Health Law

Reopen Va. Tech Probe, Add Gunman’s Medical File Info, Families Urge

Following news last week that the long-missing mental health file had been found for the gunman who massacred 32 people in a 2007 shooting rampage at Virginia Tech, injured survivors and family members of those who died are urging that an investigation be reopened. They are calling on Va. Gov.…

Jul 28, 2009 10:51 PM CDT

Feds Raid Vegas Home and Office of Michael Jackson Doc

Following up on an earlier raid by federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents on the Houston office of a physician who has treated Michael Jackson, authorities today arrived with a search warrant at the Las Vegas home and office of Dr. Conrad Murray. This time DEA agents were accompanied by Los…

Jul 28, 2009 5:31 PM CDT

Fla. Hospital Wins Tort Case Over Flying Patient to Guatemala on Chartered Plane

Despite a judge’s instruction that Martin Memorial Medical Center, as a matter of law, unlawfully detained a longtime patient and deprived him of his liberty by sending him home on a chartered plane to Guatemala, a Florida jury ruled in favor of the hospital today in a much-watched tort case.…

Jul 27, 2009 6:54 PM CDT

Ex-BigLaw Associate, 29, Forms Biotech Boutique via Craigslist

When Afif Ghannoum decided to open a biotechnology boutique in Cleveland, the 29-year-old former BigLaw associate advertised for potential partner-level attorneys on Craigslist. He received responses from nearly 100 lawyers in Ohio and another 400 in New York City. To help keep costs low, the firm’s nine lawyers operate out…

Jul 27, 2009 5:54 PM CDT

Chartering Plane to Take Patient Home Could Cost Hospital Big Bucks

During the three years he lived at a Florida hospital after suffering a severe brain injury in an automobile accident, Luis Jimenez racked up a $1.5 million medical bill. But now the uninsured illegal immigrant could potentially cost Martin Memorial Medical Center a lot more. In closing arguments today in…

Jul 23, 2009 6:06 PM CDT

Suit Seeks Warning Label on Hot Dogs

A group promoting a vegan diet has filed a lawsuit requiring hot dogs to carry warning labels saying they could increase the risk of cancer. The suit filed in New Jersey state court by the Cancer Project seeks class-action status, the Los Angeles Times reports. The complaint claims that nitrites…

Jul 23, 2009 1:42 PM CDT

Feds Raid Office of Michael Jackson Doc in Manslaughter Probe

Federal agents raided the Texas office of one of Michael Jackson’s physicians today, executing a search warrant seeking evidence in a manslaughter investigation. However, a lawyer for Dr. Conrad Murray has said the Houston physician has done nothing wrong, is cooperating fully with the investigation and should not be the…

Jul 22, 2009 7:31 PM CDT

Virginia Tech Gunman’s Missing Counseling File Found in Doctor’s Home

A missing file for the gunman who killed 32 people in a 2007 shooting rampage at Virginia Tech has been discovered in the home of a former director for the college’s counseling center. An announcement that the the file had been located was made this morning by Gov. Timothy Kaine,…

Jul 22, 2009 7:09 PM CDT

Probe of Michael Jackson’s Death Zeros In On Prescription Drug Issues

An ongoing investigation into the death of Michael Jackson may be focusing on his use of drugs prescribed under pseudonyms. Although it is illegal under state and federal law for a patient to be given drugs under a fictitious name, sources say the famous pop singer was prescribed medications under…

Jul 17, 2009 11:38 PM CDT

Doc Charged With Obstruction Allegedly Kept Bullet from Suspect’s Surgery

A Florida surgeon who wanted a souvenir from surgery to remove two bullets from a suspect in a homicide case allegedly palmed the one slug he was able to extract instead of turning it over to law enforcement agents waiting near the operating room to collect it. So now Dr.…

Jul 17, 2009 6:44 PM CDT

AIDS Group Sues LA County to Enforce Porn Film Condom Regs

A prominent advocacy group that works to prevent the spread of AIDS has sued Los Angeles public health officials in an effort to force enforcement of regulations requiring actors in porn films to wear condoms. The Los Angeles County Superior Court suit filed today by AIDS Healthcare Foundation also seeks…

Jul 16, 2009 10:42 PM CDT

Medicare Slow to Accept Lawyers’ Offers of Money

Some personal injury lawyers say their clients are willing and ready to reimburse Medicare for the costs of their care, but the agency is taking as long as a year to come up with a figure for the amount owed. Kansas City, Mo., lawyer John Kurtz told McClatchy Newspapers he…

Jul 13, 2009 4:08 PM CDT

Law Trails Behind as Disputes Over Genetic Patents Intensify

After being diagnosed with an aggressive type of breast cancer, Lisbeth Ceriani had a double mastectomy last year followed by chemotherapy that caused her hair to fall out in clumps. Just when she thought the worst was over, she learned that some of the genes in her body that led…

Jul 3, 2009 2:00 PM CDT

Wrangling Genes

As the law changes and new medical frontiers open, the dispute over genetic patents intensifies

Jul 2, 2009 4:10 AM CDT

Jury Awards $1.67B to Drugmaker in Record-Breaking Patent Verdict

Siding with the world’s biggest health care company, a federal jury in Texas awarded a record-breaking $1.67 billion today to a Johnson & Johnson unit after five hours of deliberation. In its verdict against Abbott Laboratories, the jury found that the Illinois-based drugmaker willfully violated an exclusive patent licensing agreement…

Jun 29, 2009 11:08 PM CDT