Johns Hopkins University Sued for $1bn Over Guatemalan Study
This story is pretty much a ‘perfect storm’ of research ethics problems: international research, on vulnerable populations (orphans, prisoners and mental health patients), lack of consent, and questionable institutional responsibility for the actions of now-dead researchers.
From The Guardian: Guatemalans deliberately infected with STDs sue Johns Hopkins University for $1bn
…Nearly 800 plaintiffs have launched a billion-dollar lawsuit against Johns Hopkins University over its alleged role in the deliberate infection of hundreds of vulnerable Guatemalans with sexually transmitted diseases, including syphilis and gonorrhoea, during a medical experiment programme in the 1940s and 1950s….
Research Ethics Blog 