A revered pediatrician, Howard Engle battled smoking-related illness in a historic class-action lawsuit.
Jump to full article: Miami (FL) Herald, 2009-07-24
Author: ELINOR J. BRECHER
Intro: Dr. Howard A. Engle, the veteran Miami Beach pediatrician who lent his name to a landmark class action suit against Big Tobacco, died Wednesday at home, said son David Engle. He was 89 and suffered from smoking-related respiratory disease and lymphoma.
He had been in hospice care since last fall -- when he finally quit smoking.
Decades before he signed on as lead plaintiff in what became known as the ``sick smokers of Florida'' suit, Engle was an institution in Miami Beach, where he treated multiple generations of many families before retiring from private practice in 1997.
He was also revered in Miami's black community for refusing to segregate his practice in the pre-civil rights era and for opening an office in Liberty City.
Famously gruff and forthright, Engle was nonetheless single-mindedly dedicated to his young patients.
``He treated all his patients as if they were his own kids,'' son David said. ``He'd stay up all night with a sick kid who was thought to be hopeless.''
Anyone who knew Howard Engle understood that he cared far more about his role as a doctor than as a litigant -- even though Engle, et al. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al, marked a seismic shift in the legal battle against a once-invincible industry. . . .
``Goddammit! I'm an addict!'' he growled to a Herald reporter in 2006, lighting a Marlboro Medium as he gasped and coughed.
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Quotes from this article:
Goddammit! I'm an addict!
Dr. Howard A. Engle, the veteran Miami Beach pediatrician who lent his name to the landmark class action suit, in 2006. The revered pediatrician died Wednesday at 89.
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