Stutter Study Settlement is $925,000
Six plaintiffs who say they were badgered and belittled as children in a now-infamous stuttering study in the 1930s, leading to lifelong emotional problems, have agreed to settle their lawsuit.
They had originally sought $13.5 million, but have now agreed to accept $925,000 from the state of Iowa, according to the Associated Press and the Iowa City Press-Citizen. The plaintiffs, who are now in their 70s and 80s, reportedly agreed to the settlement in part because they didn’t want to see the litigation drag on for years into the future.
Researchers from the University of Iowa conducted the 1939 “Monster Study,” which attempted to determine whether stuttering in children was a learned behavior that could be induced by harassment and other negative therapy.
