Defamation Suit Over Inaccurate Medical Case Study Revived

A lawsuit alleging that Assist America Inc. published a defamatory case study, implying a plaintiff’s refusal to follow a doctor’s orders resulted in him losing a leg, was revived by a divided Eighth Circuit on Friday.

The court said the company may not have done enough to protect the plaintiff’s identity.

Richard Tholen is a well-known plastic surgeon in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area. He and his wife Mary Jane were members of Assist America, an organization that provides global emergency medical services.

Richard suffered a severe knee injury in Mexico in 2015 in a zip-lining accident. The Tholens allege Assist ...