More Healthcare Coverage
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July 29, 2024
Cardiologist Hits Mass. Hospital With Equal Pay Suit
A cardiologist at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital says a less experienced male colleague whom she helped train is being paid $95,000 more, in violation of the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act, according to a lawsuit filed in state court.
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July 26, 2024
Ohio Jury Must Consider Brain Injury Patient's Mental State
An Ohio appeals court has reinstated a suit accusing doctors of causing a man's catastrophic brain injury due to medical negligence, saying it should be up to a jury to decide whether the applicable filing deadlines can be tolled due to the man's purported mental incompetence.
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July 26, 2024
Fired Doc Can Pursue Claims Against Atty Over Award Error
A Michigan state appeals court has ruled a doctor may pursue malpractice claims against the attorney who represented him during arbitration proceedings in an underlying wrongful termination suit after she allegedly failed to catch the arbitrator's miscalculation of the award, reportedly resulting in a $2.5 million loss.
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July 25, 2024
3rd Circ. Again Tosses J&J Talc Unit's 'Texas Two-Step' Ch. 11
The Third Circuit on Thursday affirmed the dismissal of the reworked Chapter 11 case of Johnson & Johnson's talc unit that used a controversial "Texas two-step" maneuver, saying the company still hasn't displayed the financial distress required to justify bankruptcy protection.
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July 25, 2024
Mich. Justices Roll Back Expert Limits For Med Mal Plaintiffs
A split Michigan Supreme Court on Thursday partly overturned a nearly 20-year-old standard that made it harder for medical malpractice plaintiffs to introduce expert testimony, as dissenting justices warned the change could unleash a cascade of new appeals.
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July 25, 2024
Mich. Jury Awards $8.5M For Missed Cancer Diagnosis
A Michigan federal jury awarded more than $8.5 million in damages Wednesday to a man who died of kidney cancer, finding that a doctor at a cancer clinic missed an opportunity to diagnose the cancer before it spread to his brain.
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July 23, 2024
NC's $500K Med Mal Damages Cap Faces Fight
A patient who obtained a $7.5 million jury verdict in her case against a North Carolina doctor over the loss of her unborn baby is challenging the constitutionality of the Tar Heel State's cap on compensatory damages in medical negligence suits.
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July 23, 2024
Optum Can Arbitrate Calif. Healthcare Provider's Antitrust Suit
A California federal judge Tuesday ordered certain Emanate Health entities who signed hospital services and physician agreements with Optum to arbitrate their antitrust suit accusing it of monopolizing a primary care physician market, finding the agreements encompass rules that say issues of arbitrability will be referred to an arbitrator.
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July 23, 2024
Feds Urge 6th Circ. To Affirm Pharma Owner's Fraud Sentence
The Sixth Circuit should affirm a district court's fraud convictions, nearly five-year sentence and $7 million restitution order against an Ohio pharmaceutical salesman who underreported his income to reduce his tax liability in a multimillion-dollar scheme involving bogus insurance billings, the federal government said.
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July 22, 2024
AbbVie Challenges Mo. Drug Discount Program Requirements
AbbVie Inc. on Monday asked a Missouri federal court to block a state law that adds requirements to participate in the federal drug discount program, claiming that the measure violates both the federal and Missouri constitutions.
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July 22, 2024
Claims Court Upholds JV's $15M Boiler Plant Contract
A Court of Federal Claims judge rejected a construction company's protest over a $14.7 million U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs contract for renovating a boiler plant at a VA medical center in Pennsylvania, saying the agency reasonably awarded the contract to a mentor-protégé joint venture based on "best value trade-off."
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July 19, 2024
Amazon Gets Tainted Eye Drop Suit Pared Down
A Pennsylvania federal judge has trimmed claims from a woman's lawsuit against Amazon and multiple drug companies alleging she had to have her left eye surgically removed after using EzriCare eye drops linked to an outbreak of an infectious bacteria.
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July 18, 2024
Ocugen Execs Hit With Derivative Suit Over Shoddy Controls
The top brass at biopharmaceutical company Ocugen Inc. were hit with a derivative suit alleging the company's lack of effective internal financial controls caused it to be misvalued and allowed shareholders to approve proposals based on incomplete information.
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July 18, 2024
Docs Get Same Hefty Opioid Sentences Despite Top Court Win
Two Alabama doctors accused of unlawfully prescribing patients fentanyl and other opioids failed to shave time off their lengthy prison sentences despite a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that raised the bar for such prosecutions.
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July 18, 2024
Attorney, Businessman Acquitted Of Crash Report Scheme
A Michigan federal judge on Tuesday cited insufficient evidence and ordered the cancellation of jury convictions against a lawyer and a medical business owner in an alleged scheme to obtain unreleased police crash reports illegally and use the reports to solicit clients.
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July 17, 2024
Heart Doctor's Sham Suit Claims Cut From Antitrust Row
Defending against allegedly sham monopolization claims wasn't enough for a Texas federal judge to preserve counterclaims from a Laredo cardiologist and his medical center contending the lawsuit is only meant to cement their foes' own monopoly in the city, with the judge on Tuesday finding no injury to establish standing.
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July 15, 2024
North Carolina Cases To Watch In 2024: A Midyear Report
The second half of 2024 will see the North Carolina Business Court tackle media rights in one of the country's largest collegiate athletic conferences while state justices weigh the scope of hospital immunity under the Tar Heel State's COVID-19 emergency law.
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July 12, 2024
Law360 Names 2024's Top Attorneys Under 40
Law360 is pleased to announce the Rising Stars of 2024, our list of 158 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.
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July 12, 2024
Feds Say Former Hospital CFO, 2 Others Embezzled $15M
The former chief financial officer of a Chicago hospital, the hospital's chief transformation officer and a medical supply company owner conspired to embezzle more than $15 million from the hospital, according to a superseding indictment handed down by an Illinois federal grand jury on Thursday.
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July 12, 2024
Conn. Health Staffing Co. Co-Owner Drops Partnership Suit
The co-owner of a Connecticut healthcare staffing company has withdrawn a lawsuit against a co-owner accused of plundering from the partnership, a move that leaves untested a sole dissolution claim left standing by a judge who dismissed all other causes of action between the parties earlier this year.
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July 12, 2024
HCA Healthcare Atty Is Legal Finance Firm Allia's First GC
An attorney from HCA Healthcare credited for some of the provider's largest judgments is now the inaugural general counsel at Allia Group, a legal finance firm for healthcare insurer disputes.
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July 11, 2024
Pfizer's $50M EpiPen Deal Gets Final OK In Antitrust Suit
Pfizer is officially out of a lawsuit accusing it of working with Mylan Pharmaceuticals to inflate the price of the popular auto-injecting emergency allergy medication EpiPen after a Kansas federal judge gave the $50 million settlement his final seal of approval.
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July 11, 2024
NJ Justices Back Expert Report In Mother's Suit Over Death
The New Jersey Supreme Court on Thursday reinstated a lawsuit against a Garden State hospital by the mother of a diabetic patient who died, saying the trial court erred in dismissing the case on grounds that an affidavit of merit was insufficient.
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July 11, 2024
Foley & Lardner Adds 6-Atty Corporate Team From K&L Gates
Foley & Lardner LLP announced Thursday that it has boosted its corporate and healthcare offerings with three partners and three associates from K&L Gates LLP who will practice from the firm's existing locations in Dallas and Miami and a new shop in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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July 10, 2024
Meijer Says Takeda Can't Force Antitrust Suit Into Arbitration
Meijer argued before a Massachusetts federal court that Takeda waited far too long to try to force the supermarket chain to arbitrate its proposed class action accusing the Japanese pharmaceutical company of conspiring to delay a generic version of its anti-constipation drug Amitiza.
Expert Analysis
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FTC Orange Book Move Signals New Pharma Patent Scrutiny
The Federal Trade Commission's recent dispute against improper listing of drug patents in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Orange Book indicates heightened surveillance of the pharmaceutical industry, particularly where competition-related consequences of patent or regulatory processes are concerned, say attorneys at Fenwick.
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Consider Immigration Issues When Hiring Int'l Medical Grads
As health systems across the U.S. struggle to meet patient demand, recruiting international medical graduates can help alleviate some strain, although sorting through the requisite visa processes may require some extra legwork depending on the qualifications of both the graduate and the employer, say Nora Katz and Vinh Duong at Holland & Knight.
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A Look At DOJ's New Nationwide Investment Fraud Approach
Investment fraud charges are increasingly being brought in unlikely venues across the country, and the rationale behind the U.S. Department of Justice's approach could well be the heightened legal standards in connection with prosecuting investment fraud, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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FDA's Off-Label Comms Guidance Is A Reluctant Step Forward
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's latest draft guidance expands its safe harbor for health care providers that communicate information about their products' off-label uses, but does not fully resolve the First Amendment disconnect between federal courts and the agency's regulatory goals, say Jeffrey Shapiro and Lisa Dwyer at King & Spalding.
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How Biden's AI Order Stacks Up Against Calif. And G7 Activity
Evaluating the federal AI executive order alongside the California AI executive order and the G7's Hiroshima AI Code of Conduct can offer a more robust picture of key risks and concerns companies should proactively work to mitigate as they build or integrate artificial intelligence tools into their products and services, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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ITC Ban On Apple Watch Could Still Be Reversed
The U.S. International Trade Commission's recent final decision that the Apple Watch infringed two patents owned by Masimo Corp. was a rare instance of a popular consumer product being hit with an absolute importation ban, but it's possible that President Joe Biden could assert his power to reverse the ITC decision, says Benjamin Horton at Marshall Gerstein.
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Class Action Defense: Don't Give Up On Bristol-Myers Squibb
Federal appellate court decisions in the six years since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Bristol-Myers Squibb show that it's anyone's ballgame in class action jurisdictional arguments, so defendants are encouraged to consider carefully whether, where and when arguing lack of specific personal jurisdiction may be advantageous, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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State Regs Sow Discord Between Cannabis, Hemp Industries
Connecticut, Maryland and Washington are the latest states choosing to require intoxicating hemp products to comply with the states' recreational marijuana laws, resulting in a widening rift between cannabis and hemp as Congress works on crafting new hemp legislation within the upcoming 2023 Farm Bill, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.
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Questions Linger After FDA's Lab-Developed Tests Proposal
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recently proposed rule regarding its plan to regulate lab-developed tests is light on details, leaving many fundamental questions about the agency's authority and ability to execute its plans, say attorneys at Covington.
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Lessons For Biosimilar And Biologic Antitrust Litigation
Aaron Marks at Cohen Milstein considers emerging ways in which biosimilar markets differ from traditional small-molecule drug markets, and recommends how pharmaceutical antitrust litigators can account for these market dynamics in biosimilar-delay cases.
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Balancing Justice And Accountability In Opioid Bankruptcies
As Rite Aid joins other pharmaceutical companies in pursuing bankruptcy following the onslaught of state and federal litigation related to the opioid epidemic, courts and the country will have to reconcile the ideals of economic justice and accountability against the U.S. Constitution’s promise of a fresh start through bankruptcy, says Monique Hayes at DGIM Law.
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Louisiana's Toxic Tort Barrier May Be Weakening
Louisiana's short prescriptive period to bring a survival action has long served as an important barrier against toxic tort claims, but the plaintiffs bar will likely rely on the recent Fifth Circuit decision in Jack v. Evonik to argue that anyone who arguably suffered injury based on exposure to some toxic substance may have a claim, say attorneys at Kirkland.
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When And How Companies Should Build An AI Strategy
Once a company has decided to engage with artificial intelligence, there are myriad steps that need to be taken, beginning with the creation of an AI leadership team that has deep knowledge about the company's business risks and is highly respected by senior management, say Judith Rinearson and Corey Bieber at K&L Gates.