Three days ago, the chief law enforcement officer of Texas broke rank and rebuked a state agency it would normally defend. Fighting the Texas Medical Board the past four years has felt like a major endeavor in futility, but thanks to recent actions by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the finish line is finally within sight.
In December, the Texas Medical Board issued a public reprimand against me for sending a nurse to Texas Huguley Hospital to give my patient Jason Jones ivermectin. When I sent the nurse, I was following a court order and the advice of my attorney, but in their opinion, I was guilty because Texas Huguley Hospital defied a court order and did not grant me privileges. The patient at the center of this, Deputy Sheriff Jason Jones, never received ivermectin and did not survive.
For the past four years, the case has been wrapped up in the executive branch, first with the Texas Medical Board, then in the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH). Knowing his stance during the pandemic, my lawyers and I were hoping Attorney General Ken Paxton would help expedite the process, but because the case was not in his jurisdiction, his hands were tied. But following the final order from the board in December, I filed an appeal — a lawsuit against the Texas Medical Board — in the Travis County district court, and Attorney General Ken Paxton stepped in.
On February 13th, the state, represented by Attorney General Ken Paxton, filed the following response to my lawsuit against the Texas Medical Board. This was an unprecedented but necessary move against a state agency gone rogue, who has had no oversight and during the pandemic repeatedly abused its power. The Texas Medical Board pursued many doctors for using ivermectin, but I was the only one who fought back. I could have paid a fine and moved on, but I chose to fight on principle. I am grateful to Attorney General Ken Paxton for taking this action. He has refused to represent the board and asked the court to void the public reprimand Texas Medical Board issued against me.
The Backstory
On October 22, 2021, I received a call I will never forget. Though I knew at the time it was significant, I never would have predicted the impact that call would take on my career and the next four years of my life. Most of the pandemic was a blur, but I remember exactly where I was when I first spoke to Erin Jones — after hours, I was sitting at my desk in my bedroom, taking notes with pen and paper, concern mounting as Mrs. Jones told me what was happening to her husband.
Jason Jones was a 49-year-old sheriff’s deputy for Tarrant County, Texas who served his community for twenty-nine years. Prior to the pandemic, he was healthy and took no medications. He was father to three girls and three boys, the youngest was twelve years old when he became ill with COVID.
Erin relayed to me that her husband Deputy Sheriff Jones had been in a medically-induced coma for over a month. His physician at Texas Huguley Hospital, Dr. Jason Seiden, told her he was unlikely to survive and discussions of hospice were brewing. Erin wanted him to try ivermectin — Mr. Jones unsuccessfully tried to get some prior to going to the hospital — but Dr. Seiden refused. The hospital backed Dr. Seiden up, and Erin had no choice but to find a lawyer.
Erin connected with Ralph Lorigo and Beth Parlato, two lawyers who successfully sued hospitals across the country when they refused to allow dying patients the opportunity to try ivermectin. Ralph and Beth had an impressive track record, but the outcomes of their cases basically hinged on the political affiliation of the judge. Of the one hundred eighty-nine cases they worked on, they won half — all ruled by Republican judges. In the cases where they won, all but two of the patients survived. In the cases where they lost, presided over by Democrat judges, all the patients died.
When Erin called, I had just started using ivermectin to treat COVID patients, and though I had only prescribed it to about one hundred and fifty patients at that point, I knew it was safe. I also knew that even in the late stages of the disease, there was a decent chance it could help his condition. A meta-analysis of using ivermectin for COVID patients shows a 40% improvement when ivermectin is used in the late stages of the disease.
I discussed with Erin the possibility of transferring her husband to Houston under the care of Dr. Joe Varon. Dr. Varon, one of the founding members of FLCCC (now Independent Medical Alliance), was having success other ICU doctors weren’t, using ivermectin and a cocktail of other medications not listed in the government’s protocol plan. Understandably, Erin wanted to keep her husband in Ft. Worth, as she had young children at home and the hospital was allowing her to visit him daily.
After talking to Erin, I wanted to help, so I spoke to her attorney Beth. This was a unique situation I had never been in, but I assumed with attorneys involved — who had successfully sued other hospitals using the same strategy, I would be protected. I knew Jason’s ability to receive ivermectin hinged on the outcome of the lawsuit, and I trusted Beth to guide me.
This all unfolded during the third and largest surge of the pandemic. While managing this life-or-death crisis, I was simultaneously treating a flood of patients in my clinic and caring for my four young children at home. The days were interrupted with frantic intermittent calls and texts with Beth and Erin. I’m grateful for those texts because they prove my intentions and actions during the time — texts the Texas Medical Board willfully chose to ignore.
After the hearing where I testified along with Senator Bob Hall, the judge ordered Texas Huguley Hospital to grant me emergency temporary privileges and access to their ICU to administer ivermectin to Jason Jones without delay. I was required to submit an application for privileges, which I accomplished in record time. During the pandemic, CMS stream-lined the hospital privileging process, and doctors were often granted same-day privileges. But Texas Huguley Hospital made me submit the entire application, complete with doctor recommendations and my surgical case-log for the last two years. Somehow I got that done in less than a day and since Jason’s life was hanging on the line, expected the hospital to process and accept immediately.
Instead, they stalled and waited days… announcing on a late Friday afternoon that they were denying my privileges. At that time, I still had a good reputation and a clean record. I had complied with the court order, submitted the application, and there was absolutely no reason for them to deny my application. Texas Huguley Hospital chose to defy a court order rather than allow him to try ivermectin.
Beth went to the judge to complain. She came back and told me to resubmit the entire application (over twenty pages) with a modification specifying that I only intended to give Mr. Jones ivermectin. Again, in record time, I got it done and awaited permission to move forward.
Beth texted me that the hospital appealed, but since there was no stay on the order, we had the green light. I texted back that I was confused and asked for clarification. She reiterated that I had permission to proceed. I had found a local nurse willing to go to the hospital to give Mr. Jones the ivermectin and told her to go. Beth instructed me to email the hospital to give them a warning the nurse was coming. When I did, the administrative secretary told me I didn’t have privileges. Later we would find out that the judge had granted a stay on the order, but neither the administrative secretary nor the hospital’s attorney (who was in contact with Beth) mentioned that, probably on purpose. The notification of the stay had gone to the pro hac vice’s spam folder, and none of us were aware.
When the secretary told me I did not have privileges, I spoke with Beth, and she assured me I could still proceed. I chose to listen to Beth and the court order, rather than the administrative secretary, and that decision cost me over $250,000 in legal fees and over four years of headache.
Mr. Jones was never allowed to get ivermectin. The nurse was greeted by the police when she arrived at the hospital. She left quietly, without disruption. The hospital won their appeal, and after their victory, they wrapped his feeding tube up in towels and ties to prevent anyone from sneaking ivermectin in. His wife Erin rubbed ivermectin on his skin daily (obtained from another source), and he did manage to make it out of the hospital but was unable to make a full recovery and passed away on April 11, 2023. He is survived by his wife Erin and six children. I reached out to his widow Erin yesterday to get an update, and here’s what she said:
“I did talk to Governor Abbott in person when Jason was honored in Austin. He assured me that he would look into your case, but I don’t think he ever did. We think about you and your family all the time. The kids and I are still moving forward trying to keep Jason proud! We have some big life events this year that I am focusing on. Jerry graduates high school. And then starts college in the fall. Wyatt will start his senior year of high school this fall. Our last one!! Savannah is getting married in September. She met the sone of another officer killed in the line of duty. Crazy how that happened! Dakota is working through college. Brittany is engaged and working. Jacob is figuring out work and life. I still have such a hard time reading about our medical and government systems everyday. I am working on my anger issues and trying to learn to forgive. Thank you so much for this update! We continue to pray for you, your family and business.”
Jones family with Senator Bob Hall at the Texas Peace Officers Memorial Ceremony, April 26, 2025.
This has been the most meaningful experience of my career, and I have absolutely no regrets trying to help Mr. Jones. The story illustrates the sad state of our system, where a hospital has the power to ignore a court order and turn the wrath of the licensing board on a physician trying to save her patient’s life. A patient should not have to sue to get a second opinion or try a safe medication in the final effort to survive, but Texas Huguley Hospital fought tooth and nail to deny Mr. Jones those rights.
In the next legislative session, I plan to collaborate with legislators to introduce and pass a law that empowers patients: if a patient is admitted to a hospital where their regular physician does not have privileges, the patient (or their representative) would have the explicit right to bring in their own trusted physician to provide a second opinion, consultation, or collaborative input on their care. This commonsense reform would restore patient choice, strengthen trust in our healthcare system, and ensure that no one faces life-altering medical decisions without access to the physician they know and trust most.
