More Healthcare Coverage

  • March 13, 2024

    Ariz. Families Sue For Wrongful Death Amid Healthcare Scams

    The families of two Native American men are suing the state of Arizona and several of its entities, alleging that they're liable for their loved ones' deaths due to a lack of oversight on the "so-called sober living crisis" that led to one of the largest healthcare scandals in the state's history.

  • March 13, 2024

    Hospital Asks NC Justices To Take Up Virus-Law Immunity Case

    Healthcare providers are pressing the North Carolina Supreme Court to review a lower court's finding that the state's COVID immunity law isn't fatal to a medical malpractice suit, warning that the decision would have drastic consequences on a liability shield from pandemic-related suits.

  • March 13, 2024

    Judge Says COVID Test Suit Depends On Conn. Justices

     A Connecticut federal judge trimmed several claims from a $783,000 suit over a COVID-19 testing bill that a health plan administrator allegedly failed to pay, but declined to rule on certain state law issues until the state's highest court can shed light on the statutes in an upcoming ruling.

  • March 13, 2024

    Aetna Can't Avoid Bias Suit Over Fertility Treatment Policy

    Aetna must face a proposed class action alleging it readily covers fertility treatments for infertile heterosexual women but forces non-heterosexual women to spend thousands out of pocket before paying for their treatments, with a Connecticut federal judge saying it doesn't matter if the insurer didn't control the health plan's terms.

  • March 12, 2024

    NYC Orthodontics Chain Can't Shake Staff's OT Wage Suit

    A New York City chain of orthodontics practices must face the bulk of workers' claims that it denied adequate overtime compensation and targeted a former employee for retaliation after she complained about wage practices.

  • March 12, 2024

    4th Circ. Upholds White Exec Firing Verdict But Cuts Damages

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a victory for a white hospital executive who won a jury trial in his lawsuit alleging he was fired as part of a diversity push, but found his $300,000 punitive damages award was unwarranted because he fell short in backing his claim that his employer knowingly violated federal law.

  • March 12, 2024

    Nurses' Challenge To NJ Vaccine Mandate Moot, Judge Rules

    A New Jersey federal judge tossed a suit challenging Gov. Phil Murphy's vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, ruling the case is moot because the mandate had been rescinded.

  • March 11, 2024

    Ill. Court OKs $48M Award In Brain Damage Med Mal Suit

    An Illinois state appeals court has affirmed a $48.1 million award in a suit accusing an emergency medicine physician and a hospital of improperly placing a breathing tube in a patient and causing permanent brain damage, saying certain jury instructions given by the trial court were not erroneous.

  • March 11, 2024

    3rd Circ. Finds No Reason To Disturb AbbVie Privilege Ruling

    The Third Circuit has found that AbbVie was unable to show that a Pennsylvania federal court went against precedent or made an error when ordering the drugmaker to turn over attorney communications from a "sham" patent case allegedly meant to delay AndroGel competitors.

  • March 11, 2024

    Widower Gets 3rd Trial Over Wife's Cancer Misdiagnosis

     A Pennsylvania Superior Court panel on Monday granted a third trial to a man whose wife died of cancer, saying that he'd presented enough evidence that her doctor's failure to follow up on discrepancies in her diagnosis deprived her of a chance for a longer life.

  • March 11, 2024

    Fed. Circ. OKs Boston Drug Developer's Patent Win

    A Boston-area biotech developer that has yet to bring a product to market persuaded the Federal Circuit on Monday to affirm a finding by an administrative patent board last year that stripped a smaller Chinese rival of a patent covering a way of using a type of sulfonic acid to potentially treat Alzheimer's disease.

  • March 11, 2024

    NY Man's COVID Loan 'Greed' Merits 10 Years, Feds Say

    Federal prosecutors have asked a New York judge to sentence a Long Island man to 10 years in prison for his role in a scheme to steal more than $10 million from the Paycheck Protection Program and other pandemic-era disaster relief programs.

  • March 11, 2024

    Ill Will Pushed UNC Doc's Bawdy Party Lie, NC Justices Told

    A former doctor at the University of North Carolina hospital wants the state's highest court to revive his defamation lawsuit alleging a supervisor's ill will motivated an investigation into a supposed bawdy party, telling the justices that the supervisor isn't afforded the immunity public officials receive from lawsuits.

  • March 11, 2024

    More Women Accuse Conn. Fertility Doc Of Using Own Sperm

    Two more former patients of a retired fertility doctor in Connecticut have filed accusations in state court that he secretly impregnated women with his own sperm, seeking to learn how many people knew about the formerly Yale-affiliated physician's conduct and how they managed to keep it hidden for decades.

  • March 11, 2024

    NC Judge Scraps $8M Verdict In AXA Life Insurance Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge wiped out an $8 million jury award for historian and investment firm founder Malcolm Wiener in his lawsuit accusing AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co. of sabotaging his insurability with inaccurate health information reporting, finding Wiener had "no baseline" to support the award beyond $1 in nominal damages.

  • March 11, 2024

    Disability Services Co. Agrees To $850K Wage Suit Settlement​

    A company that runs care facilities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities will pay roughly 300 California-based hourly employees about $1,700 apiece in response to claims that it underpaid workers for years, under the terms of an $850,000 settlement approved by a California federal judge.

  • March 11, 2024

    Urologist Seeks Coverage For Defective Penile Implants Suit

    A urologist's medical device company told a California federal court that two insurers must cover it, the doctor and his practice in an underlying class action alleging that a silicone implant invented for penile enlargement, and the procedure that went with it, left patients with permanent damage.

  • March 08, 2024

    Pa. Court Grants Seizure Of Nursing Homes In 'Dire' Condition

    A Pennsylvania federal court has granted an emergency request for a receiver to take control of six nursing homes in the state that Revere Tactical Opportunities REIT LLC claims were left in a "dire financial condition" by the properties' owners, who had also allegedly defaulted on a $30 million loan.

  • March 07, 2024

    Petition Watch: Student Athletes, Oil Spills & Preemption

    The U.S. Supreme Court receives thousands of petitions for review each term, but only a few make the news. Here, Law360 looks at four petitions filed in the past three weeks that you might've missed: questions over whether student athletes have a business interest in being eligible to play college sports, how much oil is needed to qualify as an oil spill, whether an exemption to the Fourth Amendment applies to artificial intelligence and whether consumers can sue drug companies under state law for violating federal regulations.

  • March 07, 2024

    Care Worker's Federal OT Claim Doomed By Late Filing

    A residential care facility worker was too late in filing a federal claim that he was not properly paid overtime wages, a New York federal judge ruled, tossing that allegation from the worker's suit while sending his state law wage claim to state court.

  • March 07, 2024

    Claims Court Backs VA Redo Of Eyewear Deal Over Errors

    A Court of Federal Claims judge tossed an eyewear manufacturer's bid to be reinstated to a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs optometry deal, saying the VA was allowed to cancel the award in light of calculation errors the agency made.

  • March 07, 2024

    Netflix, Privacy Plaintiffs Scolded For 'Entirely Deficient' Filing

    An Indiana federal judge has scolded Netflix Inc. and three women for filing an "entirely deficient" summary judgment hearing agenda in a suit accusing the streaming giant of revealing the women's identities in a documentary about a fertility doctor who used his own sperm to impregnate his patients.

  • March 06, 2024

    5th Circ. Weighs 'Very Complex' Chemo Hair Loss Dispute

    The Fifth Circuit is weighing whether two drug manufacturers had an obligation to expedite changing the label on their chemotherapy medications to warn of permanent hair loss in a case one justice describes as "a very complex situation" that will have far-reaching consequences for drugmakers and patients.

  • March 05, 2024

    4th Circ. Affirms Med Mal Trial Win For Md. Patient

    A clinic and gynecologist can't evade a $1 million judgment over claims they botched a surgery, causing a patient's infection and ultimately the removal of part of her large intestine, a Fourth Circuit panel ruled, saying there was sufficient evidence for a jury to find them liable.

  • March 05, 2024

    Pharmacist Takes Deal In Mich. Over Fatal Meningitis Outbreak

    The founder of a Massachusetts drug compounding center that was the source of a deadly meningitis outbreak has pled no contest to 11 counts of manslaughter brought by Michigan state prosecutors, the latter state's Department of Attorney General announced Tuesday.

Expert Analysis

  • What FTC's Data Actions Say About Tracker Enforcement

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    The Federal Trade Commission’s recent enforcement actions against GoodRx and BetterHelp for sharing sensitive user information show the agency may be setting a new standard for the collection, use and disclosure of user data, which should prompt companies to audit their use of — and policies regarding — data trackers, says Reed Freeman at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Labor Collusion Loss Will Shape DOJ's Case Strategy

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    Following the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent loss in United States v. Manahe, tallying its trial score record to 0-3 in labor-related antitrust cases over the past year, defendants can expect that the DOJ will try to exclude defense evidence and argue for more favorable jury instructions, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Examining Chancery's Recent Openness To Caremark Claims

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    As seen in an April decision involving Walmart's role in the national opioid epidemic, the Delaware Chancery Court has recently shown receptivity to Caremark claims at the early pleading stage of litigation, providing plaintiffs with more leverage to negotiate an early settlement and bringing risk management lessons for boards, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Expect The Patchwork Of AI Regulation To Grow

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    Given the unlikelihood of meaningful federal artificial intelligence legislation in the immediate future, the patchwork of state AI regulation will likely continue to grow, bringing at least two main risks for companies in the AI space, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Job Reassignment Case Shows Need For Clear ADA Policies

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    The Fifth Circuit's recent holding in U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Methodist Hospitals that a disabled employee was not entitled to a job reassignment as a reasonable accommodation underscores the importance of implementing detailed Americans with Disabilities Act policies and educating employees on them, says Marcellus Chamberlain at Phelps Dunbar.

  • White Collar Defense Lessons From The Bench And Beyond

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    Former Minnesota judge and federal prosecutor Nicole Engisch, now a partner at Dorsey & Whitney, shares insights from her background that may inform attorneys’ defense-side approach in white collar cases and corporate investigations — more relevant than ever given the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent policy changes.

  • Comparing Iowa's Data Privacy Law With Other States'

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    Iowa’s recently signed data privacy law is intentionally more business-friendly than other U.S. state privacy laws — as it does not apply in the business-to-business contexts and does not have a private right of action — and further entrenches the main tenets of enhanced privacy in the U.S., say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • Ga. Needs To Resolve Cannabis Counsel Confusion

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    Georgia’s medical cannabis regulator finally adopted rules for low-THC oil last month, but a 2021 ethics ruling prohibits lawyers from advising participants in the state’s legal program and creates a confounding landscape that the state bar and courts must address, say Whitt Steineker and Mason Kruze at Bradley Arant.

  • 6th Circ. Ruling's Seismic Shift In FCA Kickback Causation

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    It is difficult to overstate the significance of the Sixth Circuit’s recent decision in the False Claims Act kickback case U.S. v. Hathaway, which shifts the government's burden of proof by adopting a more defense-friendly causation standard and curbing an expansive definition of remuneration, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • 3rd Circ. Ruling Offers Tools To Manage Exempt Employees

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    The Third Circuit’s recent opinion in Higgins v. Bayada Home Health, finding the Fair Labor Standards Act allows employers to deduct paid time off for missed employee productivity targets, gives companies another resource for managing exempt employee inefficiency or absenteeism, says Laura Lawless at Squire Patton.

  • Dormant Commerce Clause Issues Are Evolving In Cannabis

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    As federal courts across the country wrestle with how the Constitution’s dormant commerce clause applies to state-legal cannabis markets, industry stakeholders will need to watch how the issue evolves in several key contexts, including interstate compacts, say Tommy Tobin and Andrew Kline at Perkins Coie.

  • Garmon Defense Finds New Relevance As NLRB Stays Active

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    With a more muscular National Labor Relations Board at work, employers should recall that they have access to a powerful yet underutilized defense to state law employment and tort claims established under the U.S. Supreme Court decision in San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon, say Alex Meier and Cary Reid Burke at Seyfarth.

  • The Important Role Of Contra Proferentem In ERISA Cases

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    A Pennsylvania federal court's recent decision in Stein v. Paul Revere Life Insurance illustrates what happens when ERISA plan terms are unclear, and why the contra proferentem principle should be applied uniformly in all ERISA cases, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.

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