Health Law

To Your Health Costs

Reform law likely to affect smaller firms most

Jul 1, 2010 7:40 AM CDT

Cancer-Stricken Walmart Worker Sues over Firing for Medical Pot Use

A Walmart employee who has an inoperable brain tumor and sinus cancer alleges in a lawsuit that the retailer violated Michigan law when it fired him for using medical marijuana. Joseph Casias says he was fired from the Battle Creek store even though he had registered with the state as…

Jun 30, 2010 4:51 PM CDT

‘Powerful Sisterhood’ of Lawyer Cancer Survivors Tell Their Stories Online

Patricia Kosich looks back fondly on her cancer treatment. Now a senior counsel for global commercial operations at Amgen, Kosich acknowledges her attitude is unusual. She was a single mom and a third-year associate at Foley & Lardner when she was diagnosed with breast cancer around the time of her…

Jun 22, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Judge Settles Med Mal Cases with a Measure of Sympathy

A New York judge is credited with developing a settlement negotiation model that is now being tried by five hospitals in a $2.9 million, three-year demonstration project funded by a federal grant. Bronx County Supreme Court Justice Douglas McKeon starts by asking families to tell him about their loved one,…

Jun 21, 2010 11:07 PM CDT

Accused in Michael Jackson’s Death, Doc Can Still Practice Medicine

Almost a year after the death of Michael Jackson, the personal physician charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly administering a lethal dose of a powerful anesthetic is still practicing medicine in California, Nevada and Texas. And a California judge said today that it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to prevent…

Jun 15, 2010 12:33 AM CDT

Psychiatrist Had Duty to Warn Patient’s Spouse of Herpes Risk from Doctor-Patient Affair

A psychiatrist allegedly infected with the herpes simplex virus had a duty to warn his patient’s spouse before allegedly having unprotected sex with the patient, a New York judge has ruled. Upholding the husband’s right to bring a negligence suit for the alleged breach of duty by the psychiatrist, Westchester…

Jun 7, 2010 7:59 PM CDT

FTC Postpones Red Flags Rule After Lawmakers Seek Delay

At the request of several members of Congress, the Federal Trade Commission has agreed to postpone until the end of the year enforcement of the controversial new Red Flags Rule that had been scheduled to take effect today. The rule implements a new federal law that the FTC had interpreted…

Jun 1, 2010 10:00 AM CDT

Hospital Treats Patients By Pointing Them to Legal Help

The rats kept scurrying through Idrissa Munu’s home in Washington, D.C., for several years, even after he killed three with a baseball bat and took them in a plastic bag to the property manager’s office to complain. But after a doctor at the Children’s National Medical Center connected the rodents—and…

May 27, 2010 10:59 AM CDT

AMA Takes Page from ABA Playbook, Sues FTC Over Red Flags Rule

Physician groups, including the American Medical Association, have taken a leaf out of the American Bar Association’s playbook. They filed a lawsuit today contending that health care organizations should not be included among businesses such as banks, credit card issuers and mortgage lenders required by the Federal Trade Commission’s so-called…

May 21, 2010 10:06 PM CDT

Issues re Pediatrician Now Facing 500 Sex Charges Weren’t Taken Seriously by Other Docs

Now charged with more than 500 sex offenses, a Delaware pediatrican was the the subject of complaints dating back to 1994 that he had acted inappropriately with young female patients. Yet medical professionals, including at least one prominent physician colleague, apparently didn’t take the allegations against Dr. Earl Bradley seriously,…

May 17, 2010 5:58 PM CDT

Court Order Nixed in Case re Lawyer’s Claimed $6K Baby-Purchase Offer

A judge in Utah has dismissed a protective order giving the state custody of a baby whose Arizona parents are accused of arranging to sell it for $6,000 to a local lawyer. Because the infant hasn’t yet been born, the state has no jurisdiction, ruled 3rd District Juvenile Judge Jim…

May 12, 2010 8:35 PM CDT

Law Firms Hire Physicians to Help Defend Medical Billing Cases

It isn’t just plaintiffs lawyers who are looking to hire professionals with medical expertise to help point the way toward high-value tort claims. A number of well-known law firms have recently hired nonlawyer physicians to bolster their defense practices, the On the Docket blog of Forbes magazine reports. Among them…

May 11, 2010 5:09 PM CDT

6th Circuit Reinstates Ex-Inmate’s Pro Se Suit Over Lack of Toothpaste

Jerry Flanory doesn’t have a lawyer—yet. But after scoring a pro se civil rights victory in federal appellate court in Detroit yesterday that could soon change. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated Flanory’s constitutional case against officials of the Michigan prison at which he formerly served time for…

May 7, 2010 9:39 PM CDT

Dad Troubled by 10th Circuit Decision Against Right to Determine Son’s Cancer Care

A federal appeals court has ruled that a Utah couple is not entitled to pursue damages against state officials who sought to force their son to undergo chemotherapy for Ewing’s sarcoma. The Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held in a May 5 opinion (PDF) that the state officials…

May 6, 2010 4:16 PM CDT

Judge Takes Court Docket Offline to Prevent Jurors From Accessing It During Trial

Concerned that jurors might improperly access public information from the online court docket, an Oklahoma judge ordered it taken down for the duration of the trial in a medical malpractice case. But a mistrial still resulted, because the jurors could not agree on a verdict, reports the Tulsa World. Tulsa…

May 4, 2010 10:04 PM CDT