More Healthcare Coverage
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April 11, 2024
Hospitals Responsible For Contract ER Docs, Justices Say
Washington state's high court ruled on Thursday that hospitals may be held liable for alleged neglectfulness of contracted doctors working in their emergency rooms, reviving negligence claims against the medical center brought by the estate of a woman killed by a flesh-eating disease that ER caregivers allegedly failed to diagnose.
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April 11, 2024
Ex-NFL Players Near Settlement In Race-Norming Benefits Suit
Two former players whose lawsuit accuses the NFL's disability benefit plans of awarding them lower benefits because they are Black told a Maryland federal court they have had "productive" meetings with the defendants and are near a settlement proposal.
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April 11, 2024
Medical Cannabis Ads Are Lawful In Miss., 5th Circ. Told
A Mississippi medical marijuana dispensary is urging the Fifth Circuit to find that state regulations restricting cannabis advertising violate the First Amendment right to free speech, and that the state cannot hide behind the drug's federal illegality.
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April 11, 2024
Attys Puzzled By Judge's Refusal To Hear Hybrid Wage Case
Wage-and-hour cases brought by workers on a group basis under both federal and state law have become so routine in federal courts that attorneys told Law360 they're puzzled by a Michigan federal judge's refusal last week to let such a suit proceed.
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April 11, 2024
Pa. Docs Must Face Patient's Post-Op Blood Clot Death Suit
A Pennsylvania appeals court has revived a woman's suit against her husband's physician over his death from a pulmonary embolism, saying her experts established a factual dispute over whether the doctor's failure to conduct appropriate tests or inform a surgeon of the husband's prior blood clots led to his death.
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April 10, 2024
US News Fights Uphill To Block SF's 'Best Hospitals' Probe
A California federal judge indicated Wednesday he'll likely dismiss U.S. News & World Report's lawsuit challenging the San Francisco City Attorney's subpoenas seeking information about its methodology for ranking hospitals, saying the issue isn't ripe since the subpoenas aren't self-enforcing and the city hasn't yet sued for the information.
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April 10, 2024
9th Circ. Mostly Affirms Industry Ban For COVID PPE Delays
A Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday largely upheld a district court's ruling requiring personal protective equipment suppliers to pay over $3 million after finding that they misrepresented the shipping times of hand sanitizer products at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, while reversing the Federal Trade Commission's injunction against one of the companies' owners.
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April 10, 2024
Novant Wants Fired Exec's Atty Fees Cut After Trip To 4th Circ.
An attorney representing a former Novant Health executive should receive about $140,000 after prevailing on claims that his client was fired for being white amid a diversity push, the healthcare network said, urging a North Carolina federal judge to reduce the ex-executive's request for about $152,000 in attorney fees.
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April 10, 2024
Insurer Slams 'Price-Gouging' Doctor's COVID Billing Suit
Health plan administrator United Medical Resources Inc. fired back at a doctor's $783,000 suit claiming that he and his practice firms were shortchanged for COVID-19 testing services, with multiple counterclaims alleging that the doctor billed for unnecessary extra testing and put in claims for services that were never rendered.
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April 09, 2024
Calif. Addiction Clinic Can't Shake Off Copyright Suit
An intellectual property and false advertising feud between two rival addiction outpatient clinics in Sacramento will go on, a federal judge in California has ruled.
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April 09, 2024
Endo Sues FDA Over Generic Adrenalin Approvals
Endo has filed a lawsuit against federal health regulatory authorities, alleging that they are wrongfully giving the go-ahead for a generic version of the Adrenalin epinephrine injection, asking for a stay of the decision.
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April 09, 2024
Feds Cancel Disputed Sole-Source Health Deal, Call Suit Moot
The federal government is pressing the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to dismiss a contractor's complaint to a sole-source medical support contract, arguing the suit was moot after the U.S. Army voluntarily canceled the deal.
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April 09, 2024
Healthcare Co. Can't Sue Ex-Exec For Causing Canada Tax Hit
A Colorado federal judge shot down a pharmacy automation company's suit alleging its former chief commercial officer cost it nearly CA$1.2 million ($907,000) in Canadian taxes by not telling his employer he had moved out of the country, saying the company hasn't shown it suffered any damage as a result.
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April 09, 2024
GAO Says Late Bid Blocks Protest Over VA Wellness Deal
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has tossed a dispute over a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs contract for health and wellness classes, saying a late bid barred the protest even though the VA agreed to consider the protester's proposal.
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April 09, 2024
Court OKs Decision Clearing Contractor Of Missed IP Deadline
A patent docketing contractor used by major remote law firm FisherBroyles can't be held liable for a "clerical mistake" that led to a missed patent application deadline and then a neurosurgeon's lawsuit potentially seeking nearly $102 million, with a Georgia appeals court affirming a lower court decision that the surgeon never should have relied on those dates in the first place.
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April 08, 2024
Healthcare Research Co. Clario Hires Chief Legal Officer
Clario, a healthcare research and technology company that works with endpoint technology used for clinical trials, has hired a new chief legal and administrative officer who joins from Thermo Fisher Scientific, the company announced Monday.
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April 05, 2024
Equatorial Guinea Says $8M Award Can't Be Enforced
Equatorial Guinea is urging the D.C. Circuit to nix enforcement of an $8 million arbitral award issued to a Swiss company that was ousted from a hospital operating contract, saying a lower court should have looked closer at whether the dispute was adjudicated in the proper forum.
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April 05, 2024
Abbott Settles TM Suit Over Gray Market Diabetes Test Strips
Abbott Laboratories told a New York federal judge Friday that the company has settled what remains of its trademark litigation campaign against makers of gray market diabetes test strips that has been going on since 2015.
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April 05, 2024
Med School Ex-CEO Sues For Legal Fees In Del. After Fraud Suit
A company controlled by the former chief executive of a Grand Bahama-based medical school has sued the school's developers and indirect owner for legal fee advancements in Delaware's Court of Chancery, citing a federal suit accusing the ex-officer of selling undocumented stakes in the business.
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April 05, 2024
NC County School Board Joins Chorus Saying Apps Harm Youth
The Board of Education in Wake County, North Carolina, on Friday joined the ranks of school systems suing Meta, Snapchat, TikTok and other social media companies, accusing them of stoking addiction in young users and saddling taxpayers with the cost.
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April 05, 2024
Mo. High Court Affirms Co.'s Medical Pot License Denial
The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the denial of a company's application for a medical marijuana cultivation facility license, finding that its submission missed the mark by not including a certificate of good standing from the secretary of state.
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April 05, 2024
Surgeon Denied Atty Fees After Erasure of $15M Sex Bias Win
A Pennsylvania federal judge has denied attorney fees after undoing a $15 million verdict won by a surgeon who alleged that Thomas Jefferson University exhibited anti-male bias in investigating a medical resident's sexual assault claims against him, ruling a new trial was necessary.
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April 05, 2024
Attys Ask 2nd Circ. To Affirm Ruling In Psychiatry Prof's Death
Attorneys cleared of any wrongdoing in New York federal court in the death of renowned psychiatry professor Judith Brook in their capacity as court-appointed temporary guardians urged the Second Circuit this week to affirm a lower court's holding that temporary guardians are not state actors subject to federal jurisdiction.
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April 05, 2024
2nd Circ. Spurns DOL Bid To Publish Worker-Friendly Opinion
The Second Circuit rejected a U.S. Department of Labor request that it publish a nonprecedential opinion concluding that a nurse staffing company's so-called loser-pays arbitration clause was invalid under federal labor law.
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April 05, 2024
Wash. Clinic Reaches Religious Bias Settlement With EEOC
A mental health clinic in Washington state agreed to pay $95,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge alleging it fired a therapist for asking to be relieved of a job responsibility that clashed with her religious beliefs, the federal bias watchdog said.
Expert Analysis
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What FTC's Data Actions Say About Tracker Enforcement
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.
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Labor Collusion Loss Will Shape DOJ's Case Strategy
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.
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Examining Chancery's Recent Openness To Caremark Claims
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.
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Expect The Patchwork Of AI Regulation To Grow
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.
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Job Reassignment Case Shows Need For Clear ADA Policies
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.
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White Collar Defense Lessons From The Bench And Beyond
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.
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Comparing Iowa's Data Privacy Law With Other States'
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.
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Ga. Needs To Resolve Cannabis Counsel Confusion
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.
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6th Circ. Ruling's Seismic Shift In FCA Kickback Causation
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.
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3rd Circ. Ruling Offers Tools To Manage Exempt Employees
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.
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Dormant Commerce Clause Issues Are Evolving In Cannabis
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.
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Garmon Defense Finds New Relevance As NLRB Stays Active
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.
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The Important Role Of Contra Proferentem In ERISA Cases
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.