Healthcare & Pharmaceutics

Opioid suits can’t be based on nuisance law in Ohio, top state court rules in $650M win for pharmacies

A decision by the Ohio Supreme Court on the state’s product-liability law is good news for three national pharmaceutical chains ordered to pay more than $650 million for contributing to the opioid epidemic.

Dec 12, 2024 3:23 PM CST

Lawyers spar in Supreme Court over constitutional rights in transgender health care case

The lengthy arguments this week in United States v. Skrmetti—a major case about whether a Tennessee law barring certain medical treatments for transgender minors violates the 14th Amendment—were marked by past positions, anticipation of future battles, a historical first and one justice’s curious silence.

Dec 5, 2024 2:15 PM CST

Texas AG sues pediatrician over gender-affirming care for youths

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against a Dallas-based pediatrician, accusing her of providing transition-related hormones in violation of a state ban on gender-affirming care for people under age 18.

Oct 18, 2024 11:50 AM CDT

Supreme Court blocks controversial Purdue Pharma opioid settlement

The Supreme Court has blocked a controversial proposed Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan that would have provided billions of dollars to help address the nation’s opioid crisis in exchange for protecting the family that owns the company from future lawsuits.

Jun 27, 2024 9:26 AM CDT

Lawyers suing Johnson & Johnson in baby powder suits seek privileged attorney-client communications

Co-lead counsel in a lawsuit filed last month against Johnson & Johnson are asking a judge to allow access to communications among some top in-house lawyers in a bid to show that the company abused the bankruptcy process in litigation over talcum powder alleged to cause cancer.

Jun 24, 2024 10:52 AM CDT

Judge allows unjust enrichment suit for use of cancer patient’s ‘immortal’ cells

A federal judge in Maryland has ruled that the estate of Henrietta Lacks can proceed with its lawsuit alleging that a pharmaceutical company unjustly profited from use of her “immortal” cells.

May 21, 2024 10:29 AM CDT

When states’ rights and health care access clash

From the COVID-19 response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the results of 50 states having individual approaches to public health, medical outcomes and health care access raise troubling questions. A husband-and-wife team of University of Utah professors dig into the ethics of the American health care system in States of Health: The Ethics and Consequences of Policy Variation in a Federal System.

May 15, 2024 4:40 PM CDT

Employer health plan’s exclusion for gender-affirming care violates Title VII, 11th Circuit rules

A federal appeals court has ruled that a health insurance provider can be liable for denying gender-affirming care to transgender people under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

May 14, 2024 12:48 PM CDT

Attorney general moves to reclassify marijuana as lower-risk drug

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday recommended loosening restrictions on marijuana, a historic shift in federal drug policy that could broaden access to the drug for medicinal use and boost cannabis industries in states where it is legal.

Apr 30, 2024 2:12 PM CDT

Conservative justices skeptical federal law requires emergency room abortions

Conservative Supreme Court justices expressed skepticism Wednesday that federal law can require hospitals to provide emergency abortion care in states with strict bans on the procedure, marking the latest legal battle over abortion access since the high court overturned Roe v. Wade nearly two years ago.

Apr 25, 2024 2:15 PM CDT

The fate of emergency abortion care rests with Supreme Court

Shanae Smith-Cunningham arrived at Memorial Regional Hospital on Dec. 21, 2022 - five days after her water broke, only halfway through her pregnancy. Despite her pleas for treatment and the risks to her health, staff at the Hollywood, Fla., hospital turned her away amid the state’s new abortion restrictions.

Apr 23, 2024 1:25 PM CDT

SCOTUS declines to stay Idaho ban on gender-affirming care for minors

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for Idaho to broadly enforce a ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, the first time the justices have intervened on the contentious issue of transgender health treatments.

Apr 16, 2024 9:45 AM CDT

Sanofi to settle about 4,000 suits over Zantac cancer claims

Sanofi SA said it has agreed to settle approximately 4,000 lawsuits accusing the French drugmaker of selling its Zantac heartburn medicine without warning patients that it could cause cancer.

Apr 4, 2024 10:35 AM CDT

Supreme Court skeptical of efforts to restrict access to abortion pill

The Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed unlikely to limit access to mifepristone, a key medication that is used in more than 60 percent of U.S. abortions and has emerged as the next front in the battle over how and whether women can terminate their pregnancies.

Mar 27, 2024 9:30 AM CDT

After his transplant, lawyer co-founds research group focused on developing synthetic kidneys

Kenneth Kleinberg’s client list is a veritable who’s who of Hollywood. As a founding partner of Los Angeles’ Kleinberg Lange Cuddy & Carlo, he’s negotiated agreements and counseled on film and TV rights for more than five decades. But these days, much of Kleinberg’s time is taken up by an endeavor that captivates less of the public imagination: kidney research.

Feb 1, 2024 1:30 AM CST