Health Law

New Zealand Vets Ask Billions re Agent Orange

New Zealand veterans of the Vietnam War reportedly may sue their government for billions of dollars in compensation for injuries allegedly caused by use of the dioxin-containing defoliant Agent Orange. The suit would focus on allegations that government officials from the time of the war to the present day have…

May 7, 2007 8:09 PM CDT

Fudged Weight Weighed in Insurance Appeal

A case pending before a California appeals court contends Blue Shield of California suddenly canceled coverage for a policyholder, resulting in delayed surgery and lasting injury. At issue is whether the cancellation was justified under a state law permitting rescissions for “willful misrepresentation.” The outcome could influence the way insurers…

May 7, 2007 6:16 PM CDT

No Punitive Damages in Wrongful Adoption Case

Even though an adoption agency apparently intentionally withheld information about severe mental illness among the parents and grandparents of a child from his adoptive family decades ago, it cannot be assessed punitive damages, a New York appeals court has decided. The ruling is expected to be persuasive in other such…

May 4, 2007 10:27 PM CDT

A Clash of Rights in TB Cases

A drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis pits the rights of those who are infected against those of the public. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the percentage of patients infected with the new, more virulent strain of TB rose from 3 percent in 2000 to 11 percent in 2004,…

May 3, 2007 2:27 PM CDT

TB Patient Jailed for Risky Actions

An Arizona man with tuberculosis has been confined to a hospital’s jail ward since August because he did not wear a mask in public or take prescribed medications. “It’s not fair that they put me in jail,” 27-year-old Robert Daniels told the Los Angeles Times. He wants to be moved…

May 2, 2007 4:59 PM CDT

Illinois First State to Pursue ‘Super Bug’ Bill

Responding to a drug-resistant bacteria that kills thousands of Americans annually, Illinois is likely to be the first state to mandate an aggressive hospital testing and treatment program to try contain the so-called super bug. A bill moving through the state legislature would make Illinois the first state to require…

Apr 30, 2007 5:54 PM CDT

Insurers Settle Physician-Pay Suit

Twenty-three Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies have settled with physicians who claim they are not being paid properly. Under the class-action settlement, the insurers will contribute about $128 million to cover disputed claims and will pay up to $49 million in legal fees, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub.…

Apr 30, 2007 3:15 PM CDT

Study: Doctors Win Most Med-Mal Suits

Juries in medical malpractice cases find for physicians more often than plaintiffs, a researcher told the New Jersey Law Journal. Around 30 percent of medical malpractice suits result in a verdict for the plaintiff, according to professor Philip Peters Jr. of the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. The rate…

Apr 26, 2007 12:47 PM CDT

‘Partial’ Abortion Ban Puts Justices’ Faith at Issue

Last week’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to ban so-called partial birth abortion has sparked contentious discussion about the religious views of the nine justices who rendered the 5-4 ruling. A majority reportedly are Catholic In an article today detailing the controversy, ABC characterizes the issue as a “backlash”…

Apr 24, 2007 8:59 PM CDT

Suits Claims Drug Maker Paid for Off-Label Uses

Six lawsuits filed in federal courts claim Schering-Plough Corp. offered bribes and kickbacks to physicians to prescribe medications for off-label uses. The suits, pending in New Jersey and Arizona, claim the Kenilworth, N.J.-based company paid physicians to prescribe its cancer and hepatitis drugs, according to the New Jersey Law Journal.…

Apr 24, 2007 1:09 PM CDT

Jurist Cleared of Abortion-Case Ethics Charges

No basis has been found for ethics charges brought by abortion opponents against a state court judge in Sedgwick County, Kan. District Judge Paul W. Clark had been accused of being influenced by several $500 campaign contributions in his decision to dismiss criminal charges brought against one of the nation’s…

Apr 23, 2007 11:21 PM CDT

Vioxx Maker Wins Initial Round in Texas

A Texas judge has ruled that state juries may not decide whether Vioxx manufacturer Merck & Co. withheld information from the Food and Drug and Administration.

Apr 23, 2007 3:12 PM CDT

More Abortion Battles to Come

The fight over abortion moves to the states following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling this week upholding a ban on so-called partial birth abortion.

Apr 20, 2007 2:01 PM CDT

Copycat Va. Tech Threat Closes S.F. Law School

Shocked by Virginia Tech’s horrifying experience on Monday, other institutions of higher learning are now taking no chances about closing their campuses as soon as they hear of a possible security threat. The University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco closed abruptly Wednesday because of an…

Apr 19, 2007 5:55 PM CDT

Laws Restrict Actions Against Troubled Students

Federal laws generally prevent universities from placing students on involuntary medical leave for mental illness and from informing their parents of their problems without consent, the New York Times reports.

Apr 19, 2007 1:34 PM CDT