Rebuttal to Jason Pfeffier's Claims in His Lawsuit Against Arnold Klein

I am literally tired of seeing this article reproduced everywhere. At the same time, I am tired of trying to reply to it everywhere, too. Thus, a blog is required to try and once again repair damage inflicted upon Michael's name:

The following is the article posted via various tabloid websites:

A lawsuit has been filed against another one of Michael Jackson's doctors, this time against his dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein.
Klein's former assistant Jason Pfeiffer filed the lawsuit, which accuses Klein of fueling the singer's addiction by providing him with muscle relaxers and narcotics and getting him "too drugged up and disoriented to stand on his own," according to the legal papers obtained by *****.

Pfeiffer said that he and Klein's own nurses were concerned that Jackson was being "overmedicated" by Klein and when he voiced his opinion, was told to "keep his mouth shut."

Pfeiffer stated in the legal documents that Michael Jackson asked for a doctor's note to "get out of a court appearance" in October 2008 and Klein issued a note claiming that the singer suffered from a Staph infection and fabricated a test.

There was also a claim made that Klein tried to give Jackson prescription muscle relaxers in 2009 by writing a prescription in Pfeiffer's name. The documents state that this was a common practice and Klein wrote prescriptions for amyl nitrate, Percocet, Cialis, Phentermine and Levitra in Pfeiffer's name, for his own consumption as well as for other patients.

Pfeiffer is suing the dermatologist for wrongful termination, hour and wage violations, sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment, among other things.

The legal documents mention that Klein required Pfeiffer to help him find sexual partners and to prepare for sexual encounters with "masseurs, paid escorts and prostitutes" and "required that Pfeiffer wash Klein's groin." Pfeiffer also recounted an instance where he was asked to obtain homeless men for his former employer to have sex with.

Pfeiffer said he suffers from emotional problems as a result from Klein's alleged abuse and is suing him for unspecified damages.

Klein is considered the father of modern cosmetic dermatology and developed modern injection techniques for Botox, Collagen and Restylane.

Jackson died at age 50 on June 25, 2009 in his Los Angeles home from an overdose of the anesthetic propofol and two other sedatives that were prescribed by Dr. Conrad Murray. His death was classified as a homicide.

The trial for Murray, the doctor charged with involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson's death, was recently delayed until September. Murray has pleaded not guilty and faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

In his own legal documents, Murray accused Klein of getting Jackson addicted to Demerol, a narcotic which he reportedly gave the singer 51 injections in the three months before Jackson's death.

Klein admitted on CNN's "Larry King Live" in July 2009 that he had prescribed the singer Demerol, but denied that Jackson was "riddled with needle marks." On the talk show, Klein also dodged questions about his donated sperm and whether he was the biological father of Jackson's kids.

Klein's attorney, Mira Hashmall, denied the claims.

"Jason Pfeiffer's allegations are scurrilous and false. His claims lack merit and will be proven baseless in court," Hashmall said in a statement.
There was no immediate comment from the Jackson family.

First I will say I could not care less about the spat between Pfeiffer and Klein. They seem to have some issues with one another that go well beyond that of a professional relationship. Sadly, they have stuffed Michael in between them without jusification.

Pfeiffer claims Klein was overmedicating Michael yet apparently has no medical training or authority to base such claims. Klein admits to using Demerol or (not and) oral Percocet to help with pain relief and sedation while performing facial procedures on Michael. Klein did in fact perform facial procedures as there was a very visible change in Michael's appearance over the last few months of his life, as he was gearing up for "This Is It". Klein has stated Michael was "needle-phobic", as others have stated this before, too. Someone needle-phobic would need to be sedated while having injections placed into their face and scalp. The face and scalp are sensitive areas of the body and are the only areas of the body that if tattooed require sedation. If Michael was not sedated enough he could have jerked and a needle could have broken off into his skin--that would be a huge problem for both Michael and Klein.

Both Klein and Pfeiffer have claimed that Michael appeared fine until the last 2 weeks of his life. They both have stated they saw no injection marks on Michael's body, especially his arms. Michael had injections on his arms and neck when he died but these were created by paramedics desperately trying to put an IV line in someone deceased. There were no injections between Michael's toes or track marks anywhere. There was nothing though tabloid articles and so-called experts keep inventing something.

Pfeiffer claims Michael would be so heavily sedated he could not walk. I was not there so I never observed Michael leaving Klein's office but I have seen numerous photos of Michael leaving Klein's office and he appears to have been able to walk just fine without support. He may have been under the influence to some degree (think of when you go the dental office) but thus far I see no evidence to substantiate Pfeiffer's claims that he was unable to walk. Just trying to brave through mobs of people and continuous camera flashes would be enough to cause me to stumble or need assistance walking out of a doctor's office, though.

There is no evidence Klein was writing or giving pain medications to Michael for out-of-office use (AKA home use). There were no pain narcotics found in Michael's home from any source. Thus, there is no evidence that Klein was supplying Michael with narcotics or muscle relaxants, either. Klein wrote two prescriptions for a muscle relaxant called Zanaflex. Zanaflex has NO abuse potential and it is not a narcotic. The autopsy report lists medications written for Michael by Klein that were found in the residence. Klein first wrote for Zanaflex on November 6th, 2008. He wrote a prescription for FOUR tablets. There were no remaining tablets. Klein wrote another prescription for Zanaflex on June 7th, 2009. He wrote for 10 tablets--8 tablets remained in the bottle. This information does NOT support any form of addiction to or abuse of muscle relaxants. If anything it shows Michael was non-compliant, as in, he failed to take his medications as directed by simply not taking them at all. It appears the latter prescription was written under Michael's well-known alias--Omar Arnold. Though it may be illegal I can understand why celebrities seek to have prescriptions filled under alias names. This does not always equate with abuse or addiction as was certainly not the case with Michael. There is no such thing as genuine privacy for celebrities. Everyone deserves to have their healthcare information private, including celebrities, and sometimes using aliases seems to be the best way at providing that to them. I am not saying this is right--but I can simply understand why it is done. There is not always a sinister reason for this action. Lastly, there were no prescriptions found at the residence that had Pfeiffer's name on them.

I have no idea why Pfeiffer mentioned the faked staph infection in order for Michael to get out of court. So what?! There is no way to prove now whether or not Michael did actually have a staph infection. Staph is a very common bacteria, typically found on the skin. Because Michael had to take high doses of prednisone at times he was actually at a higher risk of getting infections like staph infections of the skin because prednisone suppresses the immune system's ability to fight off infection.

Hopefully for the last time--the "51 injections" listed--those were NOT listed as Demerol injections nor does a charge for an injection mean an injection even occurred though Michael was receiving injections of Botox and Restylane (a cosmetic filler). Michael may have even received steroidal injections at times, too. There is no way to know what those injections were if they even occurred. However, in my opinion Klein was a wee bit "invoice-happy" if you get my drift. Judge for yourself.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/48714326/Dr-Arnold-Klein-s-Invoice-Creditor-s-Claim-towards-the-Estate-of-Michael-Jackson

Klein billed for an injection 3 days before Michael passed yet Michael's toxicology report said he was negative for opioids, including Demerol, Percocet, hydrocodone and moprhine. Demerol and its metabolites are typically still present in the body for about a week after the last administration of the drug. The math tells us it is very unlikely Michael was given Demerol within a week of his death, if not longer. That, too, is inconsistent with someone who is supposedly addicted to the substance or abusing it. As Deborah Brazil stated in court--there is no evidence that Michael was withdrawing from Demerol when he died. Now I state there is no evidence Michael was ever abusing or addicted to it, either.

It is so upsetting to continuously see this kind of rubbish out there. It is too bad that rubbish seems to be what the masses hear rather than hearing the truth from an unbiased perspective.