.S. Department of Energy

Court Record--Sexton VS Orau

Dated
Mar 15, 1951
Document type
Legal document
Length
62 pages
Open the original scanArchive record OSTI ID 16294332 · public domain

Document text

Machine-read from the scan, so expect some errors. Lines that couldn’t be read are left out.

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MARY SUE SEXTON, Mother and next friend of TALMON DEWAYNE SEXTON, Deceased, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, A Tennessee Corporation listed as agent for service of process being Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830, Comes the Plaintiff, Mary Sue Sexton, Mother and next friend of Talmon Dewayne Sexton, and files this her Complaint and for cause of action shows tothe Court the following : 1. That she isthe mother and natural guardian of Dewayne Sexton, who died December 29th, 1968. 2 . That atthe time of his death the Decedent, Dewayne Sexton, was suffering from acute lymphoblascic leukemia. 3 . That the Decedent, Dewayne Sexton, had been a patient at the Oak Ridge Associated Universities Medical Center in Oak Ridp,e, Tennessee, since July27th, 1965. the time the Decedent was a patient at Oak Ridge Associated Universities,the treatment he received was nor consistent with the srandard of care which patients received in the same or similar circumstances inthe same or similar localities,for That the parents of the Decedent,

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Dewayne Sexton, were improperly advised of the consequences of the treatment, and there was a failure to provide adequate information SO that fully informed consent could be given t o the tr cat ment received by the Decedent. 4 , That as a direct result of the failure of the Decedent to receive the proper care at Oak Ridge Associated Universities,the Decedent, Dewayne Sexton, had a shortened 5 , That the Plaintiff, Mary Sue Sexton, had no knowledge or did not suspect any improper treatment on the part of the doctors who treated the Decedent a t Oak Ridge Associated Universities until June o f 1981, a t which time she was informed that there could be improper treat w nt involved in this part - icu lar situation. has been informed that the purpose for these programs was not necessarily the proper treatment of the patient but may have been for other motives, and thus caused the treatment not t o conform with the applicable standard of care at that time. It has only been rec enc ly that the Plaintiff 5 . That the Defendant, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, through its agents,has concealed the purpose of these treatments and thus the scat ute of limitations would be tolled until such ’ time as the Plaintiff discovered the lack of adequate treatment in this case. WHEUFORE. Plaintiff demands judgment inthe amount of SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($750,000.00), and costs and demands a jury to try this action. Attorney for Plaintiff

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I N THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR ANDERSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE WRY SUE SEXTON, Mother and next friend of TALEION DEWAYNE SEXTON, Decm OAK RIDGE ASSOCIATED For answer tothe Complaint filed against it in this case (1) .The averments o f paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Complaint (2) Answering paragraph 3 of the Complaint, it is ad - mitte d that Dewayne Sexton first became a patient at Oak Ridge Associated Universities on July27, 1965, and it is further admit red that he was treated at defendant ' s Pledical Center from time to time thereafter until his death on December 29, 1968. All other averments of paragraph3ofthe Complaint are denied. (3) The averments o f paragraph 4 of the Complaint are ( 4 ) Answering paragraph 5 of t h e Complaint, dcfcndant was administered for some puyposc o c niotive otrhtr tlinti to bring about an iniprovcirrctit i n [lis Coir diLi on and hopefully to find a cu

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cause of action.there bciiig 110 avcrinciit that the dcccdcnt W;IS i tile cx clu siv c cuscody of liis iii ot Ii er, plary su cSc st on. (10) When decedent was fii - s t admittcd t o Oak Ridge Associated Universities t.lcdicsl Center on July27,1905, he was for his disease, and further denies that his treatment failed to conform to the appropriate standard.of medical care. Defendant further avers that plaintiff Mary Sue Sexton was present at Oak

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leukemia, a disease for which there was no known cure. Decedent was admitted to defendant ' s Medical Center by plaintiff Mary Sue Sexton, and decedent ' s father, Talmon Sexton, both o f whom knew th'at decedent ' s condition would almost certainly produce early death.Plaintiff and decedent ' s father were advised that ex peri - mental techniques would be used in the treatment and care of thei son, and they fully agreed to the use of said experimental tech - ni ques, and further agreed to release defendant from any actions, damages o r claims resulting from decedent ' s hospitalization and the treatments that were tobe used in the care of their son. (11) During the period of time between his first admission on July27,1965, and his death on December 29, 19G8. the defendant used both experimental and conventional techniques and treatment in the care of Dewayne Sexton but was nevertheless unable to find a cure for his condition. De€endant avers that under the circumstances it acted with ordinary and reasonable care i n accord with recognized standards of medical practice then prevailing in the community for the handling,treatment and care of patients having acutely mph oblast ic leukemia. (12) Defendant denies that it did or failed to do anything that proximately caused or contributed to a shortening of Dewayne Sexton ' slife expectancy. . (13) The Cornplaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. ted,explained or denied are here and now expressly denied. AND NOW HAVING ANSWLRLD FULLY. defendant prays to be hencc dismissed with its reasonable Costs, arid i t demands a jury to try

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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR ANDERSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE ~y SUE SEXTON, MOTHER and < RIXE ASSOCIATED UNIVERSITIES, MOTION TO AMEND COMPLAINT Comes the Plaintiff, pursuant to Rule 15 of the TRCP and moves e Court for an Order granting leave to amend her complaint to read as llows in the attached Amended Complaint. Attorney for Plaintiff ERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

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TALUON DWAYNE SEXTON, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, A Tennessee Corporation listed as 1 agent for service of process be lng) AN ENDED CO H PLAINT Comes the Plaintiffs, Mary Sue Sexton and Talmon Sexton,Parents and next friends of Talmon Dwayne Sexton, and files this their Complaint and for cause of action shows tothe Court the following : 1. That they are the parents and natural guardians of Dwayne Sexton, who dled December 29th. 1968. 2.That at the time of his death the Decedent, Dwayne S cst on, was suffering from acutely mph oblast ic leukemia. I 3. That the Decedent, Dwayne Sexton,had been a patient at the Oak Ridge Associated Universities Medical Center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, since July27th. 1965. That during the time the Decedent was a patient at Oak Ridge Associated Universities,the treatment he received was not consistent vith the standard of care which patients received in the same o r similar circumstances in the same or similar localities.for lymph oblast ic leukemia. That the parents of the Decedent, Dwayne Sexton, vere Improperly advised of ,:the purposes and consequences of the treatment and there was a failure to provide adequate information so that fully (informed consent could be- given to the treatment received by the Deccdent. 4.That as a die ct result Of the failure of thc Dncfdcnt t o

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5 . That the Plaintiffs. Mary Sue Sex lon and ,Talmon Sexton, had no knowledge or did not suspect any improper treatment on the part of the doctors v ho treated the Decedent at Oak Ridge Associated Universities until June of 1981,at which time they were informed that there could be improper treatment involved in this particular situation. It has only been recently that the Plaintiffs have been informed that the purpose for these programs was not necessarily the proper treatment of the patient but may have been for other motives,and thus caused the treatment not to conform with the applicable standard of care at that time. 6.That the Defendant, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, through its agents,has concealed the purpose of these treatments and thus the statute of limitations would be tolled until such time as the Plaintiffs discovered the ls ck of adequate treatment in this cam. 7. ! That the Defendant, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, 17ed entered into a contract with LI ii - Atomic Encrcy Commission (AEC) for the - National Aeron au tic and Space Administration (NASA) v here in the Defendant was to s provide information to AEC and NASA regarding the effect upon Individuals of low level radiation.That in accordance vith this contract,radiation trc:itiiicnt was rendered LO patients at the Oak Ridge Associated Universiti cr. which was not consistent vith the standard of care at the time the treatment was rendered, and such treatment was specifically for the purpose of gathering data for these agencies. ,.. Plaintiffs were not advised that the treatment was for the collection of d?tn for the AEC and the National Aeronautica nd Space Administration, and tint i icc css ~ rily for tIw r li cr ~ peuti ce ffecf of the treatment, nor vas the Ec ner al public JJ vi : u d of this fact until just before Mary Sue and Talmon Sexton filed this case. Tlic re,cords that are contained regarding the fraudulent con c calm cnt were not given to the public until recently and only at that time did the P1aint ; ffs. Mary Sue Sexton and Talrnoo Sexton. discover the fraudulent conceolmect on the part of the Oak Ridge Associated Universities. These matters were not made available to the gSn era1public and this fact indicates an intention on the part of the Defendant to fraudulently Conceal the true nature Of the experiments vhich were carried out 011 Dwayne Sexton atthe Oak Ridge Assoc;ated

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Sextons that experimental immunotherapy treatment had shown enough pr or lse of achi wing desirable effect r to be administered to Dwayne and.Kary Sue Sexton. These physicians intentionally failed to in form the Sextons that other treatments,for Instance using chemotherapy. had kl rudy ohom actual success In achieving remi as ion of the disease.These physic lan r indicated that enough animal experimentation or other ex per f ment ation .had been conducted to warrant trials on humans, and the Sextons relied on these representations which are not supported by the published scientific literature cf that time.Since p lih in tiffs were not told that better treatment was being withheld in order to conduct the experimental immunotherapy treatment, and since plaintiffs were not fully informed about the risks and alternatives to the experimental treatment they could not make a fully informed, knowing, and intelligent consent,since the treating physicians knowingly withheld the information necessary for a fully informed consent. and this information only became available to the plaintiffs as a result of recent investigations. .WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment inthe amount of SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ( $ 750,000.00),and costs and demands ajury to try this action. Attorney for Plaintiff 236 ki as s a chu sett s Avc. N.E., #SO6 Attorney for Plaintiff We,the undersigned principal and surety, acknowledge ourselves as such in an amount not to exceed $250.00, conditioned as in prosecution bonds.

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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR ANDERSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE MARY SUE SEXTON and and next friends of ON ma rents TALMON DWAYNE SEXTON, OAK RIDGE ASSOCIATED For answer tothe Amended Complaint filed against it i n this case the defendant says : (1) All of the averments contained in the Original Answer filed by the defendant i n this case on o r about June 21, 1982, are here adopted by reference and are relied upon by defendant inthe same manner a s though said averments had been made and filed subsequent to the filing of the Amended Complaint in this cause. (2) All averments of wrongdoing charged t o defendant i n paragraph7 of the Amended Complaint are denied. By way of further response tothe averments of paragraph For several years the defendant had been'7 the defendant says : engaged by contract to perform research for the Atomic Energy ICommission and its successors. Some of that research involved the use of radiation in the treatment of persons having malignant1 diseases such as acute lympoblasric >eukemia. That research I permitted defendant to, make relevant observations ' about the effect of radiation upon the human body.

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I n 1964 the National Aeron au tic and Space Administration (NASA) entered into an inter - agency agreement with the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) whereby AEC agreed to gather and supply NASA with data concerning the observed effects of radiation on adult human bodies being treated for malignancies. which initially gathered data from forty - two (42) hospitals, including ORINS, was performed for the AEC by apart of defendant ' s Medical Division that was completely separate and distinct from defendant ' s clinical services staff that treated patients. The data gathering group received any ' information that naturally became available in the records of the clinical service group as a result of radiation treatments given to adult patients in the hospital operated by defendant. Those radiation treatments were given to patients in defendant ' s hospital solely for their thera put ic effect. None of the treatments given to patients in defend an r ' s hospital were for the purpose o f " the collection of data for the AEC and the National Aeronautic and Space Administ ration " as alleged by plaintiffs ; and all averments stating, This act iv it ! I scientific community generally. Defendant denies all of the avermencs ,inferences and inuendos contained in paragraph 7 suggesting that defendant fraudulently concealed information about its activities ; and it particularly denies that it fraudulent ly concealed any information pertaining to the treat nen c of (3) All averments o f wrongdoing charged to defendant i n

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