A King County jury in Seattle awarded $24 million to the family of a man who died the day after a procedure at a local stem-cell clinic. The suit was filed against US Stemology, which owned the clinic, its owner Dr. Tami Merali, and several other medical spas and clinics. Such private clinics offering experimental treatments are relatively common in Seattle and Washington state, especially in affluent neighborhoods. Their reputation is mixed: they are popular among some people seeking innovative approaches but are often criticized by medical experts for a lack of scientific evidence and potential risks. The verdict concludes years of litigation that began in 2022.
Mike Trujillo, a 62-year-old electrician from Colorado, learned in 2017 that he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Despite the diagnosis, he continued to work and stay active. In early 2019, after seeing an online advertisement for the Seattle Stem Cell Center, which offered treatments for many serious conditions including ALS, Trujillo signed up for a free consultation and placed his hopes in the therapy.
According to the lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court — a court of general jurisdiction in Washington state that handles civil matters within the county, including medical malpractice issues — Trujillo told the clinic he was taking the blood thinner Coumadin. However, before two procedures performed in February and early April 2019, he was not instructed to temporarily stop taking the medication. The suit alleges that a spinal injection given in April caused a massive brain bleed, and the following day Mike Trujillo died.
“We flew to Seattle with hope, and I flew home alone,” recalled words reported to the jurors by the late man’s widow, Carmen Trujillo. The verdict includes $4 million to Mike Trujillo’s estate, $5 million to his widow, and $3 million to each of their five children, ages 32 to 46. The family’s attorney, Dylan Cohn, said the jurors were deeply moved by the family’s story and not impressed by the clinic’s position.
This is not the first legal action against US Stemology. In 2022 the state attorney general’s office filed a suit accusing the company of deceptive advertising for unproven treatments. That case ended in a court settlement imposing permanent marketing restrictions on the company and an $800,000 fine. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved stem-cell therapy for only certain blood disorders, not for the conditions treated by the clinic. FDA oversight in this area is limited, which allows some clinics to operate in a “gray area.”
Carmen Trujillo said she feels relieved after the verdict and hopes the case will serve the public and spare other families from similar tragedy. According to a representative of the attorney general, the clinic ultimately closed and Dr. Merali now runs a new company focused on “hormone health.” Dr. Tami Merali is known in Seattle as a practicing physician who manages companies in the alternative medicine space. For the region’s medical community, where academic medicine and commercial clinics coexist, such a shift in focus from stem-cell therapy to anti-aging and wellness services is not unique and reflects adaptation to market demand in tech-advanced cities.
Based on: Seattle jury awards $24M in lawsuit against stem cell center