In 2017 Chuck Norris filed suit against Bracco Industries, claiming the contrast agent, Gadolinium, left his wife, Gena, with intense pain and a burning sensation. Bracco released a statement January 16, 2020, saying they were “pleased to announce that the lawsuit filed by Chuck and Gena Norris… has been voluntarily dismissed.” (https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/voluntary-dismissal-of-norris-case-300988404.html) After a 3-year legal battle with Bracco Industries and several other manufacturers of Gadolinium, the pair has pulled their lawsuit. They were seeking more than $10 million in damages. Neither side has received any settlement, and both parties have decided to pay their own court costs.
This all began when Gena Norris received a series of three MRIs in one week as routine maintenance and for her rheumatoid arthritis. She began suffering from “cognitive deficits; body pain and burning sensations, kidney damage, loss of energy and mobility; and difficulty breathing due to rib damage” according to the official complaint filed by the Superior Court for the State of California. After several visits to the hospital, and her conditions worsening, they decided to leave the country and seek medical attention in China, receiving chelation therapy and stem cell treatments, costing them more than $2 million.
Gadolinium is known to be toxic to humans, but when used for MRI contrast, it is bound with a chelating agent that negates the toxicity.
The FDA conducted a study and concluded that the contrast agent was not harmful to healthy people. However, despite their findings, the FDA has since required a warning label on Gadolinium for health care professionals and their patients, alerting them that the contrast agent can stay in the body for years after the treatment.
As of this time, the Norris’s have not released an official statement.
