Jacksonville man with COVID-19 at center of ivermectin lawsuit against Mayo Clinic dies
The man at the center of a court case between the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville and his family over allowing an outside physician to treat him with ivermectin and other drugs for COVID-19, died last week, according to the family's lawyer.
His death follows the loss of his family's appeal in the case.
Daniel Pisano, 71, a father and grandfather who moved to Jacksonville at the end of 2021 with his wife of 51 years, was hospitalized with COVID on Dec. 11, admitted to the ICU on Dec. 18, and ventilated Dec. 22. It's unclear the exact date when he died.
Between the time Pisano was hospitalized and admitted to the ICU, the family contacted Dr. Eduardo Balbona, who has his own private practice in Riverside, Art of Medicine PA. The Mayo Clinic had refused the family's request to administer ivermectin and Balbona said he had used it, in combination with other drugs, successfully in other cases of COVID-19.
'Political hand grenade': Family sues Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville to allow ivermectin for dying COVID patient
More: Lawsuit to allow Ivermectin to be administered to Jacksonville man moves to 1st District Court
After Mayo's refusal, the family sued the hospital on his behalf to allow Balbona to use ivermectin treatments for COVID-19.
But Circuit Court Judge Marianne Aho denied an emergency petition filed by Pisano's family in December to allow the treatment. She wrote in her Dec. 30 ruling that the Pisano family's lawyers have not proven that the "potential benefit to the patient of administering the requested treatment protocol will outweigh the potential harm to the patient of administering the protocol."
The family's lawyers then filed a motion for a rehearing on the emergency petition before withdrawing it and instead appealing it to the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee. That court also denied the family's appeal to allow Ivermectin on Jan. 14, according to 1st District Court records.
More ivermectin requests: Florida teacher at center of ivermectin lawsuit dies of COVID; husband says 'name a law after her'
Pennsylvania: Man whose wife won a lawsuit to treat his COVID-19 with ivermectin has died
A representative for Mayo Clinic declined to comment. The family of Pisano declined comment through their lawyers at this time.
Ivermectin is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat certain parasites and tropical diseases, including scabies, and has been used widely for human use. But it is not officially approved to treat any viruses in the United States.
Katherine Lewin is the enterprise reporter at the Times-Union covering criminal and social justice issues in Northeast Florida. Email her at klewin@jacksonville.com or follow on Twitter @KatherineMLewin. Contact her for her Signal number to share tips and documents. Support local journalism!
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville ivermectin lawsuit: COVID patient in court case has died
