September 1, 2024 Recent Legal News
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Alabama v Pittet
Arrested
Dr. Jean-Francois Pittet, an anesthesiologist at UAB, was arrested for allegedly torturing or abusing a child on multiple occasions.
Texas v Jones
Sentenced
Jesika Jones of the Fort Worth area, was sentenced to sixty years in prison for poisoning her five children plus others to make all believe the children had epilepsy. She was divorced and meeting men to get to their children.
Michigan v Mason
Indicted
Dr. Stephen Mason of the Macomb County area ws arrested and indicted for indecent exposure. He allegedly met a woman on line and after driving her home masturbated in front of her. Interesting first date.
Colorado v Mathews
Convicted
Cardiologist Stephen Mathews of Denver was convicted by a jury of sexually assaulting multiple women. He drugged the women and then had sex wothout their consent.
US v Chavez, Plasencia
Arrested
Drs. Mark Chavez of San Diego and Salvador Plasencia of Santa Monica were arrested in connection with supplying Mathew Perry with ketamine on which he overdosed.
US v Kosolcharoen
Guilty
John Kolsolcharoen of Santa Margarita plead guilty of illegally selling stem cell products not FDA approved.
California v Latorre
Indicted
Cristain Latorre of Los Angeles was indicted for performing cosmetic surgery on a patient without a medical license. He also treated her for the infections and other problems that developed post operatively.
US v Rodriguez, Jr.
Guilty
Dr. David Rodriguez, Jr. of Lake City, South Carolina, plead guilty of distributing narcotics without a legitimate medical purpose.
Michigan v Aejaz
Indicted
Dr. Oumair Aejaz of Rochester Hills, was indicted for sexual crimes against others. He allegedly placed cameras in changing rooms and bathrooms to capture footage of naked people.
California v Hoefsin
Arrested
Dr. John Hoefsin of Irvine, California, was arrested for allegedly sexual assault on his female patients. He allegedly grabbed their breasts during exams in his office. He worked out of Hoag Hospital.
Arkansas v Banaji
Arrested
Dr. Sudush Banaji of Forrest City, Arkansas, was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting patients and one count of rape.
US v Parker
Sentenced
Dr. Lonnie Parker of Texarkana, Arkansas, was sentenced to seven years in prison for writing narcotic prescriptions without a legitimate medical reason.
Oregon v Dodds
Guilty
Phyllis Dodds, RN, plead guilty to criminal mistreatment. She agreed she neglected three residents at a Senior Living Home. She will lose her license and be placed on probation.
US v MacGregor ( Bean )
Guilty
Euean MacGregor, formally known as David Bean of Iowa City, Iowa plead guilty of fraud and embezzlement. He stole money form his former employer by taking checks for his employer and depositing them in an account he controlled.
Scott v Humana
Settlement
In an unusual case where the feds did not intervene, a whistleblower has settled for $90 million against Humana. The former actuary sued after he found Humana allegedly lied regarding its true costs in order to get a more favorable contract to administer prescription drug benefits.
US v Thropay
Sentenced
Dr. John Thropay of Arcadia, California, was sentenced to 37 months in prison. He was the medical director of Sky Hospice in Van Nuys and certified patients had a terminal illness when they did not. He was the largest certifier in the country.
US v Weiner
Indicted
Oncologist physician Dr. Thomas Weiner was indicted for Medicare fraud. He worked at St. Peter's Health in Montana and was fired by them in 2020. He has a suit against them for wrongful termination. His indictment is for over prescribing pain meds as well as fraud. The feds also obtained a $10.8 million settlement against the hospital. The hospital reported the false claims and aided in the investigation against Weiner. The hospital however, was paying him based on the false claims and for the referrals from its cancer center. The payments to Weiner for referrals were allegedly illegal. The civil suit now filed against Weiner alleges double or triple bookings in a 15 minute time period which by itself is not illegal. The suit also alleges that he wrote narcotics for cancer patients that no longer had cancer. Again this is not illegal.
Do No Harm v Cleveland Clinic
Filed
The Clinic has been charged by the Group of discrimination for their program to prevent and treat strokes in minority patients. The Clinic has been reported to the HHS to stop the use of federal funds for a race based program. Will HHS investigate?
Texas v Biden
Filed
Texas is suing the administration again. This time for a policy that mandates minimum staffing levels in nursing homes. They say that HHS exceeded its authority. They are worried the new policy may place nursing homes in a place where they have to close to the detriment of patients. They also state that Congress has refused on many occasions to pass this law and the administration can not override Congress on legislation.
US Chamber of Commerce v FTC
Ruling
A federal judge had ruled that the FTC rule blocking non-compete clauses is void nationally. She ruled that the FTC overreached its authority in issuing the rule.
Peterson v Mercy San Juan Medical Center
Filed
Peterson died at the hospital after a diabetic crisis. The family asserts that the hosoital lost the body. The daughter had called her mother and was told she had left against medical advise and the medical record may also say the same. The family searched for her and was told one year later by the police that she had been found dead in a Mercy off-site storage area. Write the check.
Rodezno v Greenwich Hospital, Northeast Medical Group
Jury Verdict
a Connecticut jury has awarded the plaintiff $17 million for a stillbirth 9 years prior. She had cholestasis of pregnancy and after sever days of treatment by the ED delivered a stillborn baby.
Piccolo v Disney
Filed, Argument for Dismissal
Dr. Piccolo died allegedly by an allergic reaction after eating at a Pub in Disney Springs. The family sued and Disney has asked the court to dismiss because Piccolo had signed a 1-month trial for Disney+ and agreed that she had read the agreement and that all suits against the company would be settled by arbitration. They also say the suit can proceed against the Pub as Disney neither has an ownership interest nor is operated by Disney. Should be an interesting decision by the judge and appeal.
Cluster v Emory University hospital
Filed
The plaintiff was hospitalized with an intracerebral bleed. He ws operated upon and a skull flap was removed to reduce pressure on the brain. Upon wanting to replace the flap the hospital could not identify the flap due to missing patient identification. He is suing. He eventually had a synthetic bone flap inserted and was charged for its cost and for the extra stay in the hospital. He also had an infection post flap insertion and that also required an additional surgery. Emery should cancel the bill and eat the costs.
Hoffman v Kaleida Health, SUNT Buffalo Medical School
Filed
Dr. Aaron Hoffman, a bariatric surgeon, has filed suit against the hospital for punishing him for reporting patient safety concerns. He alleged that an unnamed physician had egregious quality and patient safety concerns. He alleges that he was threatened to shut up or be reported to the state board to have his license revoked. Dr. Hoffman is now working at another prestigious hospital in Texas.
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.