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Advocate of Dr. Paul St. Amand
Apologizes for Libelous Accusations
Comments by Dr. John C. Lowe
Below are full copies of several communications that occurred between
June 22 and July 9, 2002. The first two and the fifth are e-mails. The third
and fourth are letters
sent through the U.S. mail for legal purposes. The first e-mail below is from
Mrs. Sharon Jungert,
an advocate of Dr. Paul St. Amand. Her e-mail initiated the subsequent e-mails and letters.
Mrs. Jungert's original
e-mail contains false and libelous statements about me. Because of this, I took action to persuade her to
publicly retract the accusations she made in the
e-mail.
In publishing the communications
here, I have no wish to embarrass Mrs. Jungert. Instead, my purpose is to
deter others who are prone to unjustly malign chiropractic physicians. Case
law shows that the consequences for those who malign chiropractic physicians
can be extremely costly. On the other hand, to avoid such costs, some
people, such as Mrs. Junkert, find that they must publicly apologize
and admit they had no grounds for their libelous accusations. With the
publication here of these communications, I now consider this unfortunate
incident closed.
Note:
It's customary to write "sic" after a word or statement that is
incorrect but presented as the author wrote it. The number of
mistakes in some of the e-mails and letters below are so numerous that I've
chosen not to note them with "sic." However, the content of the
e-mails and letters, including errors, are presented precisely as they were
written by the authors.
Libelous E-mail from Sharon Jungert
Subj: Chriopractic
Quack
- Dr. Lowe D.C.
Date: 6/22/2002 8:02:59 AM Mountain Daylight Time
From: tgogil@attbi.com (Gil Jungert)
Reply-to: tgogil@attbi.com (Gil Jungert)
To: DrJohnLowe@aol.com (DR Lowe)
CC: fmsnurse@aol.com (Claudia Marek), xxxxx@Williams.com, xxxxx@earthlink.net,
xxxxx@mindspring.com, xxxxx@optushome.com.au [Mrs.
Jungert copied this e-mail to five people, one of whom was Claudia Marek,
Dr. St. Amand's nurse. I have deleted the names and e-mail addresses
of the other four people to protect their privacy. Dr. John C. Lowe]
After reviewing the question and
answers from the following web site here is my
response to what I consider a Chiropractic Quack.
Look at this :- http://www.drlowe.com/QandA/askdrlowe/guaifenesin.htm
Dr. Lowe D.C.: I could not agree more
with Dr. Bernard Lown Ref: THE LOST
ART OF HEALING by Bernard Lown, M.D. He so eloquently describes
Doctors
like you, Dr. Lowe, who are clearly out to make millions of Yankee
dollar by
preying on your 22,000 un-suspecting patients who are in pain. Your
reference to good doctors like Dr. Bernard Lown is clearly an
attempt to
hitch your fallen star to his rich credentials. Dr. Bernard Lown
stated:
"No
significant social transformation results from a single or
simple
cause. Reflecting on forty-five years of medical practice, I
see that
something vital appears to be vanishing. It seems to me that
medicine has
indulged in a Faustian bargain. A three- thousand-year
tradition, which
bonded doctor and patient in a special affinity of trust, is
being traded
for a new type of relationship. Healing is replaced with
treating, caring is supplanted
by managing, and the art of listening is taken over by
technological procedures. Doctors no longer minister to a
distinctive person, but concern themselves with fragmented,
malfunctioning biologic parts. The distressed human being is
frequently absent from the transaction." |
Yes, your Web site is full of errors
and mis-statements, and blatant un-truths. The JAMA 2000 Jul 26;284,
reference by Barbara Starfield you quoted is totally in error.
When you reference a "Well
Designed Study" I can only assume that is in reference to the
Oregon Study by Dr. Robert Bennett. In that study critical elements
were not addressed. Salicylates and their impact on Guaifenesin was
not included or addressed.
A good place for you to begin your
studies would be Dr. R. Paul St. Amand’s web site, http://www.guaidoc.com/,
and the article; "Refuting the Oregon Study", available at
his web site and it clearly addresses the deficiency of not
considering the effects of Salicylates on Guaifenesin. Quote,
"Patients have been routinely cautioned to avoid aspirin, as
aspirin compounds block the uricosuric effect of the medications. We
had also discovered that aspirin rendered the medications
ineffective in treating Fibromyalgia".
Dr. Lowe, Being the director of
research of the Fibromyalgia Research Foundation, you should not
malign Dr. R. Paul St. Amand’s Guaifenesin Protocol by saying,
"Dr St. Amand’s beliefs, which I judge to be Scientifically
False". You are not being professional. Which of your
credentials allow you to "judge" anyone’s work? Not even
mine, ‘a lay person’, with a brain. My understanding is, to be a
judge you must be omniscient? Are You?
Dr Lowe, how long have you suffered
from Fibromyalgia? I do know that Dr R. Paul St. Amand, and
his family suffered for years before finding an answer to
Fibromyalgia, using Guaifenesin. My Daughter and I both suffer
from Fibromyalgia and are both responding nicely to the point
my Daughter has proclaimed "Its a miracle", from the
Guaifenesin Protocol. I await your timely response.
Best Regards, Sharon J. 1 year on
1800mgs Guai, 62yrs FMS 30yrs |
Reply to
Sharon Jungert by
Dr. St. Amand's Nurse, Claudia Marek
Claudia Marek, Dr. St. Amand's nurse, was among the people to whom Mrs. Jungert sent her libelous e-mail. Claudia replied to
Mrs. Jungert with
the following e-mail. Claudia sent the reply not only to Mrs. Jungert, but also to the other
people to whom Mrs. Jungert had sent her libelous e-mail. The text of Claudia's
e-mail suggests that she failed to send me
the full content of the e-mail she sent to the others.
Subj: Re: Chriopractic Quack - Dr. Lowe D.C.
Date: 6/22/2002 4:14:01 PM Mountain Daylight Time
From: FMSNURSE@aol.com
To: tgogil@attbi.com, DrJohnLowe@aol.com
CC: xxxxx@Williams.com, xxxxx@earthlink.net, xxxxx@mindspring.com,
xxxxx@optushome.com.au [Claudia copied this e-mail to four
people. I have deleted their names and e-mail addresses to protect
their privacy. Dr. John C. Lowe]
Or, go to www.quackwatch.com to read
about Wilson's Disease and other such things
. . . . .Claudia Marek
|
When I first read Claudia's
e-mail reply to Mrs. Jungert, I assumed that through it, she had climbed onto
Mrs. Jungert's "Dr.-Lowe-is-a-quack" bandwagon. To me, this was implied by
Claudia's statement, "Or, go to www.quackwatch.com
to read about Wilson's Disease and other such things." (Italics
mine.) Discerning Claudia's intention, however, was difficult. It was
difficult because, as readers can see, what preceded, "Or, go to
. . " (italics mine) was deleted from the e-mail Claudia forwarded to
me. Some statement we're not privy to appears to have preceded the text that
remains in
the e-mail she forwarded to me. At minimum, I feel that Claudia's
e-mail fans the flames of the false sentiment among some that I'm a quack.
Regardless, as I spelled out to Claudia in my final e-mail to
her, she
narrowly eluded the deeper involvement in this case that Mrs. Jungert
failed to escape.
Had I filed a libel suit against
Mrs. Jungert, it's highly probable that I would have won it. She libeled me on two counts: First, by accusing me of quackery, and second, by
accusing me of trying to make millions of dollars by "preying on"
unsuspecting pain patients. I could easily prove both of these accusations
to be false. In addition, she e-mailed her defamatory statements to five
other people. This constituted "publishing" her statements, thus
qualifying them as libel.
Moreover, Mrs. Jungert put herself
in a highly unfavorable position regarding a libel suit. Ordinarily in a
libel suit, being awarded general damages (those expected to
result from the libelous act) depends upon the libeled person proving that he's suffered
special damages—those (such as harm to one's professional reputation) that
are computable in money. Among the exceptions to this rule is one relevant
to this case—"per se
defamation." Mrs. Jungert accused me of having a characteristic (being
a quack) that detracts from the professional qualities required of
licensed chiropractic physicians and board certified pain management
specialists. My professional record, however, clearly shows that I've
exhibited all qualities required of such physicians and specialists—including
not being a quack. Hence, her accusation of quackery is false and
constitutes per se defamation. This means that, had I won a suit
against her, Mrs. Jungert would likely have had to pay me larger general damages
without my having to prove special damages.
Based on this legal position
favorable to me, I promptly took steps to have Mrs. Jungert do one of two
things: (1) publicly apologize for her libelous accusations and admit she
had no grounds for them, or (2) face
aggressive legal action for libel. I presented these options to her in the
following letter.
Letter of
Demand to Sharon Jungert
July 2, 2002
Sharon Jungert
3061 Wellington Ave
Grand Junction, CO 81504-5686
Dear Mrs. Jungert:
In your e-mail to me and several other people
dated 6/22/2002, you flagrantly and egregiously libeled me. The specific
libelous statements you wrote include the title of your e-mail: (1) "Chriopractic
Quack - Dr. Lowe D.C." Also included are:
| (2) "After reviewing
the question and answers from the following web site here is my
response to what I consider a Chiropractic Quack."
(3) "Dr. Lowe D.C.: I could not
agree more with Dr. Bernard Lown Ref: THE LOST ART OF HEALING by
Bernard Lown, M.D. He so eloquently describes Doctors like you, Dr.
Lowe, who are clearly out to make millions of Yankee dollar by
preying on your 22,000 un-suspecting patients who are in pain. Your
reference to good doctors like Dr. Bernard Lown is clearly an
attempt to hitch your fallen star to his rich credentials. " |
It is clear to me that your intention in
making these libelous statements was malicious and that you intended to
dishonor me and generate public contempt for me.
Judging from your email, you are not a
well-educated person, and on that basis, I assume you are ignorant of libel
law and of the backbreaking expenses involved in defending a libel law suit.
I assume, too, that you have had no experience with the sense of invasion
that usually accompanies the court-ordered exposure of the defendant’s
financial and other private matters in the process called "pre-trial
discovery." On the assumption that you are ignorant about these matters
but would prefer to avoid them, I am going to give you the opportunity to
sidestep them and redeem yourself. You can do so by writing an apology to me
in which you specifically recant the three quoted libelous statements I
listed above, stating that you apologize for making the three statements
and that you have no evidence that any of the statements is true. You will
also have to provide me with a release letter giving me permission to use
your written apology in any way I choose.
If you opt not to write an apology and
release, I will ask my attorney to send you a letter of demand. In that
letter, he will demand a cash out-of-court settlement from you plus his
legal fees that will have accumulated as a result of your libelous
statements about me. If you decline that demand, I will ask him to follow
through with legal proceedings against you and file a libel suit.
Having spent many years serving as an expert
witness in depositions and courtrooms, I am entirely comfortable with
litigation and am an enthusiastic and aggressive litigant. This being the
case, unless you have deep pockets and an extraordinarily strong character
in standing up to the severe stress of a suit at law, you will want to act
promptly and retract in writing your three libelous accusations.
If I do not receive a response from you
within ten days of the date of this letter, I will ask my attorney to
aggressively proceed with the steps I have described above.
Resolutely,
Dr. John C. Lowe
cc: Randy Holmes, J.D.
Letter of Release From
Sharon Jungert
July 9, 2002
Dr John
C. Lowe
1800 30th Street Suite 217A
Boulder CO 80301
Letter of Release
I, Sharon Jungert residing at 3061 Wellington
Ave, Grand Junction Co 81504, grant to Dr. John C. Lowe the rights to use this
letter [see letter below], all rights and privileges. This letter of release applies to the
use with the full contents only of the Letter
of Apology, dated July 9, 2002, in any way He chooses. Sharon Jungert
Letter of Apology From
Sharon Jungert
July 9, 2002
Dr John C. Lowe
1800 301h Street Suite 217A
Boulder CO 80301
Dear Dr. Lowe,
In response to your letter dated July 2, 2002, concerning my email dated
6/22/2002, where you feel that I egregiously libeled you. I am going to
address the three items you have outlined as follows:
I retract and sincerely apologize for making the three following
statements that use any derogatory terms. I specifically recant the
following 3 statements, quoted from your letter of July 2, 2002. I have no
evidence as to the veracity of these statements.
1) Title in the e-mail, "Chriopractic Quack - Dr. Lowe
D.C."
2) "After reviewing the question and answers from the
following web site here is my response to what I consider a Chiropractic
Quack".
3) "'Dr. Lowe: I could not agree more with Dr. Bernard Lown Ref:
THE LOST ART OF HEALING by Bernard Lown, M.D. He so eloquently describes
Doctors like you, Dr. Lowe, who are clearly out to make millions of
Yankee dollar by preying on your 22,000 un-suspecting patients who are
in pain. Your reference to good doctors like Dr. Bernard Lown is clearly
an attempt to hitch your fallen star to his rich credentials".
Again, I sincerely apologize for these statements. I truly meant
you no harm, nor was it my intent to libel you.
I was mad at the world for giving me this dread disease, Fibromyalgia.
These statements were made by me after suffering from Fibromyalgia for the
past 30 years. Only in the past 1 1/2 years
have I found some relief from these pains and the relief is not continuous.
Yours truly, Sharon Jungert
E-mail to Individuals
Mrs. Jungert
Copied Her Libelous E-mail to
Subj: Sharon Jungert's libelous accusations against me
Date: 8/5/2002 5:49:10 PM Mountain Daylight Time
From: Jlowe55555
To: [I send this e-mail to all the people Mrs.
Jungert sent her libelous e-mail to. I copied it to Mrs. Jungert, Claudia
Marek, and Dr. Paul St. Amand.]
On June 22, 2002, you received an e-mail from Mrs. Sharon Jungert in which she made libelous accusations against me. I wrote to Mrs. Jungert and pointed out the legal ramifications of her accusations. In response, she wrote a letter of apology to me for which I am grateful. However, because Mrs. Jungert shared her libelous e-mail with you, and because it was circulated on at least one fibromyalgia news group, I have posted all communications relevant to her e-mail to the following web page:
http://www.drlowe.com/jcl/comentry/libel.htm
I emphasize that I have not posted the communications to the web page to cause Mrs. Jungert embarrassment. Instead, I've done so for the same reason that many
libel victims file law suits—to deter others from libeling the plaintiff. My intention is to deter others from libeling chiropractic physicians in general and me in particular.
I now consider this unfortunate incident closed, and I extend my apologies to Mrs. Jungert for any embarrassment she might suffer from my posting the communications to our website.
Sincerely,
Dr. John C. Lowe
|
E-mail to Dr. St.
Amand's Nurse, Claudia Marek,
and to Dr. Paul St. Amand
|
Subj: From Dr. John C. Lowe
Date: 8/5/2002 3:28:05 PM Mountain Daylight Time
From: Jlowe55555
To: FMSNURSE@aol.com (Claudia Marek,
RN)
CC: FMSDoc@aol.com (Paul St. Amand,
M.D.)
Dear Claudia,
You might find interesting the outcome of Mrs. Sharon Jungert's libelous accusations against me contained in
her
e-mail to you dated June 22, 2002. The URL to
the outcome is http://www.drlowe.com/jcl/comentry/libel.htm.
I should point out that you narrowly escaped serious entanglement in this incident. The copy of
your
e-mail reply to Mrs. Jungert that I received was truncated. My legal counsel advised that I demand from you the full content of the e-mail. I suspect that if I had, the
text missing from your e-mail would have necessitated that you, like Mrs.
Jungert, write a formal public letter of apology to me. It will be prudent of you, Claudia, to understand something:
My criticisms of Dr. St. Amand's beliefs about fibromyalgia have been scholarly and entirely within the bounds of the responsibility of a practicing scientist. I graciously accept similar criticisms of my beliefs by others—scientists, clinicians, and patients. But I absolutely will not brook the sort of defamation of character exemplified by
Mrs. Jungert's libelous e-mail, and I will take aggressive legal action against anyone who engages in it against me.
Sincerely,
Dr. John C. Lowe
|
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