Civil rights attorney Ben Crump. Courtesy photo 'Johns Hopkins Preyed on Black Women': Ben Crump Reps Henrietta Lacks Estate
"Mrs. [Henrietta] Lacks's cells were obtained through breach of a relation of trust and confidence," the complaint alleges. "HeLa cells are Mrs. Lacks's cells, taken by physicians in whom she had placed her trust without her consent or knowledge and for no therapeutic purpose."
August 06, 2024 at 02:33 PM
3 minute read
What You Need to Know
- Civil rights attorney Ben Crump represents the estate of Henrietta Lacks.
- Henrietta Lacks is a Black woman who died of cervical cancer in 1951 months after having genetic material surgically removed.
- Crump has filed at least three lawsuits accusing companies of unjust enrichment in the commercialization of cells stolen from Lacks.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Seeger Weiss have filed another unjust-enrichment lawsuit seeking justice for the estate of Henrietta Lacks, a Black Maryland woman who died of cervical cancer in October 1951—months after undergoing controversial medical treatment.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Baltimore federal court, accuses defendants Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. and Viatris Inc. of commercializing drug products and gene therapy treatments using Lacks' living genetic material or HeLa cell lines.
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