Van Koinis Class Action Lawsuit Filed
According to an article in the Chicago Tribute, a class-action lawsuit has been filed against deceased pediatrician, Van Koinis, M.D. The lawsuit alleges that Dr. Van Koinis lied about vaccinating children, when he had not actually done so. Moreover, the lawsuit also alleges that Dr. Van Koinis falsified medical records. The class-action complaint was filed in Cook County Circuit Court by attorneys at Wais, Vogelstein, Forman & Offutt, LLC.
Although not a birth injury case, this class-action lawsuit is relevant because it involves children being victims of medical malpractice.
Pediatrician was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in September 2019
In September of 2019, Dr. Van Koinis was found dead from a gunshot wound. The longtime pediatrician, who had treated thousands of children throughout his career, left a suicide note.
Apparently, the suicide note led investigators to believe that the Cook County pediatrician had not been giving his patients their required vaccinations. In February of this year, the sheriff's office formally announced its investigation into Dr. Van Koinis' actions. Sadly, 13 out of the first 14 patients tested did not have antibodies for the vaccinations Dr. Koinis had documented giving.
After the news broke in February, additional victims of Dr. Van Koinis came forward. According to the Chicago Tribute article, there are allegedly at least 50 victims at this point. But, Jim Rollins, an attorney at Wais, Vogelstein, Forman & Offutt, LLC believes there could be thousands more.
Motives of Van Koinis unclear
At this point, it is unclear what Dr. Koinis' motives may have been. Although his suicide note did shed light on the issue, it apparently did not shed any light on his motives.
Having committed suicide, his motives may never be uncovered. Nevertheless, there can be little question that his actions would be negligent if they are true. Almost every school requires proof of vaccination. Not giving the vaccinations would be medical malpractice, and could have resulted in the spread of disease because of falsified vaccination reports being given to hospitals.
An attorney for Dr. Van Koinis' estate did not respond to a request for comment made by the Chicago Tribune. More information should come to light during the discovery phase of the class-action lawsuit.
