June 1, 2023 Recent Legal News
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Oklahoma v Frank, Lee
Filed
The AG has filed manslaughter charges against Dr. Alexander Frank and pharmacist Justin Lee both of Oklahoma City. Their crime is a possible wrong prescription by the physician that caused a death and the pharmacist not catching the potential error.
California v Vass
Guilty
Heather Vass, a plastic surgical nurse plead guilty to manslaughter for helping her boss Dr. Carlos Chagon in Chula Vista. A patient was undergoing a breast augmentation procedure when she had problems. Emergency services were not notified for three hours.
Pennsylvania v Pressdee
Filed
Healther Pressdee RN of Natrona Heights was arraigned on two counts of homicide. The patients received insulin but were not diabetics.
Ohio v Sutton
Sentenced
Dr. Jeffery Sutton of Niles, Ohio, was sentenced to 72 months in prison for illegal prescribing of narcotics. He was also fined $5200 special assessment, a fine of $20,000 and restitution of $148,870. He also admitted to doing sexual acts with patients to whom he prescribed the narcotics.
Pennsylvania v Gullett
Sentenced
Dr. Brian Gullett of Clarksville, had plead guilty to aiding and abetting a narcotic by fraud. He was fined $5000, lost his medical license and is to be in prison for six months.
US v Mollick
Sentenced
Dr. Joseph Mollick of Menlo Park, California, was sentenced to 24 months is prison for possession of child porn.
SEC v Philips
Settlement
The Dutch company will pay $62 million to settle allegations that they rigged their China contacts illegally to get the best deal.
US v St. Elizabeth's Hospital
Settlement
The Fallon, Illinois , hospital agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle a whistleblower suit that alleges that the hospital overbilled for urgent care services.
Massachusetts v CVS
Settlement
The company agreed to pay the state $6.2 million to settle allegations that they did not on occasion validate worker comp prescriptions against state regs in order to keep costs down.
US v Aniemeka, Aniemeka
Decision
After a trial in which Dr. Ndudi Aniemeka and his wife Obiageli who was his administrator were found liable in a civil trial of receiving kickbacks and submitting bills for same to fed med a federal judge ordered triple damages ad a huge civil penalty resulting in over $3 million due from the Chicago couple who owned Boycin Medical Clinic.
US v Smith
Filed
Dr. Adam Smith, a plastic surgeon in Sioux city, Iowa, has been charged with billing for plastic surgical procedures that were not allowed by Medicare.
US v St. Elizabeth
St. Elizabeth's Hospital in O'Fallon, Illinois agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle allegations in a qui tam suit for billing for a higher level of care in urgent care cases.
US v Winn
Settlement
Gary Winn, DO, of Arundel, Maine, agreed to pay $ 330,600 to settle allegations that he billed as medical director for services not personally provided or not medically necessary.
US v Lado, Elite Medical Spine & Musculoskeletal
Center
Settlement
Derek Lado DO, and his practice in Grand Rapids, Michigan, agreed to pay $ 135, 871 to settle allegations that they used illegally purchased Botox and billed as if it were the approved brand.
US v DeEscobar, Corebella Health
Settlement
The clinic and its owner, a naturopath, agreed to pay $400,000 to settle allegations that they billed for allergy injections performed by a nurse as if they were under the direction of a physician.
US v VHS of Michigan
Settlement
The company also known as The Detroit Medical Center and Tenet have agreed to pay $30 million to settle allegations in a qui tam suit that they provided kickbacks to physicians and billed for those services provided. They provided mid levels to some practitioners at no or below market costs to those who had the most referrals to the hospitals. The plaintiff, a MD, will receive over $5 million.
US v Godiali
Sentenced
Dr. Vasso Godaili, a vascular surgeon in Bay City, Michigan, was sentenced to 80 months in prison and ordered to pay $19.5 million to insurers on his criminal charges plus pay $43,419,000 for civil charges of fraudulent billing. This was based on a plea agreement where he confessed to billing for placement of multiple stents in the same vessel and changed medical records to show the medical necessity. He never placed the stents and billed for services not rendered. He billed for thombectomiies where none was present.
Nurses v Mount Sinai Hsospital
Arbitration
The nurses claimed and the arbitrator agreed that the hospital did not have the required number of nurse to patient ratios in the NICU. The hospital will pay $127,000 to about 150 nurses.
US v Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmery,
Settlement
The Infirmary agreed to pay over $5.7 million to settle allegations that their physician payment plans violated federal law under the Stark Law.
Naranjo v Doctors Medical Center of Modesto
Ca App Ct
The plaintiff went to the hospital for an emergency and received a bill. He filed a class action suit for not disclosing the EMS fee and lost in the lower court but prevailed in the court of appeals. The case can now move forward.
Futterman v Kaiser Foundation Health Plan
Ca Ct App
The plaintiffs sued Kaiser for failure to provide mental health treatments by denying one on one therapy without determining medical necessity. The trial court sided with Kaiser but was overturned. The case will continue.
HHS v MedEvolve
Settlement
The revenue cycle management company agreed to pay $350,000 to settle allegations that they had a server with PHI openly accessible to all on the internet.
Thompson v Legacy Health
Filed
The parents of a burn victim who died is suing the Portland, Oregon, hospital for a former employee taking pictures of their son and distributing them.
Stark v Tri Star Centennial
Medical Center
Filed
The wife of a patient who died after being caught on fire caused by a defibrillator sued the hospital. He was wearing a non-rebreather mask for oxygen when he coded and received the shock. The oxygen caught fire and he died later that day. The wife was there and saw the fire.
Berthiaume v MyMichigan Medical
Center
Jury Verdict
The family of a 4 year old won $31.6 million for med mal during birth resulting in brain damage. She needed immediate C-Section due to excessive meds given the mother.
Sisson v Gill
Jury Verdict
The plaintiff sued Dr. Alfred Gill, an OB/GYN in Providence, Rhode Island, for med mal after he cut the right ureter and it was not discovered for five days. They awarded the plaintiff $5.83 million.
Farmer v Baptist Health
Madisonville
Jury Verdict
Dr. John Farmer, a third year resident, was accused by a patient's mother of being impaired for touching his nose alot during an examination of her children. He was interviewed by administration and requested an immediate drug test. He was told that needed to be done elsewhere and made the drive there. The test cam back dilute and he was suspended while on the drive. He was then sent to a separate alcohol treatment facility for a 96 hour evaluation and no inpatient care was provided. He was diagnosed with a mild alcohol us disorder. The hospital sent a letter to the Kentucky Medical Board about the complaint and the state investigated. He was required to not practice until approved by the Board. He then had to sign a 2 year agreement later extended to five years that required regular testing. He finally sued and his colleagues testified for him stating he was not impaired on the date in question. He won $3.7 million.
Chaudhry v California Department
of Public Health
9th Circuit
As opposed to the above case where the hospital was clearly wrong, this case shows the folly of trying to sue due to a report. Dr. Pervaiz Chaudhry, a cardiovascular surgeon at Community Regional Medical Center operated on a patient who went into cardiac arrest. He was accused of leaving the OR prior to the surgery being over against hospital rules. He had a med mal case filed for this and following an investigation by the Public Health this was also reported on their website. He sued and of course lost in both the lower and appellate courts. He tried to blame the report for his own failings and that does not work.
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.