The fallout from the death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler continues, with his widow announcing that she is planning to sue Cytodyne Technologies, the company that manufactures Xenadrine, the dietary supplement that Bechler was reportedly using at the time of his death:
David Meiselman, who was retained late last week by Kiley Bechler, revealed plans to sue Cytodyne Technologies in a telephone interview today from his White Plains, N.Y., office."Our position very clearly is that Steve Bechler is dead, and that ephedra killed him," Meiselman said. "We intend to get this product off the shelves and put the manufacturer out of business. . . . I am all for free enterprise, but a company that knowingly sells a product that kills people is no longer entrepreneurial, but predatory."
Cytodyne Technologies responded to Meiselman's accusations with a statement, that read in part:
"The death of Steve Bechler is tragic and our condolences go out to his family. However, the position of the attorney making this accusation is based on neither fact nor science. Xenadrine has been used safely and effectively by over 20 million people in the U.S. alone. . . .There is not a single clinical study that has shown ephedra to be unsafe. In view of this, it's reckless for anyone to point blame for Mr. Bechler's tragic death at this product.
"Moreover, it is even more irresponsible to make those accusations considering they have no evidence at this time that Mr. Bechler even used this product."
From there, the piece in the Washington Post by reporter Dave Shenin breaks down into finger pointing. The lawyer for Bechler's widow is claiming that much of the information that is coming from the local medical examiner in Florida is false. In turn, the medical examiner says that they are only reporting the facts concerning Bechler's medical history that they received from the Orioles. And finally, Cytodyne is attempting to blame the Orioles for Bechler's death:
"It's unfortunate that the Orioles' organization has chosen to ignore the fact that Mr. Bechler had a history of hypertension, liver disease and heat illness episodes and that he was allowed to exercise without proper hydration and nutrition. . . .The media should be asking the Orioles organization why this was allowed to happen instead of blaming [Xenadrine]."
During a quick trip to Cytodyne's Web site, you can find a page dedicated to the "Xenadrine Hall of Fame" -- a place where current Heavyweight Champion of the World Lenox Lewis is honored.
UPDATE: Coincidentally, a story was filed today in the St. Paul Pioneer Press concerning the ongoing litigation resulting from the death of late Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman, Korey Stringer:
Attorneys for the Minnesota Vikings filed documents Friday claiming that Korey Stringer's body never was tested for ephedra and that his use of the controversial supplement can be linked to the heatstroke that killed him during training camp in 2000.The Vikings filed the papers in a response to a motion by the lawyers of Stringer's widow, Kelci, who has filed a $100 million wrongful death suit against the team. Her attorneys have requested dismissal of a defense argument that Stringer took a supplement that contained ephedra and therefore contributed to his own death.
"Stringer's use of ephedra can be causally linked to the onset of heatstroke," the papers said.
The attorneys referred to testimony from Kelci Stringer in which she said her husband took four capsules of a supplement called Ripped Fuel, which contains ephedra, before every football game. Right guard David Dixon, Stringer's training camp roommate, said in a signed affidavit that Stringer told him he used Ripped Fuel the morning of July 31, 2001 - the day Stringer collapsed. He died early on the morning of Aug. 1.
Toxicology reports revealed no traces of ephedra in Stringer's system. But the Vikings contend that the toxicology reports did not test for ephedra.
"Plaintiffs have long suggested that no evidence of Stringer's ephedra use exists because blood tests after his death didn't reveal the presence of ephedra," Vikings lawyers said. "However, the truth as revealed in discovery in this case is that Stringer's blood was never actually tested for the presence of ephedra."
