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Health
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August 14, 2024
6th Circ. Backs Ohio Dept. In Ex-Auditor's Disability Bias Suit
The Sixth Circuit upheld an Ohio state health department's win over a former auditor's lawsuit alleging she was fired for requesting a schedule adjustment because of her depression and anxiety, saying Wednesday that the worker refused to engage in conversations that could've identified a suitable accommodation.
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August 14, 2024
Hospital Groups Tell High Court HHS 'Stingy' In SSI Pay Row
Six of the nation's leading hospital associations told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is being "stingy" when miscalculating a formula that could cost hospitals treating low-income patients more than a billion dollars in special payments each year.
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August 14, 2024
Texas Sues HHS Over 'Arbitrary' Nursing Home Staffing Rule
The state of Texas on Wednesday challenged a new federal rule that sets minimum staffing standards at nursing homes, contending the Biden administration overstepped its statutory authority and crafted a rule almost impossible to meet because of nursing shortages.
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August 14, 2024
HHS Calls For More Research, Planning To Combat Heat Risks
Citing a sharp increase in deaths from extreme heat, the Biden administration unveiled a national strategy Wednesday that calls for better communicating the health risks of hot weather to the public and taking other steps to protect people from life-threatening heat waves.
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August 14, 2024
Nursing Co. Exec Can't Split Up Fraud, Wage-Fixing Charges
A Nevada federal magistrate judge has struck two blows against a home healthcare staffing executive facing criminal charges of fixing nurses' wages and hiding that probe when selling the business for $12.5 million, as the judge refused to break up the allegations and recommended against dismissing the fraud counts.
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August 14, 2024
Samsung Biotech Unit Hit With Patent Suit Over Bone Drugs
The pharmaceutical giant Amgen Inc. is fighting a bid by a South Korean rival to sell biosimilar versions of its highly popular bone drugs Prolia and Xgeva, telling a New Jersey federal court that the proposed medications will infringe 34 patents.
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August 14, 2024
1st Circ. Revives Vax Refusal Suit Against Beth Israel
The First Circuit on Tuesday revived a suit against health facility system Beth Israel Lahey Health Inc. from an office manager who was fired over her refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19, disagreeing with a lower court that said she hadn't shown a genuine religious belief meriting a vaccine exemption.
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August 14, 2024
Surgeon Keeps Win In 'Hyperkinetic' Gallbladder Surgery Suit
A Virginia appeals panel won't revive a man's medical malpractice claims against his surgeon over complications from surgery to remove his "hyperkinetic" gallbladder, rejecting his argument that the surgeon was wrongly allowed to present evidence about the condition.
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August 14, 2024
K&L Gates Hires 340B Health Counsel In DC
K&L Gates LLP's newest healthcare counsel, Amanda Smith, has never worked at a private practice law firm until now.
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August 13, 2024
Anesthesia Co. Says FTC Lacks Authority To Bring 'Rollup' Suit
U.S. Anesthesia Partners has told the Fifth Circuit the Federal Trade Commission lacks authority to bring its case directly in federal court without also filing an administrative case accusing the group of monopolizing the Texas anesthesiology market.
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August 13, 2024
Judge Urged To Toss Novel Insider Trading Conviction
Former Ontrak CEO Terren Peizer has moved to rid himself of a first-of-its-kind insider trading conviction, arguing that the government's case "watered down" the standard it had to prove by failing to demonstrate that he believed Ontrak was about to lose its biggest customer at the time he shed $20 million in stock.
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August 13, 2024
Entresto Release Delayed As Novartis Goes To Fed. Circ.
A Delaware federal judge said Monday that Novartis is unlikely to prove that it's entitled to an injunction that would block MSN Pharmaceuticals from launching a generic version of its top-selling drug Entresto, but stayed the generic release briefly so Novartis could appeal to the Federal Circuit.
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August 13, 2024
9th Circ. Reverses Order Sending Insulin Suit To State Court
The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday sided with CVS Caremark and Express Scripts, ruling that a lower court erred in 2023 when it agreed to send California's allegations of inflated insulin prices back to state court.
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August 13, 2024
Ga. Court Ropes Hospital Back Into Patient Death Suit
A Georgia appeals court reinstated Tuesday a suit accusing a hospital of failing to properly treat an unstable patient and instead taking her home to be left alone, which allegedly caused her death, saying an allegation of failure to screen a patient didn't require a medical expert's report.
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August 13, 2024
Former In-House Atty Says Healthcare Co. Can't Duck Suit
A onetime assistant general counsel for Panoramic Health told a Colorado federal judge on Tuesday that her former employer could not escape the wrongful-termination suit she filed in May, arguing that a bid to dismiss the case must fail because she had plausibly alleged that her firing was a result of having reported compliance issues.
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August 13, 2024
Gene Tech Co. Execs Pilfered Biz Amid Collapse, Suit Says
The senior lender to Sequencing Health Inc. has sued former officers and directors of the now-defunct genomic science company, alleging they squandered the company's assets, awarded themselves big bonuses and shut down the business, costing Oxford tens of millions of dollars in losses.
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August 13, 2024
Wash. Social Media Ban Violates Workers' Free Speech
The Washington State Court of Appeals has said a state law barring injured workers from posting videos of their state workers' compensation medical exams on social media is an unconstitutional violation of free speech rights.
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August 13, 2024
Mother Can't Revive Suit Against GE For Child's Brain Damage
A Pennsylvania appeals panel won't reinstate a mother's suit against General Electric Co. and subsidiary Datex-Ohmeda Inc. alleging that a faulty anesthesia machine caused her child permanent brain damage, finding the trial court rightly found that the state doesn't have jurisdiction over the claims.
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August 13, 2024
Spinal Implant Patents Verdict Must Stand, Pa. Judge Says
A Pennsylvania federal judge declined to order a new trial Tuesday in a patent infringement suit brought against medical device maker Globus Medical Inc., ruling that the jury verdict in the company's favor had sufficient evidentiary support and that the jurors did not seem confused by the law at issue.
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August 13, 2024
NC Lawmakers Ask 4th Circ. To Restore Abortion Drug Limits
North Carolina Republican lawmakers want the Fourth Circuit to reinstate restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone, telling the court the new rules concerning the medication are not preempted by U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations.
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August 13, 2024
NY, NJ And Conn. Score $4.5M Penalty Over Enzo Data Breach
Molecular diagnostics company Enzo Biochem Inc. has agreed to pay a $4.5 million penalty after an investigation found that the company failed to implement recommended security protocols ahead of a data breach that affected millions of patients, New York's attorney general announced Tuesday.
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August 13, 2024
Ga. Justices To Weigh Arbitrator's Closed-Door Discussions
The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to weigh if an arbitrator's ex parte communications with BioTek Services LLC in an allergy testing payment dispute warranted vacating BioTek's $1.7 million arbitration award over compensation for its testing of patients from Docs of CT LLC.
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August 13, 2024
FTC Makes 2nd Request In Review Of Medical Device Co. Deal
Medical device company Surmodics Inc. disclosed Monday that federal regulators are taking a closer look at its agreement to be acquired by private equity giant GTCR in a $627 million deal.
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August 13, 2024
3 Firms Drive $3.8B Carlyle-Baxter Kidney Care Deal
Kirkland & Ellis LLP-led private equity firm Carlyle on Tuesday agreed to acquire the kidney care unit of Baxter International Inc., represented by Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and Baker McKenzie, for $3.8 billion, Baxter said in a statement Tuesday.
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August 12, 2024
WWE Accuser Says Doc's Lawsuit Threat Meant To Silence Her
A celebrity doctor with alleged ties to World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. and ex-CEO Vince McMahon should be sanctioned for filing a "vexatious" presuit discovery request in an effort to intimidate the woman who claimed the company and former executives sexually abused and trafficked her, she argued in a Monday motion.
Expert Analysis
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2 Regulatory Approaches To Psychedelic Clinical Trials
Comparing the U.S. and Canada's regulatory frameworks for clinical trials of psychedelic drugs can be useful for designing trial protocols that meet both countries' requirements, which can in turn help diversify patient populations, bolster data robustness and expedite market access, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Sabrina Ramkellawan at AxialBridge.
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Series
Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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'Food As Health' Serves Up Fresh Legal Considerations
The growth of food as medicine presents a significant opportunity for healthcare organizations and nontraditional healthcare players to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs, though these innovative programs also bring compliance considerations that must be carefully navigated, say attorneys at McDermott.
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DC Circ. Ruling Heightens HHS Contract Pharmacy Challenges
The D.C. Circuit's recent ruling that the Section 340B program does not bar manufacturers from restricting deliveries of discounted drugs to contract pharmacies represents a second strike against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' current contract pharmacy policy and raises the stakes surrounding an upcoming Seventh Circuit ruling on the same issue, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.
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FTC Theories Of Harm After Anesthesia Co. Ruling
As Federal Trade Commission litigation against U.S. Anesthesia Partners proceeds following a Texas federal court's recent decision to dismiss a private equity sponsor from the suit, the case attempts to incorporate and advance some of the commission's theories of competitive harm from the final 2023 Merger Guidelines, say attorneys at Mintz.
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9th Circ. COVID 'Cure' Case Shows Perks Of Puffery Defense
The Ninth Circuit's March decision in a case surrounding a company's statements about a potential COVID-19 cure may encourage defendants to assert puffery defenses in securities fraud cases, particularly in those involving optimistic statements about breakthrough drugs that are still untested, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.
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FTC Focus: Exploring The Meaning Of Orange Book Letters
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced an expansion of its campaign to promote competition by targeting pharmaceutical manufacturers' improper Orange Book patent listings, but there is a question of whether and how this helps generic entrants, say Colin Kass and David Munkittrick at Proskauer.
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Investors Can Aid In The Acceptance Of Psychedelic Medicine
Psychedelic medicine is ready to have its breakthrough moment, and although it still faces political, legal and communications challenges, private equity investors can play a significant role in changing the public perception on psychedelics from taboo to acceptance, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell, Charlie Panfil at the Daschle Group and Ethan Lutz at FTI Consulting.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: May Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from automobile insurance to securities — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including circuit-specific ascertainability requirements and how to conduct a Daubert analysis prior to class certification.
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Perspectives
Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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Series
Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.
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3rd Circ.'s Geico Ruling May Encourage Healthcare Arbitration
The Third Circuit's recent decision in Geico v. Mount Prospect, finding that claims under New Jersey's Insurance Fraud Prevention Act can be arbitrated, strengthens arbitration as a viable alternative to litigation, even though it is not necessarily always a more favorable forum, say Khaled Klele and Jessica Osterlof at McCarter & English.