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.
Hospitals are not the only healthcare entities competing over a limited pool of qualified compliance officers. Payers, vendors and others are in the race too. But hospitals and health systems may have the most to lose if they let down their guard on adherence to regulatory rules.
An emergency department nurse at Heritage Valley Sewickley Hospital is accused of stealing drugs and neglecting patients, causing at least two fatalities. A lawsuit filed by two whistleblowers further alleges that hospital leadership covered for the drug-dependent nurse.
Led by Massachusetts and California, the plaintiffs say CMS ignored the will of Congress by strictly defining a “medically frail” exemption that would allow a person access to safety net medical coverage.
Radiologist Henry C. Lusane, MD, with Acumen Medical Imaging, interpreted the scans, reporting the mass as benign, a mistake later leading to a terminal cancer diagnosis.
The Women’s Center for Radiology, which was acquired by Solis Mammography in January, hired a cybersecurity firm to help investigate the scope of the matter.
In 2024, a Denver cardiologist was sentenced to 158 years to life in prison for drugging and sexually assaulting multiple women he met through online dating apps. Six of his victims have now filed a civil lawsuit that claims the apps are “hospitable to serial predators.”
The January 2024 incident at Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin had all of the hallmarks of a ransomware attack, with an unknown cybercrime group taking credit in a letter to the payer. In total, 533,000 people were impacted by the data breach.
On Dec. 11, the Alaskan cardiologist was captured as part of a months-long investigation and charged with 10 counts of possessing child sexual abuse materials. The fire at his home occurred two days later.
The plaintiffs argue that the administration has overstepped its authority and that only Congress can levy such hefty fees. As noted in the lawsuit, healthcare relies on skilled labor immigration to bring doctors, nurses and researchers into the country.
Lauren Beene, MD, and Valerie Fouts-Fowler, MD, allege in a lawsuit that Ohio-based University Hospitals fired them for expressing concerns through a chat app. The health system accused the duo of misusing internal communications for personal gain.
Yale New Haven failed to notify parents about the use of the cow-based formula, which they expressly asked staff not to use. A judge found that the hospital failed to stock a human alternative, known to be safer for premature newborns.
According to attorneys representing a potential class action of plaintiffs, Sharp HealthCare was not forthcoming about its use of a tool for automatic note-taking. The technology allegedly captures everything said in an exam room, including sensitive details on diagnoses, and sends it to an offsite server.