Health

  • April 15, 2024

    Doc's NDAs Illegally Silenced Negative Reviews, Judge Says

    A Washington state plastic surgery practice illegally required patients to sign pretreatment nondisclosure agreements that threatened to punish them for posting negative online reviews, a Washington federal judge has determined.

  • April 15, 2024

    Claims Court Backs VA's Pick For Healthcare Conversion Deal

    The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has backed the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' decision to tap a healthcare technology company to convert paper-based healthcare claims into electronic formats despite protests from two competitors for the work that allege the VA assigned them undeserved weaknesses.

  • April 15, 2024

    TTAB Sides With Pharma Co.'s Opposition To 'SageForth' TM

    The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has ruled in favor of biopharmaceutical company Sage Therapeutics Inc.' opposition to a psychological service provider's attempt to register "SageForth" as a trademark, saying the name is likely to cause confusion with Sage Therapeutics' treatments for postpartum depression.

  • April 15, 2024

    LA County Tells FCC It Supports Plan To Georoute 988 Calls

    Support is growing for a Federal Communications Commission proposal to require georouting calls to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, with Los Angeles County backing the idea Friday in a filing with the agency, and other groups saying even more urgency is needed.

  • April 15, 2024

    Feds Seek Prison For Group That Invaded Abortion Clinic

    Prosecutors are seeking prison sentences for six anti-abortion activists convicted of storming a Washington, D.C., abortion clinic, including a six-year term for the alleged "criminal mastermind" behind this and other blockades.

  • April 15, 2024

    Pharmacy, Courier Co. Settle Driver's Classification Suit

    A delivery driver and a CVS-owned pharmacy and a logistics and courier firm told an Illinois federal court that they have reached a settlement resolving claims that the company misclassified workers as independent contractors and paid them neither minimum nor overtime premium wages. 

  • April 15, 2024

    Justices Won't Nix FDA Labeling Preemption For State Claims

    The Supreme Court on Monday let stand lower court findings that the unique authority of the federal Food and Drug Administration preempted and, therefore, justified dismissing a proposed class action that alleged a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary broke Massachusetts law by misbranding Lactaid drug products as dietary supplements.

  • April 15, 2024

    High Court Turns Away Fired Male Doctor's Sex Bias Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to review a cardiologist's unsuccessful gender bias suit alleging he was fired after being falsely accused of mistreating female colleagues, despite his argument that the Second Circuit used the wrong legal standard when it backed the case's dismissal.

  • April 15, 2024

    Justices Won't Review ERISA Suit Over Heart Transplant

    The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review the Fourth Circuit's decision only partially reviving a suit brought by the mother of a deceased airline worker whose employer refused to cover his heart transplant surgery until after his death.

  • April 12, 2024

    'Much More Is Coming': Experts See Wave Of AI-Related Suits

    Legal experts speaking Friday at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law's symposium on artificial intelligence and evidence in civil litigation warned that broadening usage and increased regulation will lead to a wave of litigation over the technology, leaving courts to analyze the "black box" of corporate AI algorithms to determine liability.

  • April 12, 2024

    NJ Court Revives Spinal Injury Suit After E-Filing Glitch

    A New Jersey appeals court on Friday reinstated a medical malpractice suit accusing a physician of causing a woman's severe spinal injuries, saying an unexplained glitch in the trial court's electronic filing system wrongly led to a dismissal of the suit.

  • April 12, 2024

    Wash. Hospital Workers Say Class Suits Are Mirror Images

    A group of healthcare workers urged a Washington state judge to find that their employer has violated the same wage laws that an affiliated hospital system was recently found liable for in a parallel case, contending at a Friday hearing that the two class actions ultimately target the same parent company.

  • April 12, 2024

    NY Health Network To Pay $1M For Deceptive COVID Test Bills

    Long Island, New York-based hospital network Northwell Health will pay $1 million over allegations that it fraudulently billed patients for a hospital visit after they came for what they thought was a free COVID-19 test, the state's attorney general said Friday.

  • April 12, 2024

    Judge Rejects Tehum's $54M Bid To Resolve Injury Suits

    A Texas bankruptcy judge has rejected prison healthcare company Tehum Care Services Inc.'s $54 million settlement to resolve hundreds of personal injury suits while declining the claimant committee's request to dismiss the Chapter 11 case.

  • April 12, 2024

    Mich. Hospital Must Face MedMal Suit Against Contract Doc

    A hospital will have to face claims related to the alleged medical malpractice of its ICU director, a contractor, because the hospital did not make it clear to a patient who died that the doctor was not one of its employees, a Michigan appellate panel has said.

  • April 12, 2024

    DEA Unlawfully Pushing Psychedelics Ban, Researcher Says

    A psychedelic research company has asked a Washington federal judge to block the Drug Enforcement Administration from proceeding with its plan to ban two psychedelic substances, saying the agency's process for bringing the matter before an administrative judge has been unlawful.

  • April 12, 2024

    Atrium Stakes Claim To Trust Of Prominent NC Textile Family

    Atrium Health is looking to sack trustees currently standing in the way of the hospital system inheriting a substantial sum of money from one of North Carolina's most prominent families, saying the trustees have refused to pay its distributions and are hiding information.

  • April 12, 2024

    Split Mich. Panel Restores Overdose Suit Against Pain Doctor

    Pandemic-prompted court orders that gave litigants in Michigan extra time to file lawsuits have continued to divide the state's appellate bench, as another three-judge panel couldn't agree Thursday on whether the orders gave a woman's estate extra time to sue her doctor.

  • April 12, 2024

    Mich. High Court Snapshot: Atty Sanctions Kick Off April

    The Michigan Supreme Court returns Tuesday for its April session, hearing oral arguments about judges' ability to sanction lawyers for past attorneys' work in a case, what defendants say could be double recovery in wrongful death cases, and an attempt to use a Larry Nassar-inspired law to sue Catholic priests for decades-old abuse allegations.

  • April 12, 2024

    Trade Groups Urge Senators To Advance Patent Reform Bills

    Groups representing inventors, startups and medical technology companies are putting pressure on U.S. senators to pass bills that would prospectively limit the ability of courts to throw out patent lawsuits, a month after tech industry groups argued the legislation would trigger an onslaught of patent litigation.

  • April 12, 2024

    Woman Pleads Guilty To $1.3M COVID Tax Credit Fraud

    A California woman pled guilty to fraudulently obtaining $2 million in COVID-19 government loans and falsely claiming $1.3 million in tax credits, crimes that could result in a 20-year prison sentence, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

  • April 12, 2024

    Asbury Park Escapes Pot Co.'s Zoning Board Conspiracy Suit

    A New Jersey federal court has dismissed a medical cannabis company's suit alleging Asbury Park and its zoning board conspired with a rival to block it from operating a treatment center, saying the complaint fails to support its allegations of the scheme.

  • April 11, 2024

    Sandoz Says Feds Misclassified Generics As 'Innovator Drugs'

    Pharmaceutical company Sandoz Inc. sued the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in Washington, D.C., federal court on Wednesday, alleging the agency ignored the company's objection to classifying two of its generics as "innovator drugs," which could impact Sandoz's rebate obligations under Medicaid.

  • April 11, 2024

    FTC Curtails Treatment Provider's Sharing Of Health Data

    The Federal Trade Commission took its latest step Thursday to crack down on the mishandling of sensitive health information, announcing a settlement that requires a New York-based alcohol addiction treatment service to obtain affirmative consent before sharing this data with third parties and bars the company from disclosing this information for advertising purposes.

  • April 11, 2024

    UnitedHealth Patients' Addiction Coverage Suit Revived, Again

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday revived for the second time a proposed class action accusing UnitedHealth of wrongly rejecting coverage for outpatient substance use disorder treatments in violation of federal benefits law, finding the plaintiff plausibly alleged the insurer employed an excessively strict review process for those claims.

Expert Analysis

  • New Pharma Guidelines Bring Pitfalls For Compounders

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    New guidelines from U.S. Pharmacopeia, which went into effect last month, require some extensive and potentially expensive compliance efforts from hospitals and compounding pharmacies, and smaller compounders could particularly struggle, says Natalia Mazina at Mazina Law.

  • The State Of CFPB Focus On Credit Reporting Of Medical Debt

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    An increase in credit reporting complaints and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent annual report on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act — which focuses on medical debt in credit reporting — are both evidence of the fact that the bureau will continue to prioritize oversight of credit reporting of medical debt, says Kristen Watson at Burr & Forman.

  • Opinion

    What Happens If High Court Rejects Releases In Purdue Ch. 11

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    Reading the tea leaves following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent arguments in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, it appears likely that the justices will decide that bankruptcy courts lack the power to release third-party claims against nondebtors, which would result in one of three scenarios, says Gregory Germain at Syracuse University.

  • FDA's Recent Litigation Records Are Strong, But Imperfect

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has notched its share of litigation wins in recent years thanks to a number of key advantages, but the FDA has been less successful in certain highly visible arenas, Jonathan Berman and Colleen Heisey at Jones Day.

  • 5 Steps For Healthcare Companies After Biden's AI Order

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    Rather than simply monitoring for the issuance of agency guidelines on artificial intelligence in the wake of President Joe Biden's October executive order, health and life sciences companies should take action now and begin building internal operational and technical infrastructures designed to govern the use of AI, says Joy Sharp at Faegre Drinker.

  • Opinion

    Giving The Gov't Drug Patent March-In Authority Is Bad Policy

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    The Biden administration's recent proposal to allow government seizure of certain taxpayer-funded drug patents is a terrible idea that would negate the benefits of government-funded research, to the detriment of patients and the wider economy, says Wayne Winegarden at Pacific Research Institute.

  • How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • When Patients Have Standing For Hospital Antitrust Suits

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    Brown v. Hartford Healthcare Corp., recently decided by a Connecticut state court, provides a useful examination of how antitrust standing issues may be analyzed when patients directly sue a healthcare system for anti-competitive conduct, says Charles Honart at Stevens & Lee.

  • How AI Executive Order Aims To Compete For Foreign Talent

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    Immigration provisions within the Biden administration's executive order on artificial intelligence take a strategic approach to promoting the U.S. as a destination for AI and STEM talent by streamlining visa processing, enhancing educational and exchange programs, and improving current visa programs and pathways to permanent residency, says Eric Bord at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Singapore

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    Singapore is keen to establish itself as a leading international financial center and a key player in the sustainable finance ecosystem, and key initiatives led by its government and other regulatory bodies have helped the Asian nation progress from its initially guarded attitude toward ESG investment and reporting, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge D'Emic On Moby Grape

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    The 1968 Moby Grape song "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" tells the tale of a fictional defendant treated with scorn by the judge, illustrating how much the legal system has evolved in the past 50 years, largely due to problem-solving courts and the principles of procedural justice, says Kings County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Matthew D'Emic.

  • Navigating Asset Tracing Challenges In Bankruptcy

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    A Virginia court’s recent ruling in Health Diagnostic Laboratory Inc.'s bankruptcy highlights the heightened demand for asset tracing and the strategic use of the lowest intermediate balance rule in recovering funds from commingled accounts, says Daniel Lowenthal at Patterson Belknap.

  • Reading The Fine Print On FDA's Prescription Drug Ad Rule

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's new final rule regarding the disclosure of risks and side effects in ads for prescription drugs includes some broad and potentially subjective language, and some missed opportunities to address how traditional media formats have changed in recent years, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • The Basics Of Law Firm Cyber Liability Insurance Applications

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    Cyber liability insurance has become a common consideration for law firms as cyber threats have escalated, but these insurance forms can be quite complicated given the nature of the industry and associated risks, so simply filling out the form won't necessarily result in an ideal policy for your firm, says Kevin Haight at WAMS.

  • Insurance Considerations For Cos. Assessing New AI Risks

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    Because no two businesses will have the same artificial intelligence risk profile, they should consider four broad risk categories as a baseline for taking a proactive approach to guarding against AI-related exposures, say attorneys at Hunton.

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