Lawsuit filed by Houston doctor accused of spreading misinformation about COVID-19 dismissed

HOUSTON - A lawsuit filed by a Houston doctor, who was in the spotlight after being suspended by Houston Methodist Hospital for spreading information related to COVID-19, had her case dismissed by a judge. 

BACKGROUND: Houston Methodist suspends privileges of doctor accused of spreading COVID-19 misinformation

According to a release from Houston Methodist Hospital, 

"Dr. Mary Bowden had her day in court—and today Judge Mike Engelhart dismissed her defamation case against Houston Methodist and ordered her to pay attorney fees."

Mary Bowden

Dr. Mark Boom, president and CEO of Houston Methodist, said: 

"We can now put this behind us and continue our focus on our patients, employees and community. As health care workers, we have a sacred oath to ‘do no harm,’ and part of that oath means doing everything possible to prevent the spread of misinformation that is harmful to our community."

Bowden, who is an ear, nose and throat specialist, who runs a private practice in River Oaks, announced the in suit in January 2022. 

In the lawsuit, she asked for data from Houston Methodist detailing the effects of the vaccines and financial reports. 

Bowden, who had provisional privileges at Houston Methodist, resigned in mid-November 2021 after the public back-and-forth with the hospital.

In a series of tweets, Houston Methodist Hospital wrote that Dr. Bowden had been using her social media to express political opinions about the COVID-19 vaccine and treatments. Methodist also confirmed Dr. Bowden had never admitted a patient at the hospital.

Dr. Bowden had tweeted that "Vaccine mandates are wrong" and shared about her battle to give her patients Ivermectin, a controversial drug hailed as a treatment for COVID-19 by some.

Houston Methodist said Dr. Bowden was "spreading dangerous misinformation which is not based in science."