Health Law

Supreme Court Considers 10th Amendment, a Tea Party Favorite, in Attempted Poisoning Case

The U.S. Supreme Court weighed the 10th Amendment and standing issues on Tuesday in an appeal by a woman accused of trying to poison a romantic rival. The justices appeared inclined to rule that Carol Bond of Lansdale, Pa., had standing to pursue the case, according to stories in the…

Feb 23, 2011 5:12 PM CST

Study Shows Changes in Brain Activity from ‘Acute Cellphone Exposures’

A brain-scan study is raising new questions about the safety of cellphones. The study showed an increase in activity in the area of the brain closest to the antenna after test subjects held cell phones to their hears for less than an hour, report the New York Times Well blog…

Feb 23, 2011 1:48 PM CST

Coroner Who Moonlighted Takes Plea, Losing Medical License But Avoiding Time

A suburban Chicago coroner pleaded guilty today to obstruction of justice and unlawful delivery of a controlled substance and resigned from his job, one of the highest elected positions in Lake County. Richard Keller must surrender his physician’s license for five years as part of the plea deal, but will…

Feb 22, 2011 9:55 PM CST

Vaccine Design Defect Claims in State Courts Are Pre-Empted by Federal Law, Supreme Court Rules

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that federal law pre-empts state lawsuits for design defects in vaccines. The court ruled 6-2 in favor of vaccine maker Wyeth, which is now owned by Pfizer Inc., report Reuters and Bloomberg. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the majority opinion (PDF). The suit was brought…

Feb 22, 2011 4:02 PM CST

Feds Raid Health Care Facilities, Arrest Over 100 Professionals in 9 Cities in Record Medicare Bust

Federal authorities have arrested 111 doctors, nurses and other professionals in nine cities in what is being billed as the biggest Medicare fraud bust ever. It allegedly involved fraudulent billing of the government for health care services that weren’t provided, according to ABC News and the Associated Press. The raids…

Feb 17, 2011 6:49 PM CST

US Agencies Raise Value of Life by Millions of Dollars, Justifying Tougher Regs

In the last few years, several U.S. agencies have raised the value of human life by millions of dollars, a calculation that justifies tougher regulations in a cost-benefit analysis. The New York Times lists the higher values. The Environmental Protection Agency set the value of human life at $9.1 million…

Feb 17, 2011 1:55 PM CST

Study of Pa. Surgeons Finds One-Fifth of Tests Ordered Because of Lawsuit Fears

A new study confirms the conventional wisdom: Physicians order unnecessary tests because they fear lawsuits. The study asked 72 orthopedic surgeons in Pennsylvania to check a box indicating whether the medical tests they ordered were needed for clinical care or done for defensive purposes, the Washington Post reports. One-fifth of…

Feb 17, 2011 1:32 PM CST

As Man Is Dying in Hospital Parking Lot, Police and Ambulance Get There Before ER Staff

Seemingly, 61-year-old Birgilio Marin-Fuentes shouldn’t have had to look far for help when he apparently had a heart attack as he was driving his car erratically into the garage of a Portland, Ore., hospital and crashed into a wall there earlier this month. But he got more assistance from city…

Feb 16, 2011 12:04 AM CST

Parents Whose Son Died of Rare Bacteria Spot Recall Notice, Leading to Lawsuit Against Wipes Maker

Two-year-old Harrison Kothari seemed to be recovering well from surgery to remove a benign cyst near his brain and spinal cord. But then he died suddenly at a Texas hospital late last year, of a rare infection, a day before he was supposed to be discharged, msnbc.com reported. Staff of…

Feb 15, 2011 7:54 PM CST

Mass Disaster, Quarantines and Courtroom Respirators Part of NY ‘Doomsday’ Legal Manual

What laws authorize mass evacuations in the event of a terrorist attack? How should courts deal with medical shortages during a biological or chemical disaster? When should lawyers and judges don respirators to avoid contagious diseases? Those are among the questions addressed in a new “doomsday legal manual” published this…

Feb 15, 2011 3:52 PM CST

Raid on Clark Thomas Lures 8 Lawyers to New Texas Office of Midsize Minn. Firm, Bowman and Brooke

A midsize Minneapolis firm has raided the biggest law firm in Austin, Texas, departing with an eight-attorney group that will help Bowman and Brooke establish a new office there. The group represents a substantial portion of the pharamceutical practice at Clark Thomas & Winters. The 185-attorney Bowman and Brooke opened…

Feb 12, 2011 12:29 AM CST

Smokers Banned from Work at an Increasing Number of Hospitals

Hospitals in at least eight states have stopped hiring smokers in the past year, raising concerns about the intrusion into workers’ private lives. Some hospitals and medical businesses require job applicants to take urine tests for nicotine, the New York Times reports. Some fire workers who are caught cheating. The…

Feb 11, 2011 12:56 PM CST

Judge Overrules Parents, Gives Doctors OK to Perform Surgery on Injured Wrestler, 16

Injured during a wrestling practice last month, a 16-year-old boy in Pennsylvania needs surgery on his spine that his parents have nixed, a state-court jurist has decided. So Delaware County judge Mary Alice Brennan faxed an order today to doctors at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital giving them permission to stabilize…

Feb 10, 2011 10:38 PM CST

FTC Member Warns of Antitrust Concerns in Health Care Law, Seeks ‘Vigorous Enforcement’

A member of the Federal Trade Commission is raising concerns that the new health care law could reduce competition by allowing collaboration between hospitals and doctors. FTC member J. Thomas Rosch, an antitrust lawyer, says “vigorous antitrust enforcement” will be needed to preserve competition, the New York Times reports. He…

Feb 10, 2011 11:30 AM CST

As Experts Disagree About Evidence in Shaken-Baby Cases, Some Verdicts Face New Questions

It is now conventional wisdom that shaking a baby can leave the child with devastating, sometimes-fatal injuries. But some experts say the testimony on which criminal courts rely in convicting those responsible for such child abuse may not be as reliable as was once thought, according to the New York…

Feb 7, 2011 10:07 PM CST