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.
The U.S. Department of Justice said MultiCare admitted in court documents to ignoring warnings from a whistleblower and staff who said a neurosurgeon was performing spinal surgeries on patients without medical need and billing the procedures to Medicare.
The Federal Trade Commission was suing the pharmacy benefit manager over allegations it was deliberately inflating the price of insulin. Per the agreement, Express Scripts has agreed to end business practices that involved taking manufacturer rebates on wholesale drug costs without passing them on to patients.
A malpractice lawsuit filed by a gender detransitioner ended Jan. 30 with a victory for the aggrieved former patient. The decision may set a generalizable precedent since this was the first such suit to reach a courtroom—and since 30 or so others are en route.
A surgeon and a medical device representative accuse Portneuf Medical Center of failing to address an ongoing problem with contaminated surgical tools that left patients with serious infections.
The legal case brought by all 50 states, Washington D.C., and multiple U.S. territories against Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family has come to an end, with settlement funds set to be used for addiction recovery.
Workers are returning to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and other departments. Kennedy said the reinstatements were necessary for the agencies to perform their duties.
A class-action lawsuit claims CVS Health sent text messages to customers and patients, inciting fear over a PBM regulation up for vote in Louisiana. Plaintiffs allege the incident violates state data privacy and political communication laws.
After being ordered to pay $442 million in damages—a ruling the company has said it may appeal—Johnson & Johnson MedTech is now facing the possibility of a permanent injunction that could impact certain business practices. A hearing is scheduled for July.
The HHS Office for Civil Rights said it is investigating a "major" health system in Michigan that may have fired an employee for refusing to use a patient's preferred pronouns—meaning those that align with gender identity rather than biological sex. The agency contends that such compelled speech may violate federal laws protecting religious freedom.
Gregory R. Ball, MD, filed the complaint against Southtowns Radiology Associates in February, and the practice is now asking a judge to reject his allegations.
The information was deleted to comply with an executive order from President Trump that censored content related to “gender ideology.” However, a federal judge has ordered the content restored as a court battle looms.