Lawsuit Claims Injury Caused by Cure-All Device

An Oxnard man who practiced home pet care from a book he purchased last year has sued the author and publisher, claiming he was seriously injured after using an electrical device touted as a cure-all in the book.

Andrew Ritter and his wife, Marion, claim in the lawsuit that following directions in “The Cure for All Diseases” handbook landed him in the hospital.

On Jan. 2, Ritter was using a “Syncrozap,” an electrical health aid touted in the book, on his dog, according to the lawsuit. Directions state that the device--a battery-powered box reputed to kill bacteria and viruses--has not been approved for use on humans, the suit said.

Ritter, 41, suffered an acute seizure when treating his pet dog with the Syncrozap and was rushed to St. John’s Regional Medical Center, the suit said.

Since then, Ritter suffers from dizziness, loss of consciousness and an impaired thought process, the suit alleges. He also has developed suspicious lesions on his brain, the suit contends.

Named in the lawsuit are the book’s author, Hulda Regehr Clark; the Self Health Resource Center of San Diego County; and Promotion Publishing of Imperial Beach.

The device resembles a small plastic box and runs on a 9-volt battery, said Geoff Clark, the author’s son and president of Self Health, a health products company.

“I don’t see how [Ritter] could have been damaged by it, but I haven’t seen any of the paperwork,” Geoff Clark said. “The fact that the device runs on a 9-volt battery should be indicative of its safety.”

Ritter and his wife are asking for $30,000 in medical bills and other unspecified damages. They also want to halt the sale of the Syncrozap.

The author could not be reached for comment and no one from Promotion Publishing would discuss the suit.