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 announced the judgment, which was issued against two facilities in Pennsylvania. The nursing homes fraudulently billed Medicare and Medicaid for working hours despite staff not being on the floor.
In court documents, an unnamed Minnesota woman said that in 2022, she was admitted to an Allina Health hospital and scheduled for the removal of her infected spleen, only for an error to result in her left kidney being removed instead.
Community Health System and Physician Network Advantage, an affiliated technology consultancy firm, were accused of bribing physicians for patient referrals in the form of paid vacations, expensive gifts and business meetings held at strip clubs.
The company told Cardiovascular Business it respectfully disagrees with the jury's decision and is evaluating all possible legal options going forward. The Association of Medical Device Reprocessors, meanwhile, celebrated the news.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reports that UnitedHealth Group is being investigated for criminal fraud, likely stemming from its Medicare Advantage billing practices.
The reporting detailed Philips' delay in issuing a recall of its breathing machines, drawing the ire of two U.S. Senators who have been pushing for an investigation into how the FDA handles oversight.
The heart of a 43-year-old prisoner is still missing nearly eight weeks after he was found dead at Ventress Correctional Facility in Alabama. A judge heard from five witnesses on Jan. 5, but made little progress on solving the mystery.
The veteran interventional cardiologist was initially sentenced to five years in prison for healthcare fraud. After multiple appeals and some significant updates, however, he was granted a new trial.
The company and one of its subsidiaries would allegedly confuse clinicians and have them bill government programs for cardiac monitoring services that were more expensive than what they needed. This settlement resolves those allegations.
To their reasons for seeking a retrial in the Maya Kowalski case, attorneys for Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in Florida have added a juror’s possibly mischievous and bias-revealing courtroom notes.
Former Kaiser Permanente nurse Maria Gatchalian will receive $11.49 million in compensatory damages from her ex-employer, $9 million of which is to make amends for emotional distress, along with some $30 million in punitive damages.