January 1, 2022 Recent Legal News
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Missouri v Smock
Arrested
Dr. David Smock, the physician for Agape Boarding School in Stockton, Missouri, has been arrested on charges of assault for sodomy or attempted sodomy.
Ohio v Uwadiegwu
Sentenced
Godbless Uwadiegwu, a nurse assistant, had plead guilty of sexually abusing patients at two facilities. He was sentenced to the maximum of three years in prison and has to register as a sex offender for 15 years. Top
US v Omidi
Guilty
Finally a trial took place in the feds case against Dr. Julian Omidi and his Beverly Hills, California, surgical center. He was behind the huge Southern California billboard ads regarding 1-800-GET-THIN. He was found guilty of money laundering, making false statements and identity theft. He required all those who were going to have the Lap-Band weight loss surgeries must have sleep studies to find obstructive sleep apnea to get the insurance companies to pre approve the surgery. Even if the surgery was not authorized they still got to bill about $15,000 for the sleep study.
US v Stote, Augustin
Guilty
James Stote and Phillip Augustin both of Florida plead guilty to charges of fraud. They bilked the PPP loan program by falsifying loan applications to get money they did not deserve.
US v Cooper
Settlement
Dr. Kevin Cooper of Mississippi has agreed to pay $375,000 to settle allegations that he billed illegally for P-Stim devisces. He billed as if the devices were implanted in patients when they were not.
US v Foster
Sentenced
Dr. Mark Foster of Wexford, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to two years probation for his part in an illegal conspiracy to bill for unneeded control substances. He was the medical director at Cherry Way in Bridgeville.
US v Gallups, Entellus Medical
Settlement
Dr. Jeffrey Gallups and Entellus Medical agreed to pay $4.2 million to settle allegations that Gallups accepted kickbacks in exchange for directing physicians under his employ to order devices or administer procedures that were not medically necessary. This is a qui tam case with the physician -former employee getting over $600,000 for his turning Gallups in.
US v Cole
Settlement
Dr. James Cole of Albany, New York, agreed to pay $125,000 for over prescribing opioids to patients including one who died. He also lost his medical license in the state and his DEA privileges.
US v Halley
Guilty
Dr. Randall Halley, of Nixa, Missouri, plead guilty to charges of making false statements and allowing his DEA number to be used to issue meds to patients in his absence. He lied about a patient having cancer to get Subsys approved for insurance. He agreed to pay restitution and a fine. He also may be sent to prison and have further fines.
US v Peters
Sentenced
Mathew Peters of Portland, Oregon and Southern California was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay almost $3.5 million in restitution. He was the owner of two compounding pharmacies and was convicted of fraud and tax evasion.
US v Zahr
Settlement
Riad Zahr of Dearborn, Michigan, along with two specialty pharmacies that he owned, agreed to pay $1 million to settle allegations that they submitted false claims for Evzio, the high price nalozone.
US v Phan
Settlement
Pharmacist Bachtu Phan of Philadelphia, the owner of LAN Pharmacy agreed to pay $ 1 million to settle allegations that she billed for meds not dispensed.
US v Bellama
Settlement
Dr. David Bellamah, a vascular surgeon in Missoula and Kalispell, Montana, has agreed to pay $3.7 million to settle allegations that he performed unnecessary surgeries and submitted false bills. This was a qui tam case filed by a sonographer formally employed by Bellamah. She gets 17% . Top
US v States
5th Circuit
The feds appealed the District Court ruling that the administration did not have the jurisdiction for their Covid healthcare mandate. They won here but the case will now go to the US Supreme Court. This case allowed the mandate to resume in some but not all states. The administration has now asked the Supreme Court to rule for its mandate nationwide.
States v Purdue PharmaDC SD NY
After months of negotiations and compromise by all parties a carefully worked out settlement between Purdue Pharma and the governments were undone by a federal judge. She wrote that the part of the settlement that releases the Sackler family from liability in civil opioid cases was not legal. The family had mad that a requirement for any contribution to the $4.5 billion settlement. The problem is that the Sacklers did not file for personal bankruptcy.
American Academy of Emergency
Medicine Physicians v Envision Healthcare
Filed
The physician group sued stating the for profit violated California laws barring corporations from practicing medicine in the state. When they purchased a medical group in Placentia they created a separate legal entity to control the group and that entity is controlled by Envision. They then offer services to hospitals for payments. This may become an interesting suit.
Sandy Point Dental v Cincinnati
Insuranse Company
7th Circuit
The court stated that business interruption insurance did not cover losses incurred due to Covid suspensions of operations. There were not physical alterations to the property and therefore there was no direct physical loss. This is the fifth Circuit Court decision to reach the same conclusion.
Seckin, Goldstein v UnitedHealth,
aetna
filed
Drs. Tamer Seckin and Karli Goldstein, endometriosis specialists, have filed against the insurers for paying them $11,341 on a $220,000 surgery charge. On the face of it I would think that both are ridiculous. Top
Doe v UCLA
Filed
Jane Doe has filed a med mal case against UCLA claiming that Dr. Edward Wiesmeier, an OB/GYN of sexual assaults. She accusing him of overly examining her clitoris and inappropriate questioning of her sexual practices. She returned for a second appointment and had a "painful procedure" overseen by a nurse.
Noah v Hospital for Special
Surgery, Williams
Filed
Trevor Noah, the host for the Daily Show filed suit against the hospital and Dr. Riley Williams III for med mall. He did not give any specifics in his suit but says he suffered "permanent and severe and grievous injuries".
Clawson v Board of Registered
Nursing
Ca Ct App
William Clawson, RN, was hired by a closing residential care facility to assess each resident to determine where they should be transferred. One patient ws assesses and misdiagnosed badly. The state investigated and Clawson stated that he supervised an unlicensed person who did the exam. In a later interview he said he did not have anything to do with the exam. After a hearing he had his license revoked. He sued and lost and the appellate court agreed.
Theresa D v MBK Senior Living
Ca Ct App
Theresa D was a patient at the facility where she fell and fractured her hip. Her daughter and authorized representative admitted her and signed an arbitration agreement. After the fall she sued and the facility filed for arbitration per the agreement. The trial court and the appellate court said that the daughter was not the agent for the purpose of the arbitration and denied the facilities motion.
Samantha B v Aurora Vista Del Mar
Ca Ct App
The psychiatric hospital hired unlicensed workers to monitor and assist patients. One of the workers sexually abused two patients. they sued the facility and were awarded $6.75 million in noneconomic damages. The facility appealed and the higher court affirmed. They blasted the facility for knowing that their female patients were vulnerable but they adopted policies that exposed those patients to a high risk of sexual predation including hiring poorly trained unlicensed workers. Top
Auteri v Doylestown Hospital
Filed
Dr. Joseph Auteri, the former chief of cardiovascular surgery at the hospital, was laid off for refusing the Covid vaccine. He has gotten money from a crowdfunding page. He requested religious and medical exemptions and was denied. He said he has natural immunity from a prior Covid infection.
Long v HHS
DC Circuit
Dr. Raymond Long, an orthopod at Northwestern Medical Center in 2003. He had five shoulder surgeries that had infections. He put in his own steps to prevent future infections which conflicted with hospital protocol. After a hearing he was ordered to undergo psychiatric counseling and he resigned. this resulted in a NPDB report stating the he voluntarily surrendered his privileges to avoid investigation. He contended that his resignation was not tendered during an investigation. He lost. He then appealed stating the process was a sham. He lost. Bad decisions on his part.
Moretti v Duke University
Filed
Dr. Eugene Moretti, an anesthesiologist, sued Duke stating they want to take over his group over physician objections and without paying the practice's fair value. Duke formed a new faculty group earlier this year and mandated those in clinical departments who perform research join the group and by employed. The suit says this will force 400 of the 1850 member practice to leave the group.
Bichai v DaVita
Ca Ct App
Dr. William Biachai was under investigation at the facility and resigned voluntarily. He went to PACE and then reapplied but was denied privileges. He requested a hearing at which the hearing officer, following hospital bylaws, said that the denial of the application was supported by the record. He filed a writ of mandamus challenging the decision. The appellate court reversed stating the bylaws imposed an impermissibly high standard of burden of proof. The law states that the physician need show a preponderance of evidence the Davita bylaws required that the peer revies lacks any substantial factual basis, too high a standard. Dr. Bichai gets a new peer review hearing. 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.