February 1, 2022 Recent Legal News
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New York v DeVuono, Urrraro
Indicted
Julie DeVuono, NP, and owner of Wild Cherry Pediatric Healthcare in Amityville and her employee Marissa Urrarao, LPN, were charged with selling fake Covid vaccination cards. They were getting $220 per for adults and $85 for children. They are accused of making over $1.5 million on this scam.
US v Excobar
Guilty
Dr. Martin Escobar of Youngstown, Ohio, plead guilty of causing the deaths of two patients via illegally distributing narcotics.
US v Ciancimino
Guilty
Dr. David Ciancimino of Trumbull, Connecticut, plead guilty of illegally prescribing controlled substances. The psychiatrist was paid money by undercover cops and tey got illegal prescriptions. Top
US v Physicians and Administrators
Settlement
Seven Texas physicians and a hospital exec have agreed to pay a total of just over $1 million to settle allegations of illegal kickbacks. The physicians received kickbacks from MSOs for ordering lab tests from True Health Diagnostics, Boston Heart Diagnostics and Little River Healthcare. This was allegedly funded by Little River in the form of volume bsed payments to recruiters who paid the physicians. The physicians are Drs. Jaspaul Bhangoo, Roberto Megna, Baxter Montgomery, Murtaza Mussaji, David Sneed, Kevin Lewis and Angela Mosley-Nunnery. The former CEO of Jones County Regional Healthcare Richard Defoe not only contributed money to the settlement but was banned from fed med participation for three years.
Kennedy White Orthopedic Clinic v HCA Florida
Filed
An antitrust case has been filed in Tampa accusing HCA of entering into bogus partnership agreements with surgical practices. It accuses HCA of deliberately failing to operate and manage jointly managed surgical centers.
US v Bon Secours Mercy Health
The Cincinnati institution agreed to pay $1 million to settle allegations that they submitted false claims. The allegedly billed Medicare for sleep apnea tests and equipment for patients that did not need it and used noncertified sleep technologists with inaccurate results.
US v Shkreli
Guilty
Martin Shkreli, the founder of Vyera Pharmaceuticals, was found guilty of violating federal antitrust law and ordered to pay $64.6 million and had a life time ban in participating in the pharmaceutical industry placed by the judge.
US v Licata
Guilty
Christopher Licata of Delray Beach, Florida, plead guilty to paying kickbacks to get physicians to order unnecessary lab tests billed to Medicare. He bundled Covid tests with other genetic tests and tests for rare respiratory pathogens.
US v West
Guilty
Melisha West, an employee of a pharmacy in Red Springs, North Carolina, plead guilty to conspiring with the owner of the pharmacy by reauthorizing previously existing prescriptions and billing for them again.
US v Leng
Settlement
Dr. Vuthy Leng, a GP located in Washington state, paid $228,000 to settle allegations that he billed for urine drug tests that were never performed or performed too late.
US v Center for Covid Control
Indicted
The FBI has raided the headquarters for the national Covid testing site. It is alleged they billed and collected from insurance companies including fed med for tests never performed and lying to consumers regarding the results.
Whistleblowers v CHS
6th Circuit
Seven whistleblowers appealed a lower court ruling that they were no entitled to qui tam fees in the CHS fraud case. The 6th Circuit said they were true whistleblowers and are entitled to $92 million.
US v Tri-State Specialists
Settlement
The Sioux City, Iowa, medical group paid $612,000 to settle allegations that a surgeon performed cosmetic procedures and billed fed med for them which is illegal.
US v Rutland
Sentenced
Pharmacist David Rutland of Bolton, Mississippi, was sentenced to five years in prison for his part in the compounding scheme. He adjusted prescription formulas to endure the highest reimbursement.
US v McKay
Sentenced
Brandy McCay of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, was sentenced to 3 years in prison and ordered to pay over $7.5 million in restitution for her DME companies billing for material not legitimately ordered by physicians or nurse practitioners.
Quiner v Mercy Hospital
Restraining Order
The wife of Covid patient Scott Quiner went to court to stop the hospital from tuning off her husband's ventilator. The patient was severely malnourished as well as needing a vent to stay alive. The court agreed with the wife. After the hearing the patient was transferred to a Texas hospital and currently resides there.
Patients v University of Michigan
Settlement
The University will pay $490 million to approximately 1000 former patients, mostly men, of Dr. Robert Anderson who worked in the athletic department. He is now deceased but was accused of sexually abusing the patients.
Busby v Bactes Imaging Solutions
Ca Ct App
Attorney Busby filed what he hoped to be a lucrative class action law suit against the imaging company for violating California Evidence Code 1158, which states what the reasonable costs health providers may charge for providing copies of medical records. The trial court ruled against the attorney since it was acting as an agent for attorneys not healthcare providers when they are proving attorneys with photocopies of medical records. The Appellate Court affirmed. Bactes only got the records from the providers and allowed the attorneys to either inspect the records or copy the records. The attorney opted to have Bactes copy and provide the records to him so Bactes was an agent of the attorney not the medical provider. Nice to see another attorney get soaked.
Quiner v Mercy Hospital
End of Story
Last issue I reported on this case where the wife of a hospital declared terminal Covid patient went to court to prevent the hospital from pulling the plug. the court agreed with the wife and then the patient was transferred fro the Minnesota facility to another one in Texas. It is now reported that Mr. Quiner has died at the Texas facility.
Fouche v Biden
Texas DC
Brian Fouche, a survey statistician at the Department of Commerce, sued in federal court after being told via letter that he would be suspended for 14 days for not disclosing his vaccination status. The Biden administration had issued a mandate requiring Federal workers in the Executive Branch only to be vaccinated or be penalized. The judge stated that the president could not require federal employees to undergo a medical procedure as a condition of their employment. All Biden mandates have now been overturned either by lower or the Supreme Court. Top
Guy v Providence Health,
Washington
Alaska Supreme Court
Guy was hospitalized in Providence Alaska after getting assaulted by a gang. A hospital employee released his medical information to one of the assailants after he requested it. The hospital fired the employee and notified Guy. Over two years later, beyond the statute of limitations for torts, Guy sued the hospital for breach of contract. The court said in jury instructions that if the employee acted outside the scope of her employment the hospital would not be liable. the jury verdict was for the hospital. guy appealed. The Alaska high court reversed stating that vicarious liability only was for torts not contract law. It remanded the case to determine if their was a contact between the hospital and Guy containing terms obligating the hospital to prevent disclosure from rogue employees.
Demetriou v New York State Dept.
of Health
Judge ruling
A Long Island judge ruled that the state mask mandate for schools and other public places was not legal. He stated the Governor and the Department overstepped their authority when they issued the mandate. The following day a state appellate judge allowed the mandate to continue during a state appeal. Top
University of Miami v Bloomer
Fla Ct App
Charles Bloomer was insured when a surgical table collapsed with him on it. He sued for negligence and the University said it should be under med mal. the court agreed with the plaintiff that this was ordinary negligence, not med mal. Top
Bowden v Houston Methodist
Hospital
Filed
Dr. Mary Bowden, was suspended from the hospital last year after she was accused of spreading "harmful information to the community" regarding Covid. She had provisional privileges in ENT and used social media to tell her view of Covid vaccines and the mandates.
MetroHealth v Khandelwal
Ohio Ct App
Dr. Anjay Khandelwal, a burn surgeon, was an employee of Metro Health in Akron, Ohio. He resigned and went to work for a competitor within the 35 mile radius specified in his non-compete clause. Metro sued him and the trial court allowed him to go to work immediately at Akron Children's but forbid him to assume the position of Director of the unit for the length of his non-compete. He was also forbidden from using or taking any proprietary information nor may he personally solicit any Metro patient, employee or referral contact. Metro appealed saying that the trial court impermissibly modified the contract allowing him to go to work immediately. The Court of appeals agreed with the trial court since there would be irreparable harm not only to the physician but to the community if he were to be barred from surgery. Metro was adequately protected by the lower court terms.
Nadendla v WakeMed
4th Circuit
Dr. Haritha Nadendla, an OB/GYN, was a member of the medical staff of WakeMed hospital. She ws notified she would not be reappointed and requested a hearing. she claims that during the hearing there was unfairness that deprived her of adequate due process. She sued for racial discrimination along with state law claims. The district court dismissed most of her claims and she appealed. The 4th Circuit ruled that her claims regarding race discrimination are not present but that her other claims were reinstated. 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.