Health Law

Some Child Cough Medicine Deaths Could Be Crimes

Not every death of a young child from an overdose of an over-the-counter cold or cough medicine is accidental, a study has determined. “Some of the 103 children who died after taking over-the-counter cough medicines may have been deliberately given overdoses to sedate or even kill them, expert reviewers found…

Dec 19, 2008 5:20 PM CST

Fla. Doc Gets 30 Years in Medicare Case

Most individuals convicted of Medicare fraud get about 2½ years in prison, on average. But a Florida physician who aggravated a judge by lying on the stand got a lot more. “U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno hammered Dr. Ana Alvarez-Jacinto, 54, with one of the stiffest punishments ever for a…

Dec 18, 2008 5:34 PM CST

5-Time Mom Sues Doc Over Alleged Labor From Hell

Catherine Skol had already had four other children. But delivering the fifth was the most painful experience she has ever had, she contends–and she’s hired a high-profile Illinois personal injury lawyer to prove it. In a lawsuit filed by attorney Kathleen Zellner this week against the fill-in doctor who handled…

Dec 16, 2008 10:07 PM CST

UK Lawyer Made $25M in a Year, Now He Is Focus of Legal-Fees Controversy

Representing injured coal miners has proven to be a lucrative practice area for Jim Beresford, 58, and his three-partner law firm. At one point, the head office of the United Kingdom law firm now known as Beresfords Solicitors was shabby building near a Chinese takeout restaurant in Doncaster, in South…

Nov 14, 2008 12:31 AM CST

W. Va. Man Wins 4th Circuit Ruling in Fight Over $40 Medical Bill

A West Virginia man has taken his fight over a $40 medical bill to the Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and won. Sam Juniper said the case was a matter of principle, the Associated Press reports. He says his health benefits weren’t supposed to change after retirement,…

Nov 13, 2008 7:36 PM CST

In Lengthy Legal Saga, Pa. Doctor is Licensed, Then Loses Practice Privileges

Richard Brown never seemed like a great candidate for a physician’s license. A lackluster student in high school and college, he attended several foreign institutions before getting a medical degree. Criticized in sometimes-scathing evaluations by the physicians in charge of hospital programs for whom he worked as in clinical rotations,…

Nov 11, 2008 8:08 PM CST

Obama Mulls 200 Changes He Could Make Using Executive Authority

Barack Obama’s lawyer-laden transition team has prepared a list of 200 possible regulatory and policy changes he could quickly adopt using his executive authority. They include hot-button issues such as funding for stem cell research and abortion counseling. Obama has already indicated he plans to reverse a Bush administration limit…

Nov 10, 2008 12:34 PM CST

Mass. Jury Gives $13.5M to Family of ‘Cured’ Woman Who Died of Treatment

Experimental bone cancer treatment cured a 40-year-old Massachusetts woman, as an autopsy determined after she died of side effects from the treatment. So a Suffolk Superior Court jury awarded $13.5 million yesterday to the family of Amy Altman, finding that the mother of two would have survived if doctors at…

Nov 6, 2008 9:35 PM CST

How an Obama Presidency May Benefit Lawyers

Lawyers in diverse practice areas ranging from labor law to bankruptcy are likely to benefit from legal changes that could be made during the Obama administration. Lawyers can expect more regulations in banking and health care, fewer restrictions on lawsuits, more real estate lending and a pro-labor tilt, according to…

Nov 6, 2008 2:26 PM CST

UK Community Council Bans Smoking By Foster Parents

Citing the health risks posed by secondhand smoke, a community council in London has banned the placement of foster children with foster parents who smoke, unless exceptional circumstances apply. The action yesterday by Redbridge Council will take effect in 2010, which gives current foster parents who smoke a chance to…

Nov 5, 2008 5:28 PM CST

Court Ruling in Drug Labeling Pre-Emption Case Expected to be Narrow

Justices’ questions during oral arguments yesterday suggest the U.S. Supreme Court may issue a narrow ruling in a case that asks whether federally approved drug labels protect pharmaceutical companies from lawsuits over failures to issue adequate warnings. Mayer Brown partner Andrew Tauber told Legal Times the court’s opinion is unlikely…

Nov 4, 2008 2:16 PM CST

Deaf Patient to Get Record $400K from N.J. Doc Who Didn’t Provide Interpreter

Not providing the sign language interpreter requested by a deaf patient has cost a New Jersey doctor a $400,000 jury award. And it may cost Jersey City rheumatologist Robert Fogari personally, since his malpractice carrier has denied coverage, as well as a defense, reports the New Jersey Law Journal. The…

Oct 17, 2008 9:15 PM CDT

Trial Lawyer Fred Baron to Get Experimental Cancer Drug

Dallas trial lawyer Fred Baron has obtained an experimental cancer drug in an effort to fight late-stage multiple myeloma. Baron’s son, Andrew, told the Associated Press that his 61-year-old father obtained the drug Tysabri through the Mayo Clinic. The famous trial lawyer has been told he has only days to…

Oct 17, 2008 2:27 PM CDT

MRI May Show Nothing, Even If Patient is Injured

Just because an MRI shows nothing wrong doesn’t mean the test is right. So patients who are in significant pain should seek a second opinion regardless of whether an initial magnetic resonance imaging test indicates they are fine, physicians tell the New York Times in an article that should be…

Oct 14, 2008 10:32 PM CDT

J&J Paid $68M to Settle Lawsuits Over Birth-Control Patch, News Agency Says

It has cost the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical company an estimated $68.7 million to settle hundreds of lawsuits alleging that users were injured or, in 20 cases, even died as a result of using the company’s Ortho Evra birth-control patch. Complaints filed in state and federal court on behalf of…

Oct 10, 2008 5:59 PM CDT