More Healthcare Coverage
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March 18, 2024
The Biggest Trade Secrets Awards In The Last 5 Years
Trade secrets cases are having a moment in the spotlight, thanks to some gargantuan damages awards over the past five years and more flexibility for plaintiffs to argue for what they think they are owed.
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March 15, 2024
Ohio Obstetrician Keeps Trial Win In Suit Over Baby's Death
An Ohio state appeals court has refused to overturn a trial win for an obstetrician accused of medical malpractice in the delivery of an infant who died shortly after birth, finding that the parents aren't allowed to question the doctor about whether his hospital privileges were pulled following the death.
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March 15, 2024
Ohio Ambulance Co. Says HR Firm Botched Tax Returns
An Ohio ambulance company accused its human resources management firm of failing to accurately prepare and submit amended tax returns that would have allowed the company to claim pandemic-era tax credits, according to a complaint filed in an Ohio federal court.
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March 15, 2024
Pa. University Knocks Out Surgeon's $15M Sex Bias Win
A Pennsylvania federal judge has erased a $15 million verdict won by a surgeon who said Thomas Jefferson University ignored his claims that a female resident sexually assaulted him, ruling that text messages he sent warranted a new trial.
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March 15, 2024
Conservative Law Group Asks Justices To Hear FDA Vape Suit
A free-market advocacy group and a vape industry association are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to upend the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision denying a manufacturer permission to sell flavored vapes, arguing that the FDA is "moving the goalposts" when it comes to what kind of data is needed when applying.
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March 14, 2024
Cannabis Cos. Say Federal Position On Pot Is Irrational
The federal ban on marijuana is plainly irrational and negatively affects operators in state-regulated cannabis markets, depriving them of their constitutional rights, a group of marijuana companies told a Massachusetts federal judge on Friday.
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March 14, 2024
Medical Waste Co. Beats Sales Reps' Equal Pay Suit
An Illinois federal judge tossed a suit brought by four female sales representatives for a medical waste company claiming they were paid less than their male counterparts, ruling that the case couldn't proceed without more proof that prejudice caused the pay differences.
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March 14, 2024
NJ Urologist Keeps Win In Prostate Procedure Med Mal Suit
A New Jersey appeals panel won't let a man revive his claims alleging a urologist botched a prostate procedure resulting in his inability to ejaculate, finding the trial court was correct in finding that his standard of care expert should be excluded.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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Courts Must Apply Correct Causal Standard In Kickback Cases
Despite clear statutory language and supporting legislative history, the government and some courts have been incorrectly interpreting the Anti-Kickback Statute's "resulting from" language, which could lead to detrimental effects for innocent patients and physicians if not corrected, say attorneys at Covington.
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Higher Ed Can't Recycle Cannabis Policies For Psychedelics
As efforts to legalize and decriminalize psychedelic substances proliferate, higher education must recognize the nuanced legal issues that distinguish these drugs from cannabis, and consider a unique approach to the possession, use and research of psychedelics on campus, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.
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Issues To Watch In Fla.'s Telehealth Genetic Counseling Bills
Two recently introduced Florida bills would expand the state’s telehealth statute to include genetic counseling services, and though they currently don’t have opposition, they may have to overcome data privacy and out-of-state licensing concerns, say Erika Alba and Jacqueline Acosta at Foley & Lardner.
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Questions Surround FDA's Orphan Drug Exclusivity Approach
In light of a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration notice, which contrasts with an Eleventh Circuit ruling on orphan drug exclusivity, the exact scope of orphan drug exclusivity periods appears uncertain and companies may want to reconsider their strategies for requesting designations, say Jacqueline Berman and Nikita Bhojani at Morgan Lewis.
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Preparing For An Era Of Regulated Artificial Intelligence
In light of developing regulatory activity aimed at governing the use of artificial intelligence, companies should implement best practices that focus on the fundamental principles that are driving regulators' actions, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Lessons On Prior Art From PTAB's Genetic Testing Decisions
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board's recent finding that none of the challenged claims in LabCorp v. Ravgen were unpatentable shows that practitioners should avoid cherry-picking prior art references, and know what the art does and doesn't teach, say Jameson Gardner and Thomas Irving at Finnegan.
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Incorrect Inventorship On Patents Is A Tough Claim To Prove
The Federal Circuit's recent decision to reverse and remand a district court's ruling that patents were invalid in Plastipak Packaging v. Premium Waters highlights the difficulties of sustaining claims of misjoinder or nonjoinder of inventors as a strategy to invalidate patents, says Andrew Berks at Gallet Dreyer.
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The Issues Shaping Labor Market Antitrust Litigation In 2023
Questions about whether traditional antitrust analysis should apply to labor market abuses will continue to define litigation over agreements restricting employment this year, as courts grapple with the sufficiency of pleadings, parties' evidentiary burdens, affirmative defenses and jury instructions, say Manly Parks and Randy Kim at Duane Morris.
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How Ohio Software Ruling Implicates Crypto Insurance Claims
The Ohio Supreme Court's recent decision in EMOI Services v. Owners Insurance, holding that software can never be physically damaged, has limited precedential value for property claims, but serious implications for cases involving loss or damage to intangible assets like cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens, say Jane Warring and Shannon O’Malley at Zelle.
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NY Adult Survivors Act Look-Back: What Orgs Must Know
With the look-back window for New York's Adult Survivors Act now open, survivors of past sexual abuse have a new opportunity to file civil claims — so organizations that could face litigation should take specific steps to ensure best practices both before and after lawsuits arise, say Michael Appelbaum and Christina Holdsworth at Goldberg Segalla.
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7th Circ. Ruling Highlights Risks Of Foreign Debt Collateral
The Seventh Circuit’s recent ruling in a retired surgeon’s bankruptcy case is a reminder for borrowers to be cognizant of where their creditors are located, and for creditors to be aware of the risks that accompany accepting additional collateral located in a foreign jurisdiction, says Mark Gensburg at Nelson Mullins.
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In Holmes' Sentencing, Judge Has Warning For All Companies
In sentencing ex-Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes to 11 years in prison, a federal judge issued a scathing statement about the company’s culture of fraud — revealing an important lesson about how an organization’s core values can help mitigate compliance risk, say Scott Maberry and Joseph Jay at Sheppard Mullin.
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Potential Upheaval For FDA Regulation Of Stem Cell Clinics
If upheld by the Ninth Circuit, a recent California federal court ruling that a stem cell clinic's products are not subject to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act could fundamentally alter the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's ability to regulate stem cell therapies, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.