Legal News

Stories about physicians and other healthcare professionals involved in lawsuits—as either a plaintiff or a defendantor accused of breaking the law. Various legal updates or unusual stories in the news may land here.

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Anesthesiologist gets 190 years for injecting drugs into IV bags

The IV bags caused multiple patients to experience severe cardiac distress. The judge who sentenced former doctor Raynaldo Rivera Ortiz Jr. said his actions were “tantamount to attempted murder."

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Radiology group will pay over $5M to settle allegations it bribed referrers

Private equity-backed American Health Imaging allegedly doled out tickets to concerts, the SEC Football Championship, meals and fishing trips to help induce referrals. 

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Michigan doctor claims he was fired for reporting unnecessary pacemaker surgeries

Daniel West, MD, is suing Trinity Health Muskegon and seeking whistleblower protection after reporting alleged malpractice and being summarily terminated.

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UnitedHealth successfully sues CMS over disputed phone call

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services violated the Administrative Procedure Act by allowing a single phone call made by a contractor to determine a Medicare Advantage star rating, a federal judge ruled. 

Federal police seize phones of Steward Health Care executives

According to a report from the Boston Globe, the search warrants were executed as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into executives at the bankrupt health system.

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Texas clinics face potential $300M fine for submitting 20K false claims

A jury found Healthcare Associates of Texas guilty of knowingly submitting tens of thousands of fraudulent claims to Medicare, costing the government more than $2.8 million. 

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Texas AG sues hospital for $10K after off-duty police barred from carrying guns

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton claims Memorial Hermann Health System violated a state law that authorizes any establishment serving the public to allow police officers to carry firearms, even if they’re dressed in civilian clothing. 

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PBMs sue FTC for alleged Fifth Amendment violation

Caremark, Express Scripts and Optum Rx claim the FTC’s internal administrative court is unconstitutional. The agency sued the PBMs in September, claiming they engage in collusive business practices.