Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Health
-
May 31, 2024
3rd Circ. Preview: Labor Battles Heat Up In June
Several cases are heating up the Third Circuit argument calendar in June, including a home care company's attempt to duck a $7 million payout to thousands of workers who claimed the company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by not compensating them for travel time.
-
May 31, 2024
15 States Sue To Block Biden's ACA Trans Discrimination Rule
The Biden administration was hit with a lawsuit on Friday over its rule clarifying the application of the Affordable Care Act's nondiscrimination protections to gender identity, with a group of 15 states claiming the guidance is an effort "to enshrine sweeping gender-identity mandates without congressional consent."
-
May 31, 2024
COVID Test Contract Suit 'Cries Out' For Jury, NC Judge Says
A fight between two companies over a doomed distribution deal for COVID-19 tests has gone from "ships passing in the night" to not even "sailing in the same ocean," a North Carolina Business Court judge said, paring the case for trial.
-
May 31, 2024
Polsinelli's Medical Device Team Gains Ex-Lerner David IP Trio
Polsinelli PC is continuing to grow its intellectual property bench, saying Thursday that it has brought on three attorneys from the boutique Lerner David LLP who focus on intellectual property strategy and protection.
-
May 31, 2024
Weight Loss Drug Caused Stomach Paralysis, Suit Says
A Kentucky woman on Friday sued Novo Nordisk A/S and its affiliates in federal court, alleging that the company failed to warn patients that its weight loss treatment Saxenda carried the risk of incurable stomach paralysis.
-
May 31, 2024
Gov't Contracts Of The Month: Health, Spacecraft And Bombs
The U.S. Defense Health Agency unveiled contracts worth tens of billions of dollars in May, including a scrutinized $43 billion medical staffing vehicle, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration added $6 billion to a spacecraft deal. Here, Law360 looks at some of the most noteworthy government contracts over the last month.
-
May 31, 2024
Ex-Penn State Football Team Doc Wins $5.25M Retaliation Suit
A Pennsylvania jury awarded $5.25 million to a former doctor for the Pennsylvania State University football team who claimed he was fired for reporting that head coach James Franklin pressured him to push student-athletes back onto the field before they were ready, according to a verdict sheet made public Friday.
-
May 31, 2024
Texas Supreme Court Rejects Challenge To Abortion Ban
The Texas Supreme Court unanimously rejected a petition Friday that challenged the state's near-total ban on abortion, ruling the law's narrow exceptions for pregnant women in life-threatening emergencies are broad enough to withstand a constitutional challenge.
-
May 31, 2024
In Rarity, 1 Party's Judges Gain 100% Control Of Circuit Bench
At the First Circuit, the judges' robes are all black, but the judges are all blue. It's a new and unusual instance of one political party's judicial picks controlling each active seat on a federal appeals court, and the Democratic dominance could prove magnetic for ideologically charged litigation.
-
May 30, 2024
FTC, SEC Urged To Probe UnitedHealth's 'Negligent' Security
The chair of the U.S. Senate finance committee on Thursday pressed the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to hold UnitedHealth Group and its top executives liable for "numerous" cybersecurity failings that fueled a debilitating cyberattack on its Change Healthcare unit.
-
May 30, 2024
Healthcare Data Co. Says Blocked Access Could Kill Patients
A healthcare data company asked a Maryland federal court on Thursday to stop a rival from blocking access to nursing home patient records it said are needed to identify potential complications that could lead to hospitalization or death.
-
May 30, 2024
Veradigm Execs Sued Over Company's Nasdaq Delisting
Current and former members of healthcare technology company Veradigm Inc.'s top brass were sued in Illinois federal court by shareholders alleging that the company suffered stock drops following a string of financial reporting blunders starting in 2021, which caused it to overstate roughly $40 million in revenue before facing a delisting notice from Nasdaq.
-
May 30, 2024
Physician, Health Cos. Spar Over Docs In Fla. Qui Tam Suit
A doctor and several healthcare businesses accused each other of withholding evidence in a Florida federal False Claims Act lawsuit, with the doctor saying several key Zoom meeting records were destroyed, although the businesses have alleged the doctor refused to provide a financial agreement she made with a cohort.
-
May 30, 2024
Rite Aid Ch. 11 Timeline Extended To Allow More Plan Review
A New Jersey judge on Thursday lengthened the timeline for Rite Aid to seek an exit from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, pushing the confirmation hearing date out by seven days after insurers and others said the company's schedule would not provide enough time to review its restructuring plan.
-
May 30, 2024
FTC, Novant Ask To Delay In-House Trial On Merger Challenge
The Federal Trade Commission and Novant Health have asked to postpone an upcoming administrative hearing over the nonprofit's proposed purchase of two North Carolina hospitals, a purchase that regulators are concerned will dampen competition in the region, according to a notice filed in federal court.
-
May 30, 2024
Retired NBA Star Ends Coverage Suit Against BCBS
Former NBA player Rodney Rogers on Thursday dropped claims that Blue Cross Blue Shield abruptly ended at-home nursing care in violation of his policy but kept the door open to refile the claims.
-
May 30, 2024
Pa. Court Blocks State's Recall Over Cannabis Vape Additives
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has permanently blocked the state Department of Health from enforcing a 2022 recall of medical cannabis products containing certain additives, on the grounds that the department's reversal on the additives' approval was a "de facto regulation" that was enacted without the proper procedures.
-
May 30, 2024
Ozempic Maker Says Texas Pharmacy Selling Knockoff Drug
The manufacturer behind the Ozempic weight loss drug has asked a federal court to prohibit a Houston-area pharmacy from selling compounded, non-FDA-approved medications that claim to contain the drug's key ingredient.
-
May 30, 2024
Slapping Groping Patient Isn't Protected Action, 4th Circ. Says
A former certified nursing assistant at a nursing home operator didn't show that smacking the hand of a patient whom she alleged groped her constituted protected activity under West Virginia law, a Fourth Circuit panel ruled Thursday, affirming the company's win in a lower court.
-
May 30, 2024
Sen. Warren Pushes CMS On 'Medical Loss Ratio' Data
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to collect more data to determine whether private healthcare insurers in Medicare Advantage that employ vertical integration are evading a statutory requirement that they spend the bulk of their earnings on medical claims.
-
May 29, 2024
Fla. Medicare Companies Get Class Cert. In Suit Against USAA
A Florida state court judge granted certification to a class of Medicare-contracted businesses suing USAA Casualty Insurance Co. over allegations the insurer withheld policy information and intentionally passed its obligation to pay automobile injury claims downstream to other companies, according to attorneys representing the group of businesses.
-
May 29, 2024
Benefits Trade Group Urges Changes To New York PBM Regs
A trade group representing large employers who sponsor employee benefit plans warned New York's insurance regulator that a proposal affecting pharmacy benefit managers — which act as intermediaries between pharmacies, drugmakers and insurers — will trigger litigation without changes before they're finalized to eliminate conflicts with federal benefits law.
-
May 29, 2024
FDA Sued Over Controversial Lab Test Rule
A clinical lab trade group that has been highly critical of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's new final rule on laboratory-developed tests filed a lawsuit late Wednesday, saying the agency doesn't have the authority to regulate the tests as medical devices.
-
May 29, 2024
Wash. Panel Ends Quest Diagnostics' COVID Coverage Quest
Quest Diagnostics' insurers don't owe the medical testing lab COVID-19-related business loss coverage, a Washington appeals court said, ruling the company failed to show that the presence of the virus resulted in physical loss or damage to its property.
-
May 29, 2024
Conn. Hospital Settles Exonerated Doctor's Race Bias Suit
A Connecticut hospital and a doctor of Nigerian heritage have settled a race and gender discrimination lawsuit that followed a supervisor's assertion during a sexual harassment and assault probe that Nigeria was home to a "typically misogynistic and chauvinistic" culture, according to a Wednesday dismissal order.
Expert Analysis
-
Opinion
Intoxicating Hemp Products: It's High Time For Clarity
Thanks to ambiguity in the 2018 Farm Bill, intoxicating hemp cannabinoid products are largely unregulated and are widely available without restrictions on who can buy the products, and although there are several possible solutions, voluntary industry action by good actors is the best option, say Andrew Kline and Tommy Tobin at Perkins Coie.
-
HHS' Updated Tracking Tech Guidance Offers Little Clarity
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights' updated guidance on the use of online tracking technologies appears more focused on legal issues raised in ongoing litigation with the American Hospital Association and less on practical guidance for covered entities, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
-
What Rescheduling Could Mean For Cannabis Bankruptcies
Bankruptcy courts have historically been closed for cannabis-related businesses, but recent case law coupled with a possible reclassification of cannabis provides cautious optimism, say attorneys at Duane Morris.
-
Opinion
Pharmacies Need More Protection Against PBM Fee Practices
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' recent reform regarding direct and indirect remuneration fees will mitigate the detrimental effects that pharmacy benefit manager policies have on struggling pharmacies, but more is needed to prevent PBMs from exploiting loopholes, says Bhavesh Desai at Mazina Law.
-
Series
Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.
-
Takeaways From The 2023 DOJ Fraud Section Report
Attorneys at Wiley discuss notable trends from the U.S. Department of Justice's recently reported Fraud Section activity last year and highlight areas of enforcement to watch for in the future, including healthcare fraud and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations.
-
Hospitals Must Adapt To Growing Cybercrime Threats
As the tide of cybersecurity attacks targeting the healthcare industry continues to grow, hospitals and healthcare providers must take steps to protect themselves, including by replacing legacy records systems and ensuring that business associate agreements address responsibility for breaches, says Christine Chasse at Spencer Fane.
-
Assessing FDA Pathways For Genome-Edited Plant Foods
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recent clarification of the regulatory pathways for foods produced from genome-edited plants seeks to strike a balance between public health and innovation, and may hold broader significance for developers of novel human foods subject to voluntary notification programs, say Emily Marden and Diane McEnroe at Sidley Austin.
-
Opinion
Proposed MDL Management Rule Needs Refining
Proponents of the recently proposed Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16.1 believe it may enhance efficiency in multidistrict litigation proceedings if adopted, but there are serious concerns that it could actually hinder plaintiffs' access to justice through the courts — and there are fundamental flaws that deserve our attention, says Ashleigh Raso at Nigh Goldenberg.
-
Opinion
Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year
As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.
-
Opinion
NIST March-In Framework Is As Problematic As 2021 Proposal
While the National Institute of Standards and Technology's proposed march-in framework on when the government can seize patents has been regarded as a radical departure that will support lowering prescription drug costs, the language at the heart of it is identical to a failed 2021 notice of proposed rulemaking, says attorney Kelly Morron.
-
Document Retention Best Practices To Lower Litigation Risks
As new technologies emerge and terabytes of data can be within the purview of a single discovery request, businesses small and large should take four document management steps to effectively minimize risks of litigation and discovery sanctions long before litigation ensues, says Kimbrilee Weber at Norris McLaughlin.
-
Series
Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.
-
Ala. Frozen Embryo Ruling Creates Risks for Managed Care Orgs
The Alabama Supreme Court's decision in LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine last month, declaring that frozen embryos count as children, has not only upended the abortion debate but also raised questions for managed care organizations and healthcare providers that provide, offer or facilitate fertility treatment nationwide, say attorneys at Reed Smith.
-
Tips For Healthcare M&A Amid Heightened Antitrust Scrutiny
As the Biden administration maintains its aggressive approach to antitrust merger enforcement, prudent healthcare M&A counsel will consider practical advice when contemplating their next transaction, including carefully selecting a merger partner and preparing for a potentially long waiting period prior to closing, say attorneys at Davis Wright.