Seattle jury awards $24 million in lawsuit against stem cell center

Elise Takahama, The Seattle Times on Mar 2, 2026

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SEATTLE — A King County jury has awarded $24 million to the family of a man who died a day after treatment at a Seattle stem cell center.

Mike Trujillo was 62, a longtime electrician who ran an electrical company in Colorado. After being diagnosed with ALS in 2017, he continued to work full time, and hike and exercise often.

In early 2019, he heard about Seattle Stem Cell Center through online marketing, which promoted stem cell treatments for many serious medical conditions, including ALS. Trujillo participated in a free consultation with the center, and became hopeful the therapy could help treat or cure the disease.

At the time, Trujillo was taking Coumadin, a blood-thinning medication, which the lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, says he told the center about.

In February 2019, he underwent his first treatment. His second procedure was in early April. He was never told to stop taking his medication during either of the procedures, the complaint says. The April spinal injection ended up causing significant brain bleeding, the complaint alleges, and he was pronounced dead a day later.

“We flew to Seattle with hope, and I flew home alone, Carmen Trujillo, Mike Trujillo's widow, remembered saying to jurors during her testimony.

She and her family brought the lawsuit in 2022. The verdict came Friday.

"We'll never have Mike back," she said. But she and her five children are optimistic about the public service "that's going to come out of this (and) that it won't happen to other families."

The lawsuit names as defendants U.S. Stemology, which owned Seattle Stem Cell Center in Lower Queen Anne, its owner Dr. Tami Meraglia and other Seattle medical spas and stem cell clinics.

Attorneys for the stem cell companies did not respond to requests for comment.

The verdict includes $4 million to the estate of Michael Trujillo, $5 million to Carmen Trujillo, and $3 million to each of their five children — who span ages 32 to 46.

"I suggested a lower number," said Dylan Cohon, one of the attorneys representing the family. "But the jury was extraordinarily moved by the family and quite unimpressed by the clinic."

U.S. Stemology was also the target of a lawsuit filed by the state attorney general's office in 2022, alleging the company deceptively marketed unproven stem cell treatments.

"There is no reliable clinical evidence stem cell therapy can effectively treat these conditions," the office, led by Bob Ferguson at the time, wrote in a statement.

According to Ferguson's office back then, Seattle Stem Cell Center treated over 100 patients for many serious, chronic conditions, including asthma, muscular dystrophy, stroke, diabetes and Crohn’s disease.

The case resulted in a court-entered consent decree that imposed permanent marketing restrictions and an $800,000 judgment against U.S. Stemology.

The consent decree did not require the company to close, but it did ultimately shutter, said Mike Faulk, spokesperson for current state Attorney General Nick Brown. Meraglia now runs a new company where she practices "hormone health," Faulk said.

The Food and Drug Administration has only approved stem cell treatments for some blood disorders, but these procedures use a different cell type than what U.S. Stemology used, the state attorney general's office noted. The FDA has not approved stem cell treatments for any other condition.

In Trujillo's case, according to the family's lawsuit, providers did not tell him details about his procedure, instruct him to stop taking his blood-thinning medication or take note of his existing health conditions.

"When you have those things, it's just a recipe for disaster," said Cohon.

Carmen Trujillo said she felt blessed with Friday's news.

"Most of the jurors after offered us many blessings and happiness for the rest of our lives," she said. "So, I'm happy for Mike.