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.
Of all lawsuits filed against patients in 2024 in one U.S. state, physician practices and other non-hospital healthcare entities accounted for 80% of cases. That’s a complete inversion from just six years prior.
The U.S. Department of Justice said it worries its lawsuit could ultimately bankrupt the telehealth group, leaving little money for alleged victims. The company is said to have refused to cancel member accounts, forcing patients to file credit card disputes to get refunds. This is in addition to other arguably more serious accusations levied by the DOJ.
"This case reflects a troubling pattern in which payers, dissatisfied with IDR results, increasingly try to attack those outcomes outside the framework Congress created," Rad Partners says.
The family of Gay Sherman Weintz, 55, said she died as a result of 24-hour physical restraint, combined with staff at Middlesex Hospital ignoring signs of a medical crisis. Her son, Chauncey Smith, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
Mahmood Sami Khan, 36, has been charged on five counts of wire fraud and money laundering in connection with the conspiracy. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
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.
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.
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.
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.