The vestibulopathy trial is not over
An American doctor who performed spinal manipulation for soldiers during World War II is suing for a third time, claiming he was unlawfully coerced by his military superiors into giving a false diagnosis of the condition to the soldiers he treated.
The suit filed by Dr. Michael J. Jorgensen, who is now 86, accuses the military of lying about the cause of his symptoms.
Dr. Jornens lawsuit claims that in 1945 he was a “strategic asset” and was ordered to treat soldiers in a “top-secret hospital” under the direction of then-Defense Secretary Douglas MacArthur.
The lawsuit states that the military gave him a false label of vestibulo-spinal-atresia syndrome, or VAS, and then “declassified” the diagnosis as “vestibulitis.”
The diagnosis was subsequently withdrawn by the military in 1946, and Dr. John Jorgens sued the government, claiming the medical information was not properly vetted by him.
The new lawsuit, which has not yet been filed, alleges that Dr. Kari Jorgenson, who was a member of the medical staff of the Army’s Hospital at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, when the condition was first diagnosed, was a co-conspirator in Dr. MacArthur’s deception.
The doctors claim Dr. Lillian S. Farr and Drs.
William W. Hagen and John J. Rupp were not aware of the deception, and the military withheld the information from them, as they were not involved in the medical research.
The plaintiffs allege that the government “did not seek the scientific evidence” to support the claim of VAS.
In a statement, the U.S. government said the lawsuit is “not yet complete,” and would be filed in the U