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.

Cardiologist sues hospital after he was allegedly let go for sharing safety concerns
The veteran interventional cardiologist claims he was pushed out after repeatedly asking for more coverage from cardiothoracic surgeons in addition to other improvements. The hospital, meanwhile, described the lawsuit as a “collection of false allegations."
Alphabet-owned Verily accused by whistleblower of misusing data from 25K patients
A former executive at Verily is suing the company, alleging he was fired after reporting the incidents to management. The misuses of data, if true, would constitute HIPAA violations.
Nonprofit health system agrees to $18M settlement over use of ad trackers
Adena Health System was accused in a class-action lawsuit of deploying Meta Pixel tracking tools on its patient portal. As many as 89,000 patients could have had protected health information shared with advertisers.
Lantheus misled investors about blockbuster imaging agent, class action lawsuit claims
Plaintiff attorneys claim the Massachusetts-based company shattered the competitive position of Pylarify, a PET imaging agent for prostate cancer.
Florida man arrested on suspicion of being a fake nurse
Joseph Thomas Kinney, 55, was arrested this week for allegedly using fake credentials to obtain work as a registered nurse. His arrest is part of what appears to be a growing national trend.

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.

healthcare insurance fraud scam scheme legal lawsuit

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.

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.

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.

Asante Medical facing $488M in lawsuits after fentanyl diversion linked to 16 deaths

The nurse responsible has been charged with 44 counts of second-degree assault. Her criminal trial begins Dec. 30.

Trump selects Emmy-winning TV personality Dr. Oz to head CMS

President-elect Donald Trump announced the nomination of former "Dr. Oz Show" star Mehmet Oz just days after appointing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health.

Healthcare hacker sentenced to 10 years in prison

Robert Purbeck, 45, of Georgia was found with data on more than 132,000 individuals taken from various breaches, including multiple providers, a police station and a city government.

Public health contrarian RFK Jr. nominated to HHS secretary

President-elect Donald Trump said he will let Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “go wild for a little while” if his appointment is confirmed by the Senate.

Legal News

Cardiologist sues hospital after he was allegedly let go for sharing safety concerns

Alphabet-owned Verily accused by whistleblower of misusing data from 25K patients

Nonprofit health system agrees to $18M settlement over use of ad trackers

Lantheus misled investors about blockbuster imaging agent, class action lawsuit claims

Florida man arrested on suspicion of being a fake nurse