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.

Drug discounts for safety-net hospitals up in the air and into the courts
HHS’s 340B drug discount program is set to shift to a rebate model on New Year’s Day. But a lawsuit and temporary restraining order filed by the AHA and others may block the change from going live on time.
Beloved radiologist and his wife killed in apparent murder-suicide
Eric Cordes, MD, 63, of Simi Valley, California, was a highly respected diagnostic specialist with Adventist Health Simi Valley and Focus Medical Imaging.
CVS agrees to pay $38M to resolve insulin over-distribution allegations, DOJ says
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.
Hospital pays out $4.2M to settle lawsuit involving ‘violent and uncontrollable’ patient
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.
Newly revealed audio and video show moments leading up to the arrest of Luigi Mangione
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.

Vandalism broken window property destruction

Hospital delays opening after vandals sledgehammer holes into walls

The grand unveiling of a new Trinity Health System hospital in Ohio has been delayed after vandals smashed up the place. The incident is currently under investigation.

Judge orders HHS agencies to restore health information

A Tuesday ruling gave the FDA, CDC and HHS until midnight to undo the mass deletion of webpages stemming from Trump executive orders.

Cancer patient in pain for months discovers surgical sponge in neck, lawsuit claims

Frank Kryzak has filed a lawsuit against Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital after an exploratory surgery allegedly left him in a mysterious state of agony for four months.

Family of heart patient who died after missing medications in jail settles lawsuit

A 54-year-old heart transplant recipient was unable to take doctor-prescribed medications during his brief stay at a local jail. He died a few days after being released.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) HQ

HHS offers update on comms pause as rapid policy shifts continue

A spokesperson told HealthExec that "several types of external communications" are no longer subject to any pause, including urgent public health alerts.

Medical malpractice gavel diagnostic error mistake stethoscope

Should emergency medicine malpractice protections extend to consultant radiologists?

A California appeals court recently ruled in favor of on-call radiologist Peymam Kangavari, MD, after he was accused of overlooking a bowel obstruction on X-ray and ultrasound images.

Musk’s DOGE granted access to CMS records in search of ‘big money fraud’

The pseudo-government organization led by billionaire Elon Musk has been given read-only access to payment, contract and staffing records at the agency.

money court scale of justice ruling legal settlement

Oklahoma cardiologist and his clinic pay $270K to settle whistleblower lawsuit

A Tulsa-based cardiology clinic was accused of submitting false claims for E&M services over a period of several years.

Legal News

Drug discounts for safety-net hospitals up in the air and into the courts

Beloved radiologist and his wife killed in apparent murder-suicide

CVS agrees to pay $38M to resolve insulin over-distribution allegations, DOJ says

Hospital pays out $4.2M to settle lawsuit involving ‘violent and uncontrollable’ patient

Newly revealed audio and video show moments leading up to the arrest of Luigi Mangione