March 1, 2025 Recent Legal News
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US v Smith
Indicted
Dr. Jacob Smith of Lincoln, Nebraska, was indicted on federal charges of being in possession of child porn. He is in jail as there is no parole in the federal penal system.
US v Rotlewicz
Sentenced
Rami Rotlewicz RN of Hollywood, Florida, was convicted of child endangerment. He communicated online with undercover agents wanting to abuse children. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. He had worked at the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood.
Arkansas v Adams
Indicted
Caitlin Adams, RN., was indicted for faking prescriptions for oxycodone using dead people's names.
Illinois v Chang
Guilty
Dr. Henry Chang, a resident neurosurgeon at OSF Healthcare Saint Francis Hospital in Peoria, Illinois, plead guilty to charges of unlawful recording of women in bathrooms of the hospital. So much for that residency.
US v Rettenmaier
Guilty
Dr. Mark Rettenmaier of Laguna Hills, California, plead guilty to possession of child porn. He was an OB/GYN whose license has lapsed. He had previously been indicted on federal charges for child porn possession. Many of those charges were tossed due to problems with the legality of the searches.
France v Le Scouarnec
Trial
Dr. Joel Le Scouarnec, a surgeon, is on trial for raping or sexual abusing 299 victims, mostly child patients. The trial is expected to last 4 months and is to showcase the doctor's notebooks detailing decades of abuse.
Ohio v Gronbeck
Guilty
Dr. Donald Gronbeck of Yellow Springs, has plead guilty of sexually abusing patients. He has already had his Ohio Medical license revoked.
Illinois v Damodaran
Arrest
Dr. Anita Damodaran, a Chicago pediatrician, was arrested on animal abuse charges. She has been ordered by a judge to have no contact with any animals. Top
US v SVCMC Inc
Settlement
The New York medical center agreed to pay $29 million to settle allegations that they knowingly kept overpayments from the DOD for services provided to retired military and their families. This was a qui tam case The two whistleblowers will get $5.655 million to date. The feds are continuing after the hospitals.
US v Saggar
Sentenced
Dr. Sonny Saggar of St. Louis, Missouri, was sentenced to three years in prison for fraud. He ran two urgent care centers and charged patients as if a physician had seen a patient when the patient was actually seen by an assistant physician, one who has finished medical school but not completed any residency program and who are not licensed. He also hired many more assistant physicians than he was legally allowed to supervise.
US v Sandoz
Settlement
The generic drug manufacturer agreed to pay $275 million to settle allegations that they illegally fixed prices. Sandoz denied any wrongdoing and agreed to help against the other co-conspirator drug companies. This is the second settlement involving Sandoz. Last year it settled another price fixing case for $265 million.
US v Musselman
Convicted
Carrie Musselman, a DC in Eureka, Illinois, was found guilty in a federal court for fed med fraud. She billed for physician procedures even though there were none on staff, she also billed for implanted neurostimulators when none were used.
US v Zervas
Guilty
Dr. Helen Zervas, an eye physician in Bristol, Connecticut, plead guilty of fed med fraud. The optometrist conspired with public officials to cancel her audit. Top
Outsourcing Facilities Association v FDA
Filed
The association filed suit against the FDA for their decision to state that Wegovy and Ozempic were no long in short supply. This is a delaying tactic to attempt to allow the compounding pharmacies to continue to make money on counterfeit drugs. Top
Burrows v Penn Highlands Mon Valley Hospital
Guilty
The 64 year old patient was in his car when he began to feel left side numbness. He pulled over and called 911 was was taken to the hospital ED. There was no neurologist on call and the MRI department was closed. It took 19 hours to get the diagnosis of a stroke and treatment. It was too late and his stroke became worse. They did not transfer him to another hospital nor did they call in a technician. He was awarded $856,000.
Cooper v Oxford Center
To Be Filed
The 5 year old died when he was burnt to death inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. His mother got third degree burns on her arms when she tried to save him and she witnessed the death. This is a center that allows non FDA approved hyperbaric treatments. The boy was being treated for sleep apnea and ADHD not FDA approved diagnosis for hyperbaric treatment. Top
Medical staff v Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center
Filed
The hospital's medical staff took the unusual step in filing suit against its own hospital for allegedly interfering in the peer review and medical executive committee actions. The medical staff group had accused the chief of medicine of doing peer review outside the normal procedures. The medical executive committee voted to remove him as chief of medicine. When the medical staff had their usual elections for officer positions, the administrator added the name of the fired chief to the ballot. He was elected secretary of the staff. It is also alleged that their were 238 physician allowed to vote in that election when their are only 94 eligible. A separate question is the authority of the medical staff group to file the action while not finishing the administrative process. 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.