Legal News

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.

Jury finds PeaceHealth, ER doctor not liable for misdiagnosing patient’s stroke
After a three week trial, a jury found that PeaceHealth and Ralph Weiche, MD, acted in accordance with medical protocols in diagnosing Patricia Parker with a psychiatric condition, given her unusual symptoms.
DOJ announces 324 arrests in $14.6B healthcare fraud crackdown
Of those arrested, 96 are doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers. All face charges related to telehealth prescriptions, illegal opioid distribution and fraudulent billing practices.
4 cybersecurity best practices for radiology groups
Digitization of exams has made the imaging industry a “prime target” for cybercriminals, experts wrote recently in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
Radiologists will pay $810,000 to settle allegations they performed hundreds of unnecessary procedures
Oscar Sosa, MD, and Osmany DeAngelo, DO, vehemently deny the allegations but chose to settle to avoid costly and protracted litigation.
Caremark dealt a $95 million blow for violating the False Claims Act
In a decision issued Wednesday, a judge ruled that Caremark had persuaded insurers to intentionally mislead the government regarding prescription drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries.

UnitedHealth defends $3.3B Amedisys acquisition

UnitedHealth subsidiary Optum is turning to the court of public opinion to defend the merger.

doctor in handcuffs after being arrested

Cardiologist receives 35 months in prison for health insurance fraud

Fazal Panezai, MD, faced up to 10 years in prison for coordinating a years-long fraud scheme from 2017 to 2022. His New Jersey medical license has already been permanently revoked.

33-year-old radiologist father of 4 dies while hiking

James MacDonald, MD, with Oregon Health & Science University, went missing Nov. 6 in the Mount Hood National Forest.

DOJ sues to block UnitedHealth’s $3.3B acquisition of home health giant

The DOJ met with UnitedHealth execs in an attempt to resolve antitrust concerns out of court, but those talks stalled, a report claims.

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Patient suffers traumatic brain injury after radiologist misreads CT scan, lawsuit claims

The lawsuit names Betty Matthew, MD, Advanced Radiology Consultants and Hartford HealthCare, both in Connecticut, as defendants.

Walgreens settles class-action fraud lawsuit for $100M

The pharmacy chain is accused of charging insurance more for generic drugs than uninsured customers of its Prescription Saving Club.

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Cardiologist loses medical license over years-long fraud scheme

The New Jersey doctor already admitted to collecting more than $1.9 million in false claims from 2017 to 2022. He is also under investigation for an unrelated charge of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact due to an alleged incident with a patient.

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Radiologist dodges $2M malpractice verdict that jury pins on negligent surgeon

Hamilton County, Ohio, jurors ruled against surgeon Robert Bradley, MD, while absolving colleague and diagnostic specialist Sean A. Litherland, MD.

Legal News

Jury finds PeaceHealth, ER doctor not liable for misdiagnosing patient’s stroke

DOJ announces 324 arrests in $14.6B healthcare fraud crackdown

4 cybersecurity best practices for radiology groups

Radiologists will pay $810,000 to settle allegations they performed hundreds of unnecessary procedures

Caremark dealt a $95 million blow for violating the False Claims Act