The following letter was sent today from my attorney, Mr. Steven Biss, to the CEO of Houston Methodist hospital, Dr. Marc Boom, in regards to the widespread mistruths Dr. Boom and Houston Methodist spread about me. As I have stated before, I will not be bullied into submission when it comes to patient care and speaking the truth. I have treated over 2300 outpatients with COVID-19 and all of the patients who received early treatment have survived. I am sharing the details of my defamation suit against Houston Methodist and Dr. Boom to give hope to others who are afraid to speak out; justice will be served and this suit will set precedence for medical freedom of speech.
I will use this channel to keep the public updated about developments in the case as they occur.
STEVEN S. BISS
Attorney At Law
300 West Main Street, Suite 102 Charlottesville, Virginia 22903 Telephone: 804-501-8272 Fax: 202-318-4098
email: stevenbiss@earthlink.net
stevensbiss@protonmail.ch www.linkedin.com/in/steven-s-biss-6517037
April 18, 2022
VIA EMAIL AND REGULAR MAIL
Marc L. Boom, CEO
The Methodist Hospital
d/b/a Houston Methodist Hospital 6565 Fannin Street
Houston, TX 77030 mboom@houstonmethodist.org
RE: Bowden v. Houston Methodist Hospital et al.
Dear Dr. Boom: Matter No. 335-001
I represent Dr. Mary T. Bowden in connection with her claims against the Methodist Hospital d/b/a Houston Methodist Hospital (“HMH”) and Marc L. Boom (“Boom”) for defamation, defamation by implication and business disparagement.
In accordance with the Texas Defamation Mitigation Act, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 73.051 et seq., Dr. Bowden demands that HMH and Boom retract the following false and defamatory statements that were published in a press release and via social media in November 2021:
● Dr. Bowden’s “opinions, which are harmful to the community, do not reflect reliable medical evidence” [
Dr. Mary Bowden, who recently joined the medical staff at Houston
Methodist Hospital, is using her social media accounts to express her personal and political opinions about the COVID-19 vaccine and
treatments”
[
●“ [
● https://www.khou.com/article/news/health/houston-methodist-doctor- defends-herself-hospital-ceo-response/285-3a1a2699-f3e3-4268-b5f4-f9171e958e5a
(“Houston Methodist Hospital’s medical staff leadership decided to suspend and investigate Dr. Bowden for her inappropriate behavior, including spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. As a physician, I am personally offended by her behavior and by her misleading comments about COVID-19 and our hospital system ... She was also suspended for using vulgar and foul language while expressing her opinions. This inappropriate and disrespectful language violates our core values at Houston Methodist, and reflects poorly on Houston Methodist, our physicians and the medical profession as a whole. When Dr. Bowden refused to remove these inaccurate and misleading statements from her social media accounts, the medical staff leadership decided to suspend her”).
[
As was intended and as was naturally and reasonably foreseeable, HMH and Boom’s false and defamatory statements and social media posts were republished locally, nationally and worldwide to millions inside and outside medical community, e.g.:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/health/article/Houston- Methodist-suspends-River-Oaks-doctor-for-16615892.php
(“Houston Methodist suspends River Oaks doctor for spreading COVID misinformation”);
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Mary-Talley-Bowden- Houston-Methodist-vaccine-16775583.php
(“Former Houston Methodist doctor still licensed after using social media to spread COVID-19 misinformation”);
https://www.khou.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/houston-methodist-doctor- resigns-over-anti-vaccine-mandate-pro-ivermectin-tweets/285-cc692887-75f4-41f3-a2cb- 07e6ec45bbf6
(“Dr. Mary Bowden resigned from Houston Methodist after the hospital said she was spreading misinformation about COVID-19 on social media. Dr. Bowden was suspended last week. In a series of tweets, the hospital said she was spreading‘dangerous misinformation (about COVID-19 on social media) which is not based in science’”);
https://cw39.com/news/local/doctor-resigns-from-houston-methodist-after-being- suspended-for-spreading-misinformation-about-covid/
(“Doctor resigns from Houston Methodist after being suspended for spreading ‘misinformation’ about COVID-19 methods”);
Dr. Bowden ... is spreading dangerous misinformation which is not based in science”
https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/houston-doctor-suspended-for-spreading- dangerous-misinformation-on-covid-19/
(“Houston doctor suspended for ‘spreading dangerous misinformation’ on COVID-19”);
https://www.fox26houston.com/news/houston-doctor-accused-of-spreading- dangerous-misinformation-by-houston-methodist-hospital-fires-back
(“Houston doctor accused of spreading dangerous misinformation by Houston Methodist Hospital fires back”);
https://abc13.com/houston-doctor-suspended-dr-mary-bowden-covid- methodist/11230466/
(“Houston doctor suspended for ‘spreading dangerous misinformation’ responds to allegations”);
https://www.cbs42.com/news/health/coronavirus/texas-doctor-suspended-for- spreading-dangerous-misinformation-on-covid-19/
(“Texas doctor suspended for ‘spreading dangerous misinformation’ on COVID-19”);
https://www.kron4.com/news/national/texas-doctor-suspended-for-spreading- dangerous-misinformation-on-covid-19/
(“Texas doctor suspended for ‘spreading dangerous misinformation’ on COVID-19”);
https://fox59.com/news/texas-hospital-bans-doctor-for-spreading-misinformation- about-coronavirus/
(“Texas hospital bans doctor for spreading ‘misinformation’ about coronavirus”);
https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-texas-media-health- e1f97db1cda6335aff1523ebaf389bf7
(“Texas hospital suspends doctor for false COVID information”);
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mary-bowden-suspended-covid-19- misinformation-vaccinated-patients-texas/
(“Texas doctor suspended for spreading COVID-19 misinformation and refusing to treat vaccinated patients, hospital says”);
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/suspended-texas-doctor-promoted- ivermectin-covid-treatment-resigns-hos-rcna5833
(“Dr. Mary Bowden was suspended from Houston Methodist Friday for ‘spreading dangerous misinformation.’ She resigned this week”);
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/11/15/houston-doctor-suspended- hospital-misinformation-covid/
(“Hospital revokes Houston doctor’s privileges for ‘spreading dangerous misinformation’ about covid on Twitter”);
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/11/15/texas-hospital-suspends- doctor-misinformation-covid-vaccines/8633323002/
(“Texas hospital suspends doctor for spreading false information about COVID-19, vaccines”);
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/15/houston-doctor-suspended- hospital-spreading-covid-misinformation
(“Houston doctor suspended from hospital for spreading Covid misinformation”);
https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/13/us/houston-doctor-suspended-covid- 19/index.html
(“Texas doctor suspended for spreading 'misinformation' about Covid-19 submits resignation letter”).
Taken as a whole, the clear defamatory gist of HMH and Boom’s statements is that Dr. Bowden is unfit to be a medical doctor, that her medical judgments and advice are unsafe and/or unsound, and that she peddles disinformation and misinformation, including harmful medical treatments and, therefore, endangers patients. The qualities disparaged by HMH and Boom – Dr. Bowden’s medical judgment, advice, credibility, honesty, integrity, ethics, intelligence, performance and ability to perform as a licensed medical doctor – are peculiarly valuable to her and are absolutely necessary in the practice and profession of any medical professional. Your false statements ascribe to Dr. Bowden conduct, characteristics and conditions that are highly prejudicial to her or anyone in her profession. See Memorial Hermann Health System v. Gomez, 584 S.W.2d 590 (Tex.App.-Houston 2019) (cardiovascular surgeon sued hospital for defamation and business disparagement as a result of statement made to competing hospital that surgeon had “bad quality, high mortality rates, unnecessary surgeries”. The jury found in favor of surgeon, and the District Court, Harris County, entered judgment for more than $6 million in compensatory and exemplary damages); Batiz v. United Parcel Services, Inc., 2007 WL 9715011, at * 5 (N.D. Tex. 2007) (“Statements that Batiz is not a ‘real’ or competent doctor, that she is an ‘ambulance chaser,’ and that she misdiagnosed a patient all go directly to her reputation as a licensed chiropractor. The Court fails to see how such statements, if made, could do anything other than harm Batiz’s professional reputation and, from the letters, it appears that Valentino and LeBlanc perceived the statements as injurious to Batiz. In viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to Plaintiffs, the Court finds the alleged statements capable of a defamatory meaning. Additionally, because they go directly to Batiz’s occupation, she is not required to plead or prove damages. Rather, such words are ‘actionable in and of themselves’”) (citation and quotation omitted); Weyrich v. New Republic, Inc., 235 F.3d 617, 628 (D.C. Cir. 2001) (statements made plaintiff appear “highly volatile, irrational, [and] unsound.”). HMH and Boom’s false statements were immediately understood to convey a defamatory meaning about Dr. Bowden, see, e.g.:
https://crooksandliars.com/2021/11/houston-hospital-suspends-doctor-spreading
(“Why this woman has been allowed to keep her medical license, or to continue to spread dangerous lies on Twitter without being suspended is beyond me. It seems a hospital in Houston has finally had enough of her”);
(“Thank you @MethodistHosp for always practicing evidence-based medicine and caring for us during the pandemic #science”);
(“
(“
(“I applaud the @MethodistHosp for taking action. Q-ackery does not instill trust. Quite the opposite. Dr Bowden can go back to her Veteranary [sic] practice”);
(“Send a message to every quack doctor peddling dangerous COVID disinformation and propaganda and revoke Dr. Bowden’s medical license”);
(“Glad to see this: Houston Methodist Hospital suspended Dr. Mary Bowden who repeatedly & baselessly defended Ivermectin as COVID-19 treatment. More hospitals & boards need to enact disciplinary measures against Drs who spread #COVID19 hoaxes. Enough is enough”);
(“Let’s talk about Dr. Mary Talley Bowden, and those like her, who have gone out of their way to spread disinformation and administer ineffective treatments in the pandemic”);
(“@MethodistHosp suspended Dr Mary Bowden for sharing ‘dangerous misinformation not based in science’ about #CovidVaccine and treatments on social media. BRAVO to CEO Dr Marc Boom for placing public safety first”);
Thanks for standing for the truth and preventing folks from spreading falsehoods. It’s one ‘doctor’ undermining the hardwork of 25k employees, and worse, putting everyone’s lives and health at risk”);
Report Dr Bowden to the board of medicine, not Twitter”);
(“A Texas hospital says it has suspended the privileges of Mary Talley Bowden, MD (@MdBreathe) – who spread misinformation about Covid-19 on her social media. That’s progress. This isn’t personal Mary, physicians must protect public health and safety”).
Dr. Bowden is a private individual. HMH and Boom’s false and defamatory statements thrust Dr. Bowden into the vortex of a public issue and severely injured her business and reputation.
Demand is hereby made for an immediate public retraction of the false and defamatory statements, a public apology, and compensation for the presumed damages and actual injuries suffered by Dr. Bowden, including the insult, humiliation, embarrassment and injury to her reputation and medical practice caused by HMH and Boom’s unnecessary and gratuitous defamation and business disparagement.
I note that HMH and Boom exhibited neither the courtesy nor the conviction or intestinal fortitude to contact Dr. Bowden prior to publication. Rather, HMH and Boom went directly to the Houston Chronicle and the Twitter sewer, and simply published the false statements in a manner they knew would inflict the greatest ignominy. HMH and Boom’s cowardly acts violated the sacred obligation to do no harm. They invite a substantial punitive damage award.
In order to mitigate the damage HMH and Boom caused, the retractions must prominently notify HMH’s 22,700 Twitter followers, the medical community and the media that HMH and Boom fully and irrevocably retract and withdraw the offending statements. Dr. Bowden demands full compliance with §§ 73.057(b) and (e) of the TDMA.
My client wishes to resolve this matter amicably and without litigation. If you refuse to take the above action within 30 days of the date of this letter, however, or if the retractions are insufficient, she intends to take appropriate legal action to protect her rights and interests.
Please forward this letter to your insurer and legal counsel immediately. Yours very truly,
/s/ Steven S. Biss
Steven S. Biss
cc. Dr. Mary T. Bowden
cc. Madhu Sekharan, Esq
As an RN of 30 years and witness to vax injuries and other successes in other treatment outside of hospital settings you have my support
May justice prevail. I’m looking forward to retweeting each and every retraction.