Startup Theranos is now facing heat from consumers.
On Wednesday, a lawsuit was filed in Northern California, accusing Theranos of falsely marketing its proprietary finger-prick blood test.
According to the suit, Theranos promoted itself as being compliant with regulations even as it was being sanctioned by authorities.
The suit, filed on behalf of an Arizona man referred to as “M.P.B.,” comes one week after Theranos said that it had issued corrections for thousands of its blood tests. It also said it voided two years’ worth of results from its “Edison” device.
At that time, the company said that no patients suffered harm due to inaccurate results.
But there is at least one unhappy customer who is taking legal action against Theranos.
According to the suit, M.P.B. purchased a Theranos test at a Theranos Wellness Center in a Walgreens in Tempe, Arizona, around December 2015.
The suit claims that the test didn’t work and didn’t produce accurate results.
“As a result, tens of thousands of patients may have been given incorrect blood-test results, been subject to unnecessary or potentially harmful treatments, and/or been denied the opportunity to seek treatment for a treatable condition,” reads the suit, filed by attorneys from McCuneWright LLP.
The plaintiff is seeking class action status; the suit says that Theranos has performed 6.1 million tests.
Theranos spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan defended the company in a statement sent to CNNMoney.
“The lawsuit filed today against Theranos is without merit. The company will vigorously defend itself against these claims.”
This is just the latest controversy surrounding the company, which was founded in 2003 by 19-year-old Elizabeth Holmes. The firm was last valued at $9 billion but has had its technology called into question since the Wall Street Journal published a damning expose in October.
Theranos is also under investigation from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the SEC and the Justice Department.