Below is a reproduction of one of numerous lawsuits filed against “Lyme literate” fraudster Carol Ann Ryser, MD. Her nurse-employee Diana Lynn Smith (who later changed her name to Diana Lynn Gordon) was also sued.
In 2009, the Missouri State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts filed a Complaint against Ryser for her abuse of six adults and one minor.
Among the many charges, the Board Complaint accused Ryser of “misconduct, fraud, misrepresentation, dishonesty, unethical conduct, and unprofessional conduct in the performance of the functions or duties of the medical and surgical profession.” The US federal government initiated separate criminal proceedings against Carol Ryser and her husband Michael Ryser.
Carol Ryser pointed to the abhorrent quack group ILADS (International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society) in an effort to justify her fraud and abuse of patients.
ILADS leaders Daniel Cameron, MD, Richard Horowitz, MD, and Steven Harris, MD testified in support of Carol Ryser. Harris is also associated with predatory lab IgeneX and the pseudoscience group LymeDisease.org.
The Board moved to exclude the ILADS leaders’ testimonies for not being based on valid science. Here are three important conclusions from the Board’s motion that are related to ILADS:
- ILADS is generally a trade organization governed by a small group of physicians who, like [Carol Ryser], make their living by providing patients with questionable, experimental and unproven diagnoses and treatments for Lyme disease for profit.
- ILADS has promulgated practice guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease that is not based on and does not comport with the teachings of valid science.
- A physician using ordinary skill and learning would not use the ILADS guidelines for the treatment of Lyme disease as that would be flying in the face of valid science.
The state medical board case was mooted and dismissed in 2012 after Carol Ryser and Michael Ryser admitted in federal court that they each committed two felonies: health care fraud and willfully filing a false tax return. Carol Ryser’s plea agreement included a provision that she would surrender her medical licenses in Missouri and Kansas.
Quackwatch and Courthouse News have more details on Carol Ryser’s misconduct.
Carol Ryser went to prison for two years. After she was released, she engaged in a lottery scam and went back to prison. As reported by the Kansas City Star:
The scam involved elderly victims being told in phone calls that they had won a lottery prize that they would receive by taxes and fees. Ryser, of Mission Hills, received some of that money and sent most of it on to others.
Diana Gordon was never stopped
Despite clear misconduct, Carol Ryser’s nurse-employee Diana Gordon sadly never lost her license. She became even more dangerous by becoming a nurse practitioner. As with many quacks, there is no evidence she stopped grifting as of this writing on May 8, 2024. Gordon’s web site boasts membership in ILADS and the similarly atrocious quack group ISEAI (International Society For Environmentally Acquired Illness).
Gordon started the “Olathe LAD Clinic” in Overland Park, Kansas, a “Lyme and Associated Diseases” clinic where real Lyme disease is very rare. “Diana Smith Gordon” is listed on the referral page of the dangerous pseudoscience group Lyme Disease Association.
Similar to fellow ILADS predator Clifford Fetters, Diana Gordon markets herself as treating Lyme disease, “Mold Illness and CIRS”, and heavy metals. As noted by Quackwatch, “toxic mold”, “chronic Lyme”, and “heavy metal toxicity” are fad diagnoses that might be facilitated by unscientific practitioners.
CIRS is a fake condition that was popularized by Ritchie Shoemaker, MD, who stopped practicing medicine after medical board discipline. The Australian government reported, “CIRS is not a recognised disease in Australia, with no scientifically validated or approved diagnostic criteria.”
Gordon formerly worked in collaboration with Douglas G. Brooks, MD, who was disciplined in 2017 after being charged with grossly negligent or ordinarily negligent care of five chronic pain patients.
Filed: December 3, 2012
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI AT KANSAS CITY
ANDREA RATLIFF
███████████████
███████████████
and
TADD RATLIFF
███████████████
███████████████
Plaintiffs,
v.
CAROL ANN RYSER, M.D.
Serve at: HOLD SERVICE
HEALTH CENTERS OF AMERICA
-KANSAS CITY, LLC
Serve: HOLD SERVICE
and
DIANA SMITH, R.N.
Serve at: HEALTH CENTERS OF AMERICA.
-KANSAS CITY, LLC
5308 E. 115th St.
Kansas City, MO 64137
Defendants.
PETITION FOR DAMAGES
(TC, TI)
Plaintiffs Andrea Ratliff and Tadd Ratliff, for their cause of action against defendants, state:
ALLEGATIONS COMMON TO ALL COUNTS
1. Plaintiff Andrea Ratliff is an individual and resident of Bonner Springs, Kansas, is married to plaintiff Tadd Ratliff, and is not a minor.
2. Plaintiff Tadd Ratliff is an individual and resident of Bonner Springs, Kansas, is married to plaintiff Andrea Ratliff, and is not a minor.
3. Jurisdiction and venue are proper in Jackson County, Missouri, in that plaintiff Andrea Ratliff first received treatment by a defendant for a medical condition at issue in this case in Jackson County, Missouri.
4. Defendant Carol Ann Ryser, M.D., (hereafter referred to as “Dr. Ryser”) is a medical doctor licensed to practice medicine in the state of Missouri, holding herself out to the public as a specialist in the “diagnosis and treatment of chronic illnesses.” She is the medical director of Health Centers of America- Kansas City, LLC.
5. Defendant Health Centers of America- Kansas City, LLC (hereafter referred to as “HCAKC”) is a Limited liability. company organized under Missouri law, authorized to do business in the state of Missouri, and doing business in Jackson County, Missouri and can be served by serving its registered agent at the address on the caption of this Petition.
6. At all relevant times Dr. Ryser was the agent, servant, and employee of defendant HCAKC. The acts and omissions of Dr. Ryser alleged in this Petition were within the course and scope of her agency with defendant HCAKC, and defendant HCAKC is vicariously liable for the acts of Dr. Ryser.
7. Defendant HCAKC employed a number of individuals to provide care and treatment to patients including Andrea Ratliff. The acts and omissions of defendant HCAKC’s employees in providing care and treatment to Andrea Ratliff were within the course and scope of their employment with defendant HCAKC, and defendant HCAKC is vicariously liable for the acts and omissions of its employees.
8. Defendant Diana Smith, RN (hereafter “Smith”) is Patient Coordinator and a nurse at HCAKC. At all relevant times Smith was the agent, servant, and employee of defendant HCAKC. The acts and omissions of Smith alleged in this Petition were within the course and scope of her agency with defendant HCAKC, and defendant HCAKC is vicariously liable for the acts of Smith.
9. Dr. Ryser advertises on her website, www.healthcentersofamerica.com, that she is a “pioneer” and that she “has a broad background of experience, training, and knowledge to meet the demands of medicine in the 22nd Century.”
10. Dr. Ryser started medical school in the 1950’s and graduated from medical school in 1963. Dr. Ryser’s sole medical board certification is as a pediatrician. Dr. Ryser is not and has never been board certified in family practice, adult internal medicine, infectious disease, immunology, hematology, or pain management.
11. Despite her lack of training, Dr. Ryser actively solicits both adults and children as patients and claims to have expertise in treating infectious diseases and chronic neurological conditions.
12. On or about December 19, 2007, plaintiff Andrea Ratliff became a patient at HCAKC.
13. Andrea came to HCAKC with complaints of fatigue, pain, gastrointestinal problems, and headaches.
14. In accepting plaintiff as a patient, Dr. Ryser, Smith, HCAKC, and its employees agreed to provide medical and health care to plaintiff consistent with the standard of care, and owed a duty to plaintiff to exercise that degree of skill and learning ordinarily used by members of their professions under the same or similar circumstances:
15. On or about December 19, 2007, Nurse Smith performed a patient intake on Andrea Ratliff at the offices of HCAKC, as she had been trained to do by Ryser. Smith took a history and performed a limited physical exam on Andrea Ratliff.
16. Dr. Ryser did not see Andrea Ratliff as a patient during the initial visit, instead seeing her for the first time as a patient nearly a month later.
17. Nurse Smith had been trained by Ryser that it was appropriate for Smith to see patients, enter diagnoses into their medical charts, order tests, and prescribe medications, all without Ryser personally seeing or personally evaluating the patients.
18. Ryser provides Smith with blank prescription pads that Ryser has pre-signed for Smith to use.
19. During the intake, Nurse Smith informed Andrea Ratliff that she had a “bullseye rash” on her right cheek. This “rash” was not visible to Mrs. Ratliff. Smith informed Andrea that the “rash” meant that she had Lyme disease.
20. Ryser and Smith have informed patients other than Andrea Ratliff that they too had “bullseye rashes” on their faces during their initial visits. As in Andrea Ratliff’s case, these “rashes” were not visible to the patients or in photographs but Ryser and/or Smith claimed to see them.
21. On December 19, 2007, Diana Smith wrote in Andrea’s medical record that she had 20 separate disorders, including Lyme disease, hypercoagulation, central nervous system disease, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, heavy metal toxicity, insomnia, migraine, irritable bowel syndrome, cystitis, systemic candidiasis, PMS, beta strep, chronic sinusitis, Raynaud’s syndrome, corticoadrenal insufficiency, tremors, vitamin deficiencies, iodine deficiency, and levador reticularis [sic].
22. Smith wrote these diagnoses down because she had been trained generally to do so by Ryser, even though Ryser had not personally seen or personally evaluated the patient.
23. Smith told Andrea Ratliff to start taking multiple medications and supplements, to alter her diet, and to begin medical and alternative treatments to address the conditions Smith had recorded in the medical record.
24. Nurse Smith, as she had been trained by Ryser, then instructed Andrea Ratliff to have her blood drawn by HCAKC for testing.
25. Andrea Ratliff had approximately 40 vials of blood drawn by HCAKC.
26. Employees and agents of HCAKC represented to plaintiffs that tests on Andrea Ratliff’s blood, saliva, and stool would be performed for a fee, and that the plaintiffs would be responsible for paying for the laboratory tests,
27. The tests performed on Andrea Ratliff’s blood, saliva, and stool ranged from the legitimate to the unscientific; the only common denominator was that Ryser would later use the tests to diagnose her with diseases and health problems she did not have, and to help convince her of the diagnoses.
28. Dr. Ryser saw Andrea Ratliff as a patient for the first time on January 15, 2008. At that time, Ryser diagnosed her as having Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, bartonella, babesia, tick borne encephalitis, hypercoagulation, beta strep, hyperthyroidism, immunoglobulin deficiency, migraine, chronic fatigue syndrome, Levitor reticularis [sic], and other conditions.
29. Dr. Ryser told Andrea Ratliff that she was extremely sick and that she needed to be treated by defendants for her many conditions.
30. At the direction of HCAKC and Dr. Ryser, Andrea Ratliff began a treatment course that included oral and intravenous antibiotics and numerous medications and alternative substances. Andrea took tens of pills per day, plus various supplements, injections, and intravenous treatments.
31. Ryser prescribed “heparin troches” for Andrea’s alleged hypercoagulation. Ryser claims to have personally developed heparin troches, and admits to never having had them formally tested for effectiveness.
32. Andrea Ratliff rapidly gained weight during treatment and showed Ryser stretch marks that had appeared on her skin. Ryser told her that the stretch marks were not in fact stretch marks but were actually “bartonella” “becoming active.”
33. Ryser told the Ratliffs that bumps on Andrea’s arms were “lyme cysts” and that the “bugs” in her were more active at night, causing her insomnia.
34. Ryser told the Ratlifffs, who married on March 14, 2008, that because Lyme disease was sexually transmitted, the Ratliffs should not engage in sex. Because of Dr. Ryser’s advice, the Ratliffs did not have sex on their wedding night or for months afterward.
35. Ryser later informed the Ratliffs that Andrea’s Lyme disease was “in remission” and that the couple could have sex.
36. Andrea became pregnant twice while under Ryser’s cave and while taking the multiple medications and supplements prescribed by Ryser, and had two miscarriages.
37. The treatment caused great distress, pain, and made Andrea more sick, often nauseated, weak, and with bouts of diarrhea and horrible indigestion. Often Andrea could not walk by herself or get out of bed.
38. Andrea was greatly affected mentally and physically by the treatment.
39. Ryser told the Ratliffs to continue the treatment and that the antibiotics needed to be rotated, because lyme disease and other “bugs” had lurked in her “biofilm” for years and would “show up” from time to time, coming “out of the woodwork.”
40. During the course of treatment, Ryser additionally diagnosed Andrea with erlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, coxsackie virus, anaplasma, influenza, and other infectious diseases, with the explanation that these “bugs” had been in her body for years but were surfacing because of Ryser’s treatment.
41. Despite Andrea’s increasing sickness during the treatment, Ryser told the Ratliffs that they had some infections “running for the hills.” Ryser told Andrea and Tadd that the bartonella was “trying to get away” in her body and that was making her feel “sicker.”
42. When Andrea complained at various points that she felt more ill than before treatment, Ryser told the Ratliffs that the increasing illness was simply a “Herxheimer” reaction that proved the treatment was working, or that it was a sign that a new “bug” in the “biofilm” had appeared.
43. Andrea underwent intravenous treatments for more than six months at HCAKC.
44. Andrea continued the other treatments, oral medications, simultaneous oral antibiotics, supplements, diets, and painful injections for years.
45. Treatment by HCAKC, Smith, and Ryser for Mrs. Ratliff’s various supposed ailments continued into 2011.
46. Tadd Ratliff and Andrea Ratliff personally paid for treatment by defendants.
47. Ryser charges approximately $800.00 per day for i.v. treatments. The other Ryser treatments, oral medications, and supplements cost hundreds of dollars per month.
48. Medical records reflect that the Ratliffs frequently informed Ryser they were running out of money. Ryser ordered Andrea to hold various treatments until plaintiffs had the money to pay for them.
49. Ryser did not supervise or perform many of the medical services Andrea Ratliff received, instead allowing Smith or HCAKC employees to supervise or perform the services.
50. HCAKC and Ryser billed the Ratliffs for treatment that did not occur, including billing for Ryser’s physician services when Ryser was not in town.
51. Andrea Ratliff does not currently have and has never had Lyme disease, hypercoagulation, or the various diseases Ryser and Smith diagnosed and claim are part of a Ryser-invented “model.”
52. Defendants billed hundreds of thousands of dollars for their diagnosis and treatment of Andrea Ratliff.
COUNT I
Medical Negligence- Treatment of Andrea Ratliff by HCAKC,
Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N.
53. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference paragraphs 1 through 52 of plaintiffs’ Petition.
54. Dr. Ryser, Smith, R.N., and HCAKC through the acts and omissions of Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N., and its employees were negligent in:
a. Negligently misusing tests for diagnosis and treatment of purported Lyme disease and other conditions Ryser claims are related;
b. Negligently and carelessly diagnosing Andrea Ratliff with Lyme disease, hypercoagulation, “bugs in biofilm” and other claimed related conditions she did not have;
c. Negligently and carelessly treating Andrea Ratliff for Lyme disease, hypercoagulation, “bugs in biofilm” and other claimed related conditions she did not have;
d. Negligently diagnosing Andrea Ratliff with unconventional conditions without appropriate consideration of differential diagnoses;
e. Negligently rejecting negative laboratory findings while uncritically accepting questionable positive laboratory findings;
f. Negligently failing to give and receive appropriate informed consent for the treatment provided to Andrea Ratliff;
g. Negligently and carelessly providing unnecessary treatment to Andrea Ratliff;
h. Negligently and carelessly prescribing and administering multiple unnecessary medications and supplements, including months of expensive intravenous medications;
i. Negligently billing nurses’ and physician services without proper documentation, and billing for services that were not provided;
j. Negligently exploiting the physician-patient relationship with Andrea Ratliff to further defendants’ own financial interest; and
k. Such other acts and omissions of negligence as will be determined through discovery.
55. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence and carelessness of defendants, plaintiff Andrea Ratliff suffered the following permanent and progressive injuries:
a. She has required medical treatment in order to counter the effects of defendants’ multiple ill-advised medications and supplements;
b. She suffered months of distress, pain, and weakness and multiple trips to the hospital;
c. She had a decline in her physical avid mental condition that resulted in additional treatments;
d. She underwent the pain and inconvenience of many daily treatment visits and office visits which were not medically indicated;
e. She was forced to endure physical and mental pain, fatigue, and suffering for months, and will continue to suffer in the future;
f. Her injury impaired and will impair her ability to enjoy social activities and sporting and recreational activities;
g. She has lost time from work and suffered a loss of income and will in the future suffer a decrease in her future income and potential for earnings;
h. She has incurred substantial’ medical bills, pharmacy bills, and the expenses of hospitalization and travel; and
i. She has suffered damage to her relations with her husband.
WHEREFORE, plaintiff Andrea Ratliff requests judgment in her favor and against defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N., jointly and severally, for damages in a sum that is fair and reasonable in excess of $25,000.00, for her costs, and for such other relief as the court deems just and proper.
COUNT II
Fraudulent Misrepresentation and Concealment-
Defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith. R.N.
56. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference paragraphs 1 through 52 of plaintiffs’ Petition.
57. At all material times, defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith. R.N. were engaged in the business of testing patients for Lyme disease and claimed related conditions, diagnosing and treating patients with Lyme disease and “related” conditions, and billing patients for the treatment by office visits, medications, and supplements.
58. Defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N. represented to plaintiffs and the general public that the treatment performed at HCAKC following their diagnoses was necessary and appropriate.
59. Despite this representation, treatment at HCAKC is inappropriate and unnecessary in many of its patients. Further, the testing relied upon by Ryser and Smith has little or no diagnostic value as it is used by Ryser, Smith, and HCAKC, Defendants knew or should have known this.
60. Defendants knew or should have known that the treatment provided at HCAKC was unnecessary, expensive, ineffective and harmful.
61. Defendants made misrepresentations directly to patients and their families including the plaintiffs, to employees of HCAKC, in promotional materials, on the internet, in correspondence with patients’ insurers and claims representatives, at lectures to physicians and members of the public, and to the general public.
62. Defendants also deliberately and intentionally suppressed and/or concealed other material facts from patients, including plaintiffs, Defendants’ concealment and suppression of facts concerning the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease and “related” symptoms included but were not limited to the following:
a. Failing to disclose and/or intentionally concealing that the tests used by Dr. Ryser should not be used for the diagnosis or treatment of Lyme disease and the conditions that Dr. Ryser claims are associated with Lyme disease,
b. Failing to disclose and/or intentionally concealing that Ryser has pet false diagnoses that she gives her patients or instructs Smith to give her patients;
c. Failing to disclose and/or intentionally concealing that the treatment performed at HCAKC had been harmful to patients in the past and could be harmful to Andrea Ratliff;
d. Failing to disclose and/or intentionally concealing past complaints that the treatment performed at HCAKC was unnecessary and harmful.
63. Defendants were obligated to disclose the above-mentioned facts, but failed to do so even when their own information demonstrated that Ryser’s diagnosis and treatment at HCAKC was unwarranted for many, if not most, of her patients, and even when they learned that the treatment was harming patients who were later determined by other health care providers not to have ever had Lyme disease or the other conditions diagnosed.
64. Defendants concealed information in order to induce plaintiffs to submit to and pay for testing and treatment.
65. In the alternative, defendants failed to exercise reasonable care in ascertaining the accuracy of the information available regarding the tests and the treatment provided at HCAKC, and made misrepresentations and omissions to plaintiff and the general public because of such lack of due care.
66. Defendants intended that the misrepresentations would be relied upon by plaintiffs and would induce them to submit to testing and treatment.
67. Plaintiffs were not aware of the falsity of the foregoing representations, nor were they aware that material facts concerning the tests or HCAKC’s treatment had been concealed or omitted.
68. The representations were material to the submission by Andrea Ratliff of blood to labs for testing, to plaintiffs’ payment of fees for the testing, and to plaintiffs’ decision for Andrea Ratliff to pay for and undergo treatment at HCAKC.
69. Plaintiffs relied on the representations in submitting blood to the labs for testing, in paying fees for the testing, and in deciding to undergo treatment at HCAKC. In so relying, plaintiff used that degree of care that would have been reasonable in plaintiff’s situation.
70. As a direct and proximate result of the representations of defendants more fully set out above, plaintiffs were forced to spend money for testing and treatment and non-medical alternative treatment by HCAKC.
71. As a direct and proximate result of the representations and concealment of defendants, plaintiffs were damaged and forced to suffer the injuries alleged in Counts I-VI.
WHEREFORE, plaintiffs Tadd Ratliff and Andrea Ratliff request judgment in their favor and against defendants Health Centers of America-Kansas City, LLC, Carol Ann Ryser, M.D., and Smith, R.N., jointly and severally, for damages in a sum that is fair and reasonable in excess of $25,000.00, for their costs, and for such other relief as the court deems just and proper.
COUNT III
Negligent Misrepresentation-
Defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N.
72. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference paragraphs 1 through 52 of plaintiffs Petition.
73. Defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N. owed a duty to plaintiffs and to the general public to use reasonable care to communicate accurate information about the proper diagnosis and treatment at their clinic.
74. Specifically, defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N. owed a duty to plaintiffs to accurately, fully and truthfully represent the safety, efficacy, and cost of diagnosis and treatment at their clinic, as well as the risks and benefits of the testing and treatment methodology used.
75. Defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, RN. made material misrepresentations to the general public and to plaintiffs that the methods of diagnosis and treatment used at the clinic had a long history of safe use and were proven to be safe and effective.
76. Defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N. made false representations about the costs and duration of diagnosis and treatment.
77. Defendants made false misrepresentations to plaintiffs, their insurance providers, and their health care providers in the course of their business because of their pecuniary interest.
78. Defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N. were negligent in misrepresenting the costs, necessity, risks, benefits, safety, and efficacy of diagnosis and associated treatment at their clinic because they knew or should have known that the representations were untrue or had not yet been adequately proven.
79. Defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N. were also negligent because they knew or should have known that testing and their treatment was not safe or effective, as defendants HCAKC, Smith, and Dr. Ryser had represented to plaintiffs and the general public.
80. Defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N. intended for plaintiffs to rely on their representations regarding the costs, necessity, risks, benefits, safety, and efficacy of diagnosis and treatment at their clinic, and such representations were material to plaintiffs’ decision to undergo and purchase testing and treatment.
81. Plaintiffs justifiably relied on defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N.’s false and misleading representations when deciding to undergo and purchase testing and treatment, Plaintiffs acted as reasonably prudent persons would have when relying on defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N.’s representations. In fact, many people were and are relying on such representations because defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N. were and are concealing the true facts.
82. As a direct and proximate result of the carelessness and negligence of defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N. more fully set forth above, plaintiffs were forced to expend monies for their medical and non-medical alternative treatment.
83. As a direct and proximate result of the carelessness and negligence of defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N., plaintiffs were forced to suffer the injuries set forth in Counts I-VI.
WHEREFORE, plaintiffs Tadd Ratliff and Andrea Ratliff request judgment in their favor and against defendants Health Centers of America-Kansas City, LLC, Carol Ann Ryser, M.D., and Smith, R.N., jointly and severally, for damages in a sum that is fair and reasonable in excess of $25,000.00, for their costs, and for such other relief as the court deems just and proper.
COUNT IV
Violation of Missouri Merchandise Practices Act
– Defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N.
Actual damages, Attorneys’ Fees, Punitive Damages
84. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference paragraphs 1 through 52 of plaintiffs’ Petition.
85. Defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N. participate in a medical and alternative practice that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of what Ryser calls Lyme disease and the conditions, symptoms, and “coinfections” Ryser claims are linked to Lyme disease.
86. HCAKC, Ryser, and Smith R.N. profit from the diagnosis and treatment by charging for office visits, telephone calls, medicines, supplements, testing, and supplies and service.
87. In order to profit from the diagnosis and treatment, the practice utilizes deceptive practices to diagnose nearly every one of its patients with similar conditions.
88. Defendants materially misrepresent the profits they reap from the treatment and have concealed bank accounts from the internal revenue service.
89. Defendants employed unlawful practices in the sale and use of supplements and medications for the treatment of plaintiff’s conditions and utilized deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, misrepresentation, unfair practice of concealment, suppression of material facts, and omission of material facts as defined by R.S.Mo § 407.020, and 15 CSR 60-7.020 through 15 CSR 60-9.110 in the following respects:
a. Utilizing unreliable, untested, and uncertified lab tests for diagnostic purposes;
b. Failing to inform its patients that the lab tests are unreliable, untested, and uncertified:
c. Materially misusing and misrepresenting valid laboratory testing;
d. Selling its patients medications and supplements that are untested, unnecessary, ineffective, and harmful:
e. Informing its patients that evidence of the conditions Ryser diagnoses (which in most Ryser patients, including Andrea Ratliff, does not exist) can be seen directly in the tests; and
f. Failing to reveal the interest of the practice in receiving positive test results for the multiple identical diagnoses Ryser assigns to most of her patients,
90. Once it wrongly diagnosed Andrea Ratliff, the practice set into motion its various therapies and treatments.
91. The practice subjected Andrea Ratliff to multiple therapies, including intravenous antibiotics, prescription medications, non-prescription medication, and supplements that were unnecessary, unproven, and caused physical harm.
92. HCAKC employed unlawful practices in the sale of products to Andrea Ratliff for the treatment of Lyme disease and other conditions and utilized deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, misrepresentation, unfair practice of concealment, suppression of material facts, and omission of material facts as defined by R.S.Mo § 407.020, and 15 CSR 60-7.020 through 15 CSR 60-9.110 in the following respects:
a. Falsely diagnosing its patients with Lyme disease and other conditions, using unreliable methods to do so, and misusing laboratory data;
b. Failing to inform its patients of the financial details surrounding the practice’s profits from the various sales to its patients;
c. Failing to inform its patients that the practice would charge for unnecessary supplies, medications, supplements, and antibiotics;
d. Failing to inform its patients that the expensive treatments would not likely do any good (since many Ryser patients, Andrea Ratliff included, did not have the diagnosed conditions) and would, therefore, be continued for months; and
e. Failing to inform its patients of the risk of damage to their body from the unnecessary treatments.
93. As a result of the unlawful and deceptive practices by defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N., plaintiffs are entitled to recover their full actual damages, including pain and suffering and damages alleged in Counts I-IV, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees pursuant to R.S.Mo § 407.025.
WHEREFORE, plaintiff Tadd Ratliff and Andrea Ratliff, by and through counsel, pray for judgment against defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N. for such sums as are fair and reasonable, together with any and all costs herein incurred and expended, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and for such other relief as the Court may deem just and proper.
COUNT V
Loss of Consortium-Tadd Ratliff
94. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference all allegations of plaintiffs’ Petition,
95. Plaintiff Tadd Ratliff was at all relevant times the husband of plaintiff Andrea Ratliff.
96. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence and carelessness of defendants, plaintiff Tadd Ratliff has been deprived of Andrea Ratliff’s valuable service and support, as well as her comfort, society, companionship, consortium, advice, and counsel, all to his damage.
97. Plaintiff Tadd Ratliff has been obligated to pay medical and pharmaceutical bills as a result of defendants’ negligence.
WHEREFORE, plaintiff Tadd Ratliff requests judgment in his favor and against defendants Health Centers of America-Kansas City, LLC, Carol Ann Ryser, M.D., and Smith, R.N., jointly and severally, for damages in a sum that is fair and reasonable in excess of $25,000.00, for his costs, and for such other relief as the court deems just and proper.
COUNT VI
Punitive and Exemplary Damages-
Defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.
98. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference the allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 52 above.
99. For years Carol Ann Ryser and Diana Smith have told many if not most of the patients of HCAKC that they have Lyme disease, hypercoagulation, and various infectious conditions. These claimed conditions are remarkably similar from patient to patient and do not depend upon the patients’ actual symptoms.
100. Ryser, Smith, and HCAKC through its employees intentionally scare entire families into requesting diagnosis of and treatment for various infections diseases.
101. Ryser has told multiple patients that he or she was “the sickest I’ve ever seen.”
102. Carol Ann Ryser holds various ludicrous and unscientific beliefs about the human body, and she inflicts these beliefs on her patients by making false diagnoses and ordering treatment schemes that are unique to Ryser and without medical merit.
103. Ryser tells patients that the reason treatment at HCAKC takes so long is that people have 93,000,000 miles of blood vessels in their bodies, the distance from Earth to the Sun,
104. Ryser and Smith tell patients that “bugs” lurk inside their bodies in “biofilms” for years, undetected by the patient’s own body and unreachable by medication, until they spring out during Ryser’s treatment.
105. Ryser believes that the various infectious parasites, viruses, and organisms she diagnoses can “hide” for years in patients’ bodies, only to periodically “show up” or become “active” when confronted with Ryser’s treatment. Ryser tells patients this.
106. Ryser and Smith tell patients that “lyme cysts” containing “classic lyme” organisms can actually be seen and felt on the skin.
107. Ryser tells patients that “bugs” breed at night and are more active in patients’ bodies at night.
108. Ryser and Smith have told patients that “floaters” in their vision are actually organisms called spirochetes, or bits of spirochetes, in their eyeballs.
109. Ryser and Smith have told patients that Lyme disease is sexually transmitted between family members and passed from mother to child via the placenta.
110. After Ryser diagnoses one member of a family with her pet conditions, Ryser will routinely diagnose other members of the same family with the same conditions. This allows her to increase her profits by treating entire families for conditions they do not actually have.
111. Defendants HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N. diagnose and treat fictitious disorders by medical, nursing, and “alternative” treatment that is not warranted.
112. Carol Ann Ryser and Diana Smith’s conduct at HCAKC constitutes a serious danger to the health, safety, and welfare of patients and the public.
113. Carol Ann Ryser and HCAKC have billed patients millions and millions of dollars for treatment.
114. Ryser has reported yearly income in excess of $3,000,000.00 at HCAKC, much of it for extraordinarily poor medical care.
115. Diana Smith R.N. is paid more than $100,000.00 per year for her work as a nurse at HCAKC instituting Ryser’s schemes.
116. Defendants continue to charge for unnecessary goods and services even as of the date of this filing.
117. HCAKC has continued to expand its practice even after learning of the harm it has caused and is causing its patients.
118. Ryser habitually misinterprets laboratory tests.
119. Ryser habitually fails to order appropriate follow-up or confirmatory tests.
120. Ryser commonly orders medical tests for children that are unreliable for use on children.
121. Ryser uses medical tests for diagnosis and treatment despite the tests’ manufacturers explicitly stating that the tests are not to be used for diagnosis or treatment.
122. Ryser frequently tells patients that lab test results are positive when in fact they are negative, inconclusive, or medically insignificant.
123. Ryser frequently tells patients that treatments recommended by her are FDA approved when they are not.
124. Ryser rarely performs physical examinations on her patients and in fact in some cases has treated patients for years and never performed an exam on them.
125. Defendants:
a. Have on one or more instances failed to adhere to the applicable standard of care to a degree which constitutes gross negligence;
b. Have a pattern of practice or other behavior which demonstrates a manifest incapacity or incompetence to practice medicine;
c. Have committed conduct likely to deceive, defraud or harm the public;
d. Have used false, fraudulent or deceptive statements in documents connected with the practice of the healing arts including the intentional falsifying or fraudulent altering of a patient or medical care facility records;
e. Have performed unnecessary tests, examinations or services which have no legitimate medical purpose;
f. Have prescribed and dispensed prescription drugs in an excessive, improper or inappropriate manner or for other than a valid medical purpose;
g. Have filed to meet minimum requirements for an adequate patient record;and
h. Have knowingly submitted misleading, deceptive, untrue and/or fraudulent representations on claim forms, bills or other statements.
126. Ryser’s general and specific medical incompetence has been noted by multiple physicians in her community, by the Kansas and Missouri medical licensing boards, and by multiple patients she has harmed. However, Ryser persists and has not changed her practice or altered her diagnosis and treatment “model” even after personally learning of the criticisms.
127. The actions, misconduct, and neglect of HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, Smith, R.N., and HCAKC’s employees and its agents were wanton, willful, malicious, demonstrated reckless indifference to and caused the damages to Andrea and Tadd Ratliff by circumstances such that the imposition of punitive damages and exemplary damages are warranted.
WHEREFORE, plaintiffs Andrea and Tadd Ratliff pray for judgment against defendants. HCAKC, Dr. Ryser, and Smith, R.N., for such sum as will serve to punish defendants and deter defendants and others from like conduct.
JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs request trial by jury on all counts of this Petition.
WRIGHT, GREEN & BAUGHMAN, L.L.C.
Lance Baughman #43766
Roger P. Wright #33138
Theodore M. Green #43080
4959 NE Goodview Circle
Lee’s Summit, MO 64064
Telephone: ███████████████
Facsimile: ███████████████
ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF