April 1, 2024 Recent Legal News
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Criminal
US v Young, Jr.
Sentenced
Jeffery Young, Jr. NP. of Tennessee, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for illegally prescribing narcotics. The dumbo who called himself Rock Doc will now be pounding those rocks.
US v Gerber
Sentenced
Dr. Gregory Gerber of Sandusky, Ohio, was sentenced to 3 and a half years in prison along with paying restitution of $861,892.13 for prescribing narcotics illegally.
US v Karimi
Sentenced
Dr. Parto Kaimi of Alamo, California, was sentenced to a year in prison for illegally prescribing narcotics out of her home. She was paid in either street drugs or cash.
Texas v Adugba
Arrested
Dr. Ikenna Adugba, of Denton, was arrested on charges of indecent exposure. He has been accused of inappropriately touching female patients. He has been previously disciplined by the Texas Medical Board for professional misconduct.
Iowa v Manning
Indicted
Becky Manning RN of Lake View, Iowa, was charged with felony wanton neglect. She allegedly did not suction a trach tube on a long term resident despite numerous requests. The patient died. Top
US v Lucas
Convicted
Nathan Lucas, DPN of Memphis, Tennessee, was convicted by a jury of fraud for prescribing and dispensing medically unnecessary foot bath medications. The meds were not indicted to be dissolved in water and he was convicted of prescribing them for reimbursement and not medical necessity.
Arizona v Sandoval
Arrested
Dr. Edsel Sandoval of Yuma was arrested and accused of sexually abusing a patient at Yuma Regional Medical Center. He was employed by the hospital as a GP. He was released when the investigation of him started.
US v Athari, United Neurology
Settlement
Dr. Mohammad Athari of Houston, Texas, and his facility have agreed to pay money to the feds for allegedly submitting claims to fed med for violating the Stark law. He referred patients for diagnostic imaging to facilities that he owned. Top
Anderson v Badeaux
Minnesota Court of
The case went to trial several years ago in the lower court where a jury dismissed the case against George Badeaux, a pharmacist. Anderson accused him of discrimination after he refused to fill a prescription for emergency contraception due to religious beliefs. The appellate court ruled that he engaged in discrimination and now the case will either be re-tried or appealed up the chain. Top
Oyedapo v University of Chicago Medical Center
Decision
The child died after being born with a brain injury. The 33 week pregnant mother came by ambulance to the ED of the hospital with weakness and abdominal pain along with low blood pressure. She was seen by nurses only in the ED nor by any LD personnel. She went about an hour later to LD where the baby was found to have a low heart rate and she underwent an urgent C Section. She had a placental abruption. The baby received CPR and ultimately got CP. he died at age 4. The family received $14 million.
Ross, Taylor Sr. v Gates, Medical Diagnostic Choices
Decision
Jessica Ross and Treveon Taylor, Sr. sued Dr. Jackson Gates. They had hired Dr. Gates to perform an independent autopsy on their child who died during delivery. Gates, for whatever reason, posted pictures of the autopsy on social medial without the parents knowledge or consent. He believed he did not break HIPAA rules as he was letting the public know the baby was "murdered". The jury ruled for the plaintiffs. They have also filed suit against the OB and the hospital where the baby ws born. The coroner ruled the baby died of a homicide due to a fracture of the cervical vertebrae.
Patients v Ortega, Endeavor Health, Northshore
HealthSystem, Northshore Medical Group, Swedish Hospital
Filed
A suit by about 300 female patients has been filed against Dr. Fabio Ortega, an OB/Gyne in a northern Chicago suburb and the groups that employed him. he has been accused of sexual abuse and the employers have been accused of knowing about the problem and covering it up. The plaintiffs contend that Swedish Hospital had information regarding Ortega dating back to the 1980s and when Northshore acquired Swedish in 2019 they were mad aware of the problem. He has been accused of targeting Spanish speaking women who ere more vulnerable.
Valley Health v Murray
Nevada Supreme Court
In this case a patient died in a hospital allegedly due to a medication error by the hospital staff. The jury found for the plaintiff and awarded a total of $48 million including a judgment of $32,2 million in punis.. The court ruled that was OK since the hospital owed and breached a fiduciary duty that was outside the scope of professional negligence and therefore the Nevada malpractice cap did not apply. It was argued that the hospital's medication policy put profits over safety. The Supreme Court overruled the lower court and said that there is no fiduciary relationship and remanded the case.
Lowe v Piedmont Eastside Medical Center
Filed
The 93 year old patient died at the Georgia hospital after allegedly being fatally overdosed with morphine and failed to save him. The hospital had called the family three months post death and told them the hospital had made a mistake giving him about 60 times the prescribed dose. They did not give him anything to reverse the problem. Top
Gannon v Copley Hospital
Filed
Dr. Liam Gannon, a senior ED physician and former director of the department was fired by Vermont hospital administration. This caused two other physicians to resign from the hospital and a general protest to the board of directors. The board reviewed the matter and said it was not a board area but a CEO area. Originally the hospital was going to a new EHR and when Gannon, as head of the ED, tested it he found and reported that it could lead to delayed or missed orders. Since the implementation that is what happened. He states he resigned as ED chief and later complained the new chief did not do her charts on time leading to potential safety issues. He was fired without cause.
Nurses v St. Vincent Hospital
Filed
Eight nurses at the Massachusetts hospital have filed suit for wrongful termination. They claim they were fired after whistleblowing for unsafe and illegal conduct and conditions. In reality they seem to be shills for the state nursing association who are representing them. The nurses filed over 600 complaints to management over staffing and other causes of problems in a six month period. They also filed complaints to the state and CMS. Top
DISCLAIMER: Although this article is updated periodically, it reflects the author's point of view at the time of publication. Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice. Readers should consult with their own legal counsel before acting on any of the information presented.