Parents sue company over death of ISU student

[rfgdxm]

http://www.amestrib.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=...3&PAG=461&rfi=9 (http://www.amestrib.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=2035&dept_id=333477&newsid=13203603&PAG=461&rfi=9)

Parents sue company over death of ISU student

By Jason Kristufek October 22, 2004

Student died from accidental overdose in 2002

The parents of an Iowa State University student who died in his dorm room of an accidental drug overdose have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a North Dakota chemical company.

Michael and Diana Babicz of Illinois filed the lawsuit in Story County District Court earlier this month.

They claim the company sold their son a potentially dangerous chemical via the Internet knowing the sale was for human consumption.

Attempts to reach LTK Research Products by phone and via the Internet were unsuccessful.

According to state medical examiner records, Michael V. Babicz, 22, died in October, 2002, from an accidental dextromethorphan overdose. He was found in his Friley Hall dorm room.

Court records say dextromethorphan is commonly found in cough medicine and can be ingested as a recreational drug to produce hallucinations similar to LSD or the drug ecstasy.

The lawsuit claims the company sold dextromethorphan under the guise that it was selling to legitimate researchers.

According to records, Michael V. Babicz purchased dextromethorphan powder on Sept. 9, 2002, from the Web site of LTK Research Products of Minot, N.D. On Oct. 10, his body was discovered.

Michael V. Babicz was a senior and was expected to graduate with a degree in management information systems.

The lawsuit names six individuals and two other California chemical companies. No one has yet responded to the lawsuit.

Des Moines attorney Roxanne Conlin is representing the Babicz family.

[silent voice of seduction]

Duh... is this even worth commenting? The same story seems to happen over and over again. I'm sad for that guy and his parents. But I hope they don't win the lawsuit and the finding will be so clearly worded that nobody ever tries to sue for this kind of thing again.

Assuming the powder they sent was pure (so he died from a DXM overdose, not from impurities), how can they be held accountable? If the customer is too stupid to measure a gram of powder, there's nobody to blame except him.

Well, I was too stupid to handle powder too (you might have read my report...), but I don't go and sue the dealer.

[rfgdxm]

Originally posted by Feldwebel Pfeffer@Oct 22 2004, 04:37 PM
Duh... is this even worth commenting? The same story seems to happen over and over again. I'm sad for that guy and his parents. But I hope they don't win the lawsuit and the finding will be so clearly worded that nobody ever tries to sue for this kind of thing again.
IANAL, but it looks to me that their lawyer is clueless. This was filed in a state court, yet the DXM was sold in interstate commerce. This suit should be in federal court. I also wonder in any case about the ability to collect on any judgement. Are the owners of LTK that rich?

And unless Babicz told LTK he was going to use the DXM to get high, how could they know how he intended to use it? He could have been a "legitimate researcher" for all they knew.

[Paralysis]

I think the agreements they have posted when you agree to the order, will hold them unaccountable for his actions.

:sly:

[vapor]

Attempts to reach LTK Research Products by phone and via the Internet were unsuccessful.

LTK has been around for a long time now, and have been sued more than once. The guy took these chemicals, if he didnt know their dangers, or how to properly use them then he is a victim of his ignorance.

You shouldnt sue companies when a persons ignorance is to blame. And the chemicals were sold for research purposes, not for human consumption, therefore by ingesting the chemical the guy violated the terms of his purchase.

[libel]

ltk is a crock of shit. lazy trip killers. killers now in the ultimate sense :cry:

fucking resellers man, ffs.

[silent voice of seduction]

Originally posted by lucidistortions@Oct 22 2004, 05:16 PM
ltk is a crock of shit. lazy trip killers. killers now in the ultimate sense :cry:

fucking resellers man, ffs.
uhm, what's their fault? do they send out mislabeled stuff?

[toshiro]

This is a classic case of:
"McDonalds made me fat! Give me 800million dollars!"

:magnus_grey:

[c3pt0r]

Originally posted by toshiro@Oct 23 2004, 10:46 PM
This is a classic case of:
"McDonalds made me fat! Give me 800million dollars!"

:magnus_grey:
lol w0rd

i bought wood from lowes and i cute myself, im seuing!

:flame:

:magnus_grey:

-c3pt0r-

[rfgdxm]

Originally posted by vapor@Oct 22 2004, 06:05 PM
You shouldnt sue companies when a persons ignorance is to blame. And the chemicals were sold for research purposes, not for human consumption, therefore by ingesting the chemical the guy violated the terms of his purchase.
It should be noted here not only was he an adult, he was a college student. The report says he died in his dorm room. What college today doesn't have computers with Internet access available for students to use? If he was ignorant about DXM, he was *willfully* ignorant, as he could have easily found and read the DXM FAQ, etc. Of course it is possible that he did read the FAQ, and was just totally reckless with his drug abuse. Why should others be blamed for the willful ignorance or recklessness of others? If you read I died tomorrow after drinking a gallon of vodka, would you say "poor old rfgdxm was a victim of those dealers at the liquor store", or "Gee, rfgdxm was a total fool. Once again, Darwin was right"? The latter I would suspect.

[5-MeO-ECO]

I too will cackle obnoxiously when the judge himself laughs this joke out of court.

From what rfg is saying about the guy, I'm starting to wonder if being a tard is genetic or something. Well, of course it is, but this poor boy must have been swimming in the ol' shallow end of the gene pool ...And by swimming, I of course mean "wading" ...and by shallow, I mean "a moist synaptic gap in a most grotesque and inverted fasion."

[libel]

nah now that i think about it much resembles those mcdonalds cases. fuck it

[vapor]

Originally posted by 5-MeO-ECO@Oct 26 2004, 11:21 AM
I too will cackle obnoxiously when the judge himself laughs this joke out of court.

From what rfg is saying about the guy, I'm starting to wonder if being a tard is genetic or something. Well, of course it is, but this poor boy must have been swimming in the ol' shallow end of the gene pool ...And by swimming, I of course mean "wading" ...and by shallow, I mean "a moist synaptic gap in a most grotesque and inverted fasion."
im reading this high, and that was just hilarious.

thought that needed to be noted

[BobAlmighty]

I just read this article and realized that the guy who died lived in the same dorm as a good friend of mine. I remember him telling me that a person he'd had aquintence with at the dorm had died. At the time he didn't know the cause. But unless Iowa state had multiple deaths in dorm rooms that october, this has to be the guy. That's kinda creepy consideirng that was about the time I started taking dex as well...wonder what would have happened had I known that guy had died from it :P Oh well....I haven't yet. Hurray for knowledge and knowing ones limits. :pr0zac:

[pr0zac]

Anyone consider that maybe this kid wasn't an idiot like you all love to assume, and just had a drug problem? Some people take more drugs than they should for whatever reason. That doesn't make them "genetically inferior" or anything like that. Just unlucky, uncaring, or at the worst, ignorant of the risks they are taking. I'm sure the vast majority understand the risks and still make bad choices because they don't see a reason not to. Next time you are going to try to feel important by talking down about some poor kid who died, try thinking for a minute and maybe NOT being an conceited asshole. A person died for fuck sakes, have some respect.

-zac

[TAP]

Originally posted by pr0zac@Oct 27 2004, 06:30 AM
Anyone consider that maybe this kid wasn't an idiot like you all love to assume, and just had a drug problem? Some people take more drugs than they should for whatever reason. That doesn't make them "genetically inferior" or anything like that. Just unlucky, uncaring, or at the worst, ignorant of the risks they are taking. I'm sure the vast majority understand the risks and still make bad choices because they don't see a reason not to. Next time you are going to try to feel important by talking down about some poor kid who died, try thinking for a minute and maybe NOT being an conceited asshole. A person died for fuck sakes, have some respect.

-zac
I agree with you to an extent. But sueing is not the answer.

[MorFiend]

if someone can be sued for selling DXM powder, then people who overdose on store bought drugs should be able to sue those stores.

this is completely stupid, and not going anywhere. what happened, he took a drug that has a risk of killing you if you take too much... and he took too much. so the consequence is... he died. who's fault is it? it's his fault for not measuring it right.

plus, i'm sure whereever he got it from has some warning on it about DXM saying it's absolutely not for human consumption.

[_Swey_]

Its like the cigeretts gave me cancer i didnt know it would give me all your money.

[MorFiend]

who's to say this wasn't intentional? since he's dead, we may never know.

[osiris_22]

i read about this
in a mag that i got from the doc office when i had surgery on my butt... i was reading about the death wile laying on the table...


Osiris