Amid the celebration of the recent settlement of the first lawsuit led by attorneys Ben Crump and the Seeger Weiss Law firm, seeking justice for the family of Henrietta Lacks against biotech company Thermo Fisher Scientific, there are more legal troubles brewing in the background for Ron L. Lacks, the grandson listed as the plaintiff, who heads the family’s estate as its executor.
Henrietta Lacks changed modern medicine when doctors took her cells without her consent in 1951. Her family had not been compensated for the estimated billions of dollars that companies made selling her cells — until now!
According to public court documents and an obtained police incident report, Ron L. Lacks, age 64, was arrested on March 16, 2023, and later indicted by a grand jury for an incident that resulted in apparent broken bones and a head injury to his wife Hope Lacks. The incident occurred at their family home on February 17, 2023. Documents filed with the Circuit Court of Baltimore City – Criminal System, Case Number 123104009, April 13, 2023, shows Ron L. Lacks has been charged with 1st- and 2nd-degree assault.
This case appears in public records of Baltimore City Circuit Court dated May 10, 2023, after Lacks was released from jail, and again on Sept. 7, when the trial was postponed due to the death of Lawrence Lacks Sr., the eldest and last remaining child of Henrietta Lacks, who passed away on Aug. 26. The trial date for this case is set for Dec. 20, 2023.
According to a source close to the investigation, the two have been married for eleven years and shared a 32-year relationship. The source, who did not wish to be identified, states that injuries and trauma to Mrs. Lacks, were so severe that she was hospitalized from Feb. 17 to March 27 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Her injuries included her leg being broken in multiple places including a shattered femur bone.
As recently as Oct. 4, Ron Lacks was still serving as the public spokesperson for the family at the Henrietta Lacks statue unveiling and dedication in Roanoke, Va., where he received praise for his work including from attorney Ben Crump who gave him a hug and an enthusiastic verbal expression: “I love you man!” It is unknown if attorney Crump is aware of the domestic violence case as we could not locate a public statement of him addressing the arrest and pending trial.
Hope Lacks was not available for an interview. However, a view of a Facebook page listed under the name Hope Lacks revealed a post pinned to the profile on July 9 that shows a photo of an injured leg, confirmed by our source to be Mrs. Lacks, with trauma to the area of the femur bone.
Another post to the page on Oct. 1 shows support for victims of domestic violence accompanied by the message “I’m a Survivor!” and statistical facts on the frequency of the crime of domestic violence.
Readers who follow my radio show on Radio One WYCB-AM, may recall my reports that domestic violence was a part of my marriage for 17 years. Many of my domestic violence columns where picked-up and shared across the nation. Though I have not written about domestic violence for a few years now, I feel passionate and a responsibility to bring attention to this violent act when it rears its ugly head.
According to national statistics on domestic violence, on average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. Over the course of one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men. The data reports that:
– 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner. This includes a range of behaviors (e.g., slapping, shoving, pushing) and in some cases might not be considered “domestic violence.”
– 1 in 7 women and 1 in 25 men have been injured by an intimate partner.
Ron Lacks previously appeared as a guest on “The Lyndia Grant Radio Show” prior to this incident. If you or someone you know is being abused, help is available by contacting the National Domestic Violence Hotline 800-799-7233. We will keep an eye on this developing story.
In an article written by The Associated Press, it states: Just over a week after Henrietta Lacks’ descendants settled the lawsuit against Thermo Fisher Scientific, the family’s attorneys have filed another claim. The new lawsuit, kicks off the chain of suits; targets California-based biopharmaceutical company Ultragenyx, was filed in Baltimore federal court, the same venue as the recently settled case. Lawyers for the family have said they plan to bring a series of lawsuits against various entities that continue to reap rewards from the racist medical system that took advantage of Henrietta Lacks.
Lyndia Grant is a speaker/writer living in the D.C. area. Her radio show, “Think on These Things,” airs Fridays at 6 p.m. on 1340 AM (WYCB), a Radio One station. To reach Grant, visit her website, www.lyndiagrant.com, email lyndiagrantshowdc@gmail.com or call 240-602-6295. Follow her on Twitter @LyndiaGrant and on Facebook.