No Liability for Supposed Medical Journal Article Misrepresentation About How to Treat Lyme Disease

Fifth Circuit rules against Infectious Diseases Society of America in Lyme disease case.

Individuals who claim to suffer from persistent Lyme disease symptoms sued society, alleging guidelines harmed them by casting doubt on how chronic Lyme disease should be treated and even whether the condition exists.

Fifth Circuit: District court dismissed the claims because it concluded the statements at issue were non-actionable medical opinions, not factual assertions that could support a claim for fraudulent or negligent misrepresentation.

Plaintiffs take issue with IDSA 's positions that "here is no convincing biological evidence for the existence of symptomatic chronic infection among patients after receipt of recommended treatment regimens for Lyme disease" Just because Plaintiffs disagree with those opinions does not mean that IDSA is somehow liable because their doctors or insurance providers found the opinions persuasive.