Dr. Oz is sued by a New Jersey man who alleges he got physically burned after following the advice of the surgeon and TV host, reported the New York Post on March 18. Frank Dietl, 76, older brother of celebrity Bo Dietl, filed a lawsuit claiming he wore heated, rice-filled socks, allegedly recommended by Mehmet Oz for insomnia, and, as a result, woke up with third-degree burns on his feet. "What upset me was that Oz should have had a disclaimer for people with neuropathy," Dietl said.
According to ABC, Oz recommended the remedy, but apparently he also warned not to get the socks too hot and to only wear them for 20 minutes. Said Tim Sullivan, Oz's spokesperson, "We stand by the content in our program as safe and educational for our viewers."
When it comes to syndicated TV show ratings, for the week ending March 10, "The Dr. Oz Show" comes in at number 23 behind "Dr. Phil," a show that ranked at number 16. Despite his popularity, is Dr. Oz, 52, good for viewers? Is the Harvard educated man with both medical and M.B.A. degrees good for fans? "Oz’s popularity isn’t hard to understand: he speaks to Americans about problems that many find impossible to share, and he talks to them in ways that few other physicians would," writes Michael Specter in his Feb. 2013 New Yorker article.
Dr. Oz is being sued, but if a warning was given for the sock recommendation, whose fault is it that Dietl experienced burns?
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