Stories about physicians and other healthcare professionals involved in lawsuits—as either a plaintiff or a defendant—or accused of breaking the law. Various legal updates or unusual stories in the news may land here.
Eric Cordes, MD, 63, of Simi Valley, California, was a highly respected diagnostic specialist with Adventist Health Simi Valley and Focus Medical Imaging.
Authorities allege the pharmacy chain gave patients more insulin than prescribed and then billed Medicare and Medicaid for the full amounts. This allegedly occurred for more than a decade.
A psychiatric patient suffering from hallucinations injured employees at University of Iowa Health Care during a physical altercation. Clinicians restrained and sedated him successfully, but the cocktail of drugs allegedly caused his heart to stop, leading to a permanent brain injury. The case has been settled out of court.
Surveillance footage and a 911 call were shown during a preliminary hearing in which the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was present. Hearings will continue this week in a New York state court, where a judge will rule on defense motions to exclude certain evidence from trial.
A jury awarded Linette Nelson $19.8 million after it was alleged a former Mayo Clinic surgeon botched a series of colorectal cancer surgeries, forcing the woman to undergo them a second time.
In court documents, an unnamed Minnesota woman said that in 2022, she was admitted to an Allina Health hospital and scheduled for the removal of her infected spleen, only for an error to result in her left kidney being removed instead.
Community Health System and Physician Network Advantage, an affiliated technology consultancy firm, were accused of bribing physicians for patient referrals in the form of paid vacations, expensive gifts and business meetings held at strip clubs.
The company told Cardiovascular Business it respectfully disagrees with the jury's decision and is evaluating all possible legal options going forward. The Association of Medical Device Reprocessors, meanwhile, celebrated the news.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reports that UnitedHealth Group is being investigated for criminal fraud, likely stemming from its Medicare Advantage billing practices.
The unwanted spam calls were associated with Optum's home healthcare service. Plaintiffs alleged they received the marketing calls despite opting out and never signing up, in violation of federal consumer protection laws. The company does not admit to wrongdoing.
A Biden-era update to the law would require private insurers to update their networks to ensure patients have access to mental and behavioral health services, with those services reimbursed in a manner similar to physical care.
CureIS, a company that supports healthcare providers who take Medicaid and Medicare, is accusing the EHR leader of data blocking and other anti-competitive practices that violate state and federal laws.