Health Law

Fen-phen Lawyers Awarded $412M in Fees, Applauded for ‘Herculean Effort’

A federal judge has awarded $412 million in additional fees to lawyers who sued the maker of the fen-phen diet-drug on behalf of thousands of plaintiffs. Chief U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III of Philadelphia awarded the fees for more than 578,000 hours of work that he called “nothing short…

Apr 10, 2008 2:00 PM CDT

Christians Sue Over U.K. Human-Animal Embryo Licenses

A Christian group that includes lawyers and doctors says it will sue to try to overturn licenses granted to academics at two United Kingdom institutions to create human-animal hybrid embryos for medical research purposes. One such embryo reportedly has already been created under the licenses granted by the Human Fertilisation…

Apr 9, 2008 8:39 PM CDT

Celebrity Medical Files Breached at UCLA

A rogue employee reportedly peeped into confidential medical files of 32 celebrities, politicians and other high-profile patients at UCLA Medical Center, as well as 29 noncelebrities, in 2006 and 2007. Among those whose confidentiality was violated: television personality Maria Shriver, who is the wife of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The unauthorized…

Apr 7, 2008 4:43 PM CDT

$2M Award Tossed; Woman Claimed Fiance’s Parents Were Part of AIDS Coverup

A woman who won a $2 million jury verdict in part because she claimed her fiance’s parents failed to let her know their son was dying of AIDS is not entitled to the award, the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled. The woman, identified as “Jane Doe,” won the $2 million…

Apr 3, 2008 10:16 PM CDT

Court of Public Opinion Sways Wal-Mart in Battle Over Legal Winnings

A Missouri man, who lost a son in Iraq and whose wife suffers from debilitating memory loss because of an auto accident, couldn’t convince his wife’s former employer to back off its claim to the money the family recovered for her accident. At least not until his plight made prime-time…

Apr 2, 2008 6:52 PM CDT

Legal Gender-Bender: Dad-to-Be Pregnant

How does the law relate to a pregnant dad? Some folks in a central Oregon resort town are about to find out. Originally born female, a transgender man in the city of Bend is now legally Thomas Beatie, married to Nancy. Because his wife had her uterus removed, however, and…

Mar 27, 2008 9:16 PM CDT

Drug Companies Beware: FTC Commissioner Kovacic Gets Promoted

William Kovacic, a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission, has been named chairman of the agency. He will replace Deborah Platt Majoras, who is leaving to join the legal department at Procter & Gamble. Kovacic is former general counsel of the agency, the Associated Press reports. He also taught at…

Mar 27, 2008 1:33 PM CDT

Informed Consent: Doc’s Eye Surgery ‘Success’ Can Be Anything But, to Patient

Doctors who perform Lasik surgery to improve patients’ eyesight to the point where they no longer have to wear glasses say their work ordinarily turns out just fine. But some patients considered a success by their physicians see the situation differently. A reporter who writes a lengthy New York Times…

Mar 13, 2008 9:44 PM CDT

Autism Settlement Based on Special Circumstances

The government has agreed to compensate the family of a girl who claims a vaccine caused her autism, but the settlement is not precedent-setting because of the special circumstances surrounding the case, experts told the Associated Press. The girl, Hannah Poling, now 9, received five vaccines when she was 18…

Mar 7, 2008 2:17 PM CST

A Slew of Lawyer Ads Follow Hepatitis Outbreak

Lawyers responded quickly after Las Vegas shut down an endoscopy center accused of reusing syringes and infecting at least six patients with hepatitis. They rushed to place ads seeking clients on the airwaves, in newspapers and on the Internet. One lawyer is seeking clients on Craigslist, the Las Vegas Sun…

Mar 5, 2008 4:05 PM CST

Vioxx Deal Goes Forward With 93 Percent Participation

A $4.85 billion Vioxx settlement remains on track with the disclosure that more than 93 percent of the claimants filed forms indicating they plan to participate. Merck & Co. says more than 44,000 of 47,000 claimants submitted at least some of the documents needed to claim a share of the…

Mar 4, 2008 1:13 PM CST

Pfizer Stock and the Chief Justice’s Recusal Policy Led to 4-4 Drug Case Split

Chief Justice John G. Roberts owns Pfizer stock valued between $5,001 and $50,000, according to his financial statements, and that’s apparently the reason he did not take part in yesterday’s split decision that allowed a lawsuit to proceed against the company. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 4-4 vote had the effect…

Mar 4, 2008 12:10 PM CST

Court Splits in Diabetes Drug Case, Allowing Lawsuit to Proceed

The U.S. Supreme Court’s divided ruling in a diabetes drug case today has the effect of allowing a lawsuit to proceed, SCOTUSblog reports. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. did not participate in the case, which was argued last Monday. The lawsuit contends a pharmaceutical company withheld information about liver…

Mar 3, 2008 3:37 PM CST

Lawyer Charged for Advising Nurses Who Quit Their Jobs

A New York lawyer who told 10 nurses that they were free to quit their jobs at a nursing home has been charged (PDF) with endangering the welfare of patients there. Felix Vinluan says he simply told the nurses, who had been recruited from the Philippines, that the facility had…

Feb 27, 2008 12:04 PM CST

Calif. Docs Say Blue Cross Illegally Seeks Patient Info

Physicians are protesting what they say is a new and unprecedented plan by Blue Cross of California to require doctors to collect and report to health insurers patient information that could eliminate their medical coverage. “The California Medical Association sent a letter to state regulators Friday urging them to order…

Feb 12, 2008 8:05 PM CST