January 1, 2018 Recent Legal News
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California v Kim
Indicted for Murder
Dr. Stephen Kim, an anesthesiologist in Beverly Hills was indicted for murder after a physician patient died from a lethal dose of Demerol. He was working at the Rodeo Drive Plastic Surgery Center and is also accused of himself shooting up during the surgery.
US v Patel
Arrested
A 30 year old man in Virginia was arrested for posing as a physician and had treated about 12 patients. He falsified credentials and was hired for a brief time by a clinic who then fired him for not being able to verify the credentials.
US v Tesher
Indicted
Dr. Martin Tesher of New York was arrested for unlawfully prescribing oxy and fentanyl to a patient who died. He had previously been indicted for selling meds without a medical purpose. Top
US v Dikengil
Indicted
Mehmet Dikengil, DDS. and his staff in upper Manhattan were indicted for billing dental services which were not provided.
US v Cardiovascular Consultants Heart
Center
Settlement
The Fresno, California, heart clinic agreed to pay $1.2 million for performing medically unnecessary medical procedures. This involved the performing of nuclear medicine stress tests annually without seeing the patients first to determine whether or not they really needed the procedures.
US v Sanchez
Guilty
Dr. Gilberto Sanchez or Montgomery, Alabama, plead guilty of fraud and prescribing narcotics without a medical reason. They required monthly physical exams before they would give out the meds. These exams were not medically necessary. He has also been accused of money laundering as he took is illegal money and purchased at least one vehicle.
US v Portnow
Settlement
Dr. Arthur Portnow, a cardiologist in Sarasota, Florida, has settled a claim that he did unnecessary ultrasounds and submitted false claims to Medicare. He was also accused of falsifying records to justify the ultrasounds. He has agreed to pay almost $2 million to settle the issue. This was a whistleblower suit and the former employee will get $350,000.
US v Melgen
Guilty
Dr. Salomon Melgen, a Florida ophthalmologist, was found guilty of fraud and awaits sentence for 67 counts of fraud and still awaits a trial on the Senator Bob Menendiz of New Jersey case. In the sentencing sessions people told how wonderful Melgen was in helping people for free and others who said he was a butcher.
US v Pine Creek Medical Center
Settlement
The Dallas physician owned hospital agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle allegations of illegal kickbacks where they paid for advertising for physicians in return for referrals.
US v Skaff
Sentenced
Dr. Antoine Skaff, DDS, of Charleston West Virginia, was sentenced to five years in prison for falsely billing Medicaid for procedures not performed. He also admitted to upcoding and double billings.
States v Medtronic
Settlement
Medtronic agreed to pay five states $12 million to settle a suit against them by five states relating to Infuse. They were accused but did not agree to the suit that alleges the company over hyped their product. Multiple patient civil suits are still pending.
US v Davita Rx
Settlement
Davita Rx, a pharmacy, agreed to pay $63 million to resolve allegations that it billed for meds never shipped or returned and not credited to the Medicare program. They also routinely wrote off Medicare co-pays and accepted discount cards for the co-pays which is not legal. The two whistleblowers will split $2.1 million.
US v Grusd
Guilty
The Southern California radiologist was found guilty by a jury of fraud for paying kickbacks for referrals.
US v McGrath
Sentenced
Robert Claude McGrath, DO and his son Robert Christopher McGrath were sentenced to prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud. The Cherry Hill, New Jersey pair were doing PT supervision illegally. They also agreed to pay $1.7 million plus interest to the feds.
US v EmCare and Physician's
Alliance
Settlement
The two physician groups agreed to pay the feds $33 million to settle allegations that they received illegal payments from the now defunct HMA to treat as inpatient instead of outpatient. The case is a whistle blower case with two physicians who had supplied ED physicians to the hospitals getting a total of $6,222,907.
States v Boehringer
Settlement
The company agreed to pay $13.5 million to settle allegations that it promoted drugs for unapproved purposes. This comes after a federal settlement on the same allegations.
US v United Therapeutics
Settlement
The company agreed to pay $210 million to settle allegations that it used a foundation to pay money for patient's copays.
US v Kmart
Settlement
Kmart has agreed to pay $323 million to settle allegations its pharmacies allowed cash discounts but did not report them to fed health programs. This is a whistleblower case from a pharmacist who will get $9.3 million.
US v Limbic Partners
Guilty
A medical management company started by three anesthesiologists has agreed to plead guilty to fraud for submitting claims for anesthesia services never performed. Top
Evans v NHS
Filed
What will the British NHS do now? The NHS has filed a petition to take Alfie Evans, a 18 month old with an unspecified brain condition off life support. The parents say the petition came shortly after they found a hospital in Italy to accept and treat Alfie. Now it is up to the courts.
Hefezye v Rady Children's Hospital
San Diego
Ca Ct App
A minor self pay guarantor filed a class action suit against the hospital for the way they billed. They bill chargemaster rates and not the reasonable value of their services. The lower court denied the class action and the appellate court agreed since the case lacked ascertainablity and common issues did not apply.
Poe v US
Filed
Two teenagers in federal custody as illegals are requesting an abortion. The same Democratic female judge who rule don the last case is again presiding in this one. She ruled for the teens and the feds are now appealing to the DC Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. These cases are different as the older one at 20 weeks has a sponsor who could take her for an abortion and the other teen at 10 weeks has vacillated as to her wish for an abortion. One was allowed to have an abortion and the other dropped the suit.
Milano v Advanced Cosmetic Surgery
of New York
DC NY
A federal judge ruled the company violated the ADA when it refused to do breast reduction surgeries on HIV patients. The company said this was not ADA but a medical decision that drugs taken by the patients were incompatible with the medications used in the surgery. The judge based his ruling on the fact that no individual inquiry of the patient was taken before the decision not to do surgery.
In re: UnitedHealth Group
D Minn.
A federal judge dismissed the class action suit accusing United of operating a scheme that charged customers fees for prescription drugs. The judge said there is no evidence the company violated ERISA when they did the alleged conduct. The suit said people were charged more for insured drugs than if they were not insured. Top
Patients v Center for Health Care
Services
To Be Filed
A fired employee of the San Antonio organization took on his personal lap top the medical records of about 28,000 patients. This happened about one year before the organization found out about it. This is pure negligence on the part of the organization.
Patients v University of North
Carolina
To Be Filed
The University Derm, a faculty physicians practice, had a break in that may have compromised the records of 24,000 patients. A computer was stolen and may not have had adequate security. Another negligence issue.
Miller v St. Charles Health System
Filed
The Bend, Oregon, hospital was sued for $500,000 by a patient who states his medical record was accessed by a nurse not assigned to him and then divulged his blood alcohol level to a mutual friend. The hospital had a prior incident when a nurse assistant was curious and nosed into thousands of patient records illegally.
US v 21st Century Oncology
Settlement
The bankrupt organization has agreed to pay $2. million for failing to conduct accurate assessments of the problems with EMR. Approximately 2.2 million people were affected by a data breech in 2015.
Patients v Portland
To Be Filed
The city of Portland, Maine, has denied any problem with the sharing of personal data of 200 HIV people with people not authorized to see the information. They need to re-look at the law.
Patients v Oklahoma
To Be Filed
Oklahoma Dept. of Human Services had a beach in 2016 of an unauthorized person accessing 47,000 peoples information.
Patients v Chilton Medical Center
To Be Filed
The New Jersey medical center had an employee remove a computer hard drive from the hospital and sell it on the internet. It contained 10 years of patient information.
Patients v Pharmacy Innovations
To Be Filed
The western New York compounding pharmacy had a security breach affecting about 1200 people. They obviously did not have adequate security to protect the information. Top
Massachusetts Nurses Association v
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Superior Ct.
The court judge ruled that the union must accept and follow the rules of the hospital in regard to nurses obtaining flu vaccine. The hospital requires annual vaccinations or the use of face masks, not an unreasonable policy.
Vermont v U. of Vermont Medical
Center
Settlement
The hospital agreed to change their policies regarding communicating with the deaf. They have stonewalled for years. The patients had to communicate via mechanical means such as pads that did not always work. The plaintiffs will be compensated and have their legal aid bills paid.
Broward Health v Grant
Filed
One can always count on Broward Health to do dumb things. Their hirings and firings are always a thing of beauty. They are now counter-suing their fired CEO Pauline Grant for violating federal anti-kickback laws. They say when she was on the board of directors at a long term care facility that contracted with Broward she violated the law. She had previously sued the board for her severance package and for violating state law by doing business in private.
Florida v Broward Hospital Board
of Directors
Indicted
A Florida grand jury has indicted the Board and Counsel for violating the state's public meeting laws. The max penalty is a $500 criminal penalty fine. However, the mention of a criminal indictment against an attorney may be enough for a disbarment but perhaps not in southern Florida. The board is also actively interviewing people for the job of the new CEO of Broward Health. If the Florida Governor suspends those indicted it leaves the Board with one short of a quorum to do business. Those indicted are now saying their was prosecutorial misconduct and grand jury abuse. They say the state refused to subpoena witnesses that would have exonerated them. Under state law a court is now obliged to review the grand jury tapes.
Doe v Geisinger
Filed
A girl sued Dr. Abraham Layon for sexual assault and Geisinger for allowing the assault to happen. She says he forced his tongue down her throat and groped her. She also says he sent suggestive emails to her and other females in an educational program called ICU Reader Group. The suit alleges there was no oversight of the program in the Geisinger Clinic building by Geisinger.
Doe v Washington Hospital
Filed
A nurse patient filed suit against a physician, scrub nurse and the Pennsylvania hospital employer for allowing pictures of her naked to be taken while she was having surgery. She says this has caused emotional distress since the pictures were shared with other co-workers. Top
Slemp v J&J
Superior Ct.
A Circuit court judge is itching to be overruled. He has proclaimed the case by Slemp and 58 others has legitimate roots in Missouri. This in the face of a recent US Supreme court ruling that refutes that. She is from Virginia and the company is a New Jersey company. The rationale for the venue shopping is that the company uses a Missouri company for labeling, packaging and distributing the talc products. They are merely a contractor and have no real role.
Hutcheson v Eskaton Fountainwood Lodge
Ca Ct App
The court said the arbitration agreement signed by one with a personal power of attorney versus a healthcare power of attorney is invalid under California's Health Care Decisions Law.
Williams v Dimensions Health Corp
D. Maryland
The court said that since Williams did not get to surgery in a timely manner due to a delay in the presentation to the ED by the ortho and vascular surgeons that an EMTALA claim as well as medical malpractice was in order. He was therefore not potentially adequately stabilized before transfer to the OR.
Hartman v Bayer, J&J
Guilty
In a verdict that should be appealed, a jury voted to have the companies pay to the plaintiff $28 million in compensatory and punitive damages for a bout of GI bleeding after using Xaralto, a blood thinner. The plaintiff was using it for a prescribed disease approved by the FDA. The case was failure to warn, a joke since who doesn't know one can bleed when taking a blood thinner. This case was decided in Philadelphia where juries are known to be very very generous.
Galleger v Tompach
Settlement
Gallegher's 17 year old daughter died from hypoxia while undergoing wisdom teeth extraction. He agreed to a $2 million settlement since he did not use monitoring equipment for the patient.
Westmoreland v Medronic
DC Mo
A federal judge ruled that the plaintiff had pled sufficient facts to overcome a defense motion to throw the suit out. A company rep had assisted the surgeon in picking out a graft for an aorta. The graft was apparantly the wrong size. The company said they owed no duty to the patient.
Hrymoc v J&J
NJ Superior Ct.
A jury said the patient was due $15 million for chronic pain and incontinence following the implantation of transvaginal mesh implants for pelvic prolapse. She underwent three surgeries to remove the implants. The case was failure to warn about the risks for polyproplene mesh. An appeal is forthcoming.
TH v Novartis
California Supreme Court
The father of twins of a mother who took the generic form of Brethine sued for the twins developmental delays. The state supreme court ruled the case may go forward as Novartis was the maker of the med and "should have" strengthen a warning label. A prior US Supreme Court ruling has stated generic drug makers are not liable for failing to provide adequate label warnings since they must use brand name labels. This was a 4-3 decision.
Mitchell v AbbVie
Judge Overrule
A jury said AbbVie was guilty of falsely marketing the drug AndroGel. It awarded the plaintiff nothing in compensatory damages but gave him $150 million in punis for his heart attack that the jury said was not caused by the product. The judge said new trial. Top
Kunkle v Cooper University Health
Care
Filed
Kunkle is gay and wore make-up to work. He was fired. Gayness or work related? Cooper states fired due to documented violations of company policies and performance related issues.
UK v Bramhall
Guilty
Dr. Simon Bramhall, a British transplant surgeon plead guilty of putting his initials in the livers of two patients during a transplant using an argon beam laser. He denied actual bodily harm as the laser do not harm the liver and may actually disappear spontaneously.
Rickey v Cedars-Sinai Hospital
Filed
The former OR nurse has sued Dr. Kerry Assil, an ophthalmologist and medical director of the unit along with the hospital for sexual harassment, battery and discrimination. She alleges that she was chased down and assaulted by Dr. Assil after asking him if he was keeping to his case schedule. This was on tape. She says she reported the incident to her supervisors and the hospital Board and her schedule was reduced with nothing against Dr. Assil.
Brown v University of Missouri
Filed
The former associate dean of of the school of medicine says she was forced from her position by the dean for her views on diversity. 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.