June 15, 2023 Recent Legal News
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US v Parasmo
Sentenced
Dr. Frank Parasmo of the Islip, New York, area was sentenced to 36 months in prison for illegally distributing narcotics.
New York v Bernstein
Indicted
Some people ar too stupid to live. Ira Bernstein, a once Podiatrist, was indicted on attempted murder charges. Back in 2015 he attempted to hire a hit man to kill his wife so he could be with his young paramour. The hit man went to the police instead. The paramour, Kelly Gribeluk, admitted her role and went to prison. Bernstein went to prison in 2017 for that crime and was released in 2021. After release he again allegedly solicited a hit man to murder his wife.
Kentucky v Hunter
Sentenced
Eyvette Hunter RN was a nurse at Baptist Health when she allegedly killed a patient by sedating and then force feeding him. She eventually did a plea deal and is now sentenced to 5 years in prison.
US v Pham
Sentenced
Dr. Dzung Pham of Tustin, California, was sentenced to over 12 years in prison for illegally distributing narcotics. He was also fined $35,000. Top
US v Ellner, Georgia Pain
Management
Settlement
Dr. James Ellner and his pain management clinic agreed to pay $625,000 to settle allegations that they violated the FCA by billing for unnecessary urine drug tests. They billed for the tests under modifier -25 when they should have been part of the same day procedure. They were also accused of a violation of the anti-kickback law by having a reference lab pay the salary of a person in exchange for the referral business.
US
v Oyewale
Sentenced
Akintunde Oyewale, home health company owner, has been sentenced to 57 months in prison for billing for services that were not medically necessary and paying medical clinics for referrals. He is also to repay $1,467,719 in restitution.
US
v Joseph
Sentenced
Dr. Francis Joseph of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role as medical director and misappropriating $250,000 from the Covid fund.
US
v Beasley II
Sentenced
Ronald Beasley II of Lake Mary, Florida, was sentenced to two years in prison for billing for expensive compound creams that they never purchased nor dispensed at his pharmacy.
US
v Taylor
Sentenced
Billy Joe Taylor of Lavaca, Arkansas, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of almost $30 million. He billed for claims not ordered b physicians and not necessary. These claims were for urine drug testing and tests for Covid during the pandemic. Top
ECure
Corporation v United Healthcare
USDC, SD Ind
The court refused to dismiss the lawsuit filed by ECure for allegedly failing to reimburse them for emergency care provided to United's patients. The cause is unjust enrichment. The question will be what is the reasonable value of the services received.
Christian
Medical and Dental association v California
Settlement
The state agreed to pay $300,000, the legal bill of the plaintiffs, and agreed not to impose and civil or criminal charges on physicians for violating a law that would have required them to document a request, refer a patient or assist a patient with ending his life. This is due to the fact that if they document the request it counts a one of the two requests needed for physician assisted suicide.
Health
and Hospital of Marion County v Talevski
US Supreme Court
Talevski was a resident in a nursing home in Valparaiso, Indiana, and sued the home for using chemical restraints not related to treatment under section 1983 under the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act. The issue before the court was did the plaintiff have standing to sue under a private action. The court said in a 7-2 decision that yes he did.
Merck
v HHS
Filed
Merck has filed suit against the feds for their requirement to negotiate Medicare drug prices. They say it violates the 5th and First Amendments. They believe this is a taking under the 5th Amendment and the law also requires the drug companies to sign agreements conceding the prices are fair. They contend this is a violation of the First Amendment. I do not believe this will stand but other filings on other procedural grounds may.
Washington
v Doe
Jane Doe of Tacoma was sent to jail for refusing to have her active TB treated. She will get forced treatment in prison. She had been avoiding treatment for one year. Top
OCR
v Manasa Health Center
Settlement
The New Jersey psychiatry provider was fined $30,000 for failure to keep medical records private. They had disclosed the PHI of four patients by responding to negative reviews on social media. Top
IRS
v Cashaw
5th Circuit
Pamela Cashaw became the temporary CEO of Riverside General Hospital in Houston, Texas, in 2012 and resigned in 2014. The hospital had financial problems and she opted to use monies to solve the problems instead of pay payroll taxes. The court said she is liable personally for the payment of those monies. The total is $173,630. Top
Doe
v New York-Presbyterian Hospital
Filed
The 19 year old plaintiff alleges that she was drugged and assaulted by gastroenterologist Zhi Cheng while a patient at the hospital. She was admitted for a gallstone problem and was given a shot that made her lose consciousness by Dr. Cheng. She complained to the hospital and picked Dr. Cheng out of a lineup presented to her by the hospital. This was never placed in her medical record. The hospital did not do anything. Later another women found videos of Cheng sedating and sexually assaulting her and reported him to the police. They found a video of the assault on Doe. It wass only then that Cheng was removed from the hospital.
Professional
Solutions Insurance v Karuparthy
Ill app Ct.
Corelis filed a complaint against Dr. Venkateswara Karparthy for injecting her with a substance that rendered he immobile and then assaulted her. Karuparthy plead guilty to two criminal charges stemming from the conduct. The question was did his malpractice insurer have a duty to defend him. The trial court said yes but that was overruled by the appellate court. They differentiated between the action and the use of the word negligence when she sued him for negligence. This was an intentional tort and therefore not under the policy.
Patients
v Virginia Mason
To Be Filed
During the past six months 33 patients have become infected with K. pneumoniae and 9 have died. The hospital is actively investigating the source. 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.