More Healthcare Coverage

  • May 15, 2024

    Feds Urge Prison For Convicted Baby Formula Fraudster

    Urging the judge to communicate the gravity of white collar crime, federal prosecutors in New York asked Wednesday that a Staten Island man get at least 2.25 years in prison after he pled guilty to forging baby formula prescriptions as part of a scheme to defraud insurers of $1.9 million.

  • May 15, 2024

    Worker Updates Boot-Up Suit After Judge Axes State Claims

    A former call center worker on Tuesday lodged an amended class action complaint seeking boot-up time wages from a home healthcare company, raising only federal claims after a Michigan federal judge earlier this year stripped state law allegations from the suit.

  • May 15, 2024

    Minn. Health System To Pay $800K To End 401(k) Suit

    A health system agreed to pay $800,000 to end a proposed class action accusing it of failing to remove costly and underperforming investment funds from its $1.7 billion retirement plans, a filing Wednesday in Minnesota federal court said.

  • May 15, 2024

    Michigan Can't Shake Lawsuit Over Prison's Scabies Outbreak

    The director of the Michigan Department of Corrections and other high-ranking officials must face claims that they allowed an outbreak of scabies in a women's prison to go untreated for years, a federal judge has ruled.

  • May 15, 2024

    Eli Lilly In-House Atty To Retire; New Compliance Chief Sought

    Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co.'s chief ethics and compliance officer, who has been with the company for more than two decades, is retiring at the end of the year, the company said Wednesday.

  • May 15, 2024

    Former Sandoz Executive Avoids Prison In Price-Fixing Case

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Wednesday approved a request from prosecutors and ex-Sandoz Pharmaceuticals executive Hector Armando Kellum for a one-year probation sentence in the generic drug price-fixing case against him, citing his cooperation with the government's investigation into a larger conspiracy. 

  • May 14, 2024

    The PREP Immunity Question Won't Be Decided Yet

    The Federal Circuit opted Tuesday not to say whether a 2005 public health law provides any legal immunity in a patent dispute between rival manufacturers of COVID-19 test swabs, leaving the thorny question unanswered.

  • May 13, 2024

    Oil Co. Ends EEOC Disability Bias Suit Over Opioid Meds

    An oilfield equipment supplier will pay $35,000 to end a suit in Texas federal court by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing it of yanking a job offer from a welder because of his opioid use disorder medication, the EEOC said.

  • May 10, 2024

    Lab Exec Sentenced For Deadly Fungal Meningitis Outbreak

    The founder of a Massachusetts drug compounding center was sentenced in Michigan to 10 to 15 years in prison for his role in a fungal meningitis outbreak after he agreed to a plea deal with state prosecutors earlier this year.

  • May 10, 2024

    Black Doctor Must Arbitrate Bias Claims Against Hospice Co.

    A Black doctor must arbitrate her claims that she was mistreated by non-Black colleagues at a home healthcare company and fired after raising concerns that it was sidestepping Medicare billing regulations, a California federal judge ruled, finding an arbitration agreement she signed is legitimate.

  • May 10, 2024

    Acelyrin Promotes Atty To CLO, As Legal Chief Becomes CEO

    Acelyrin said Thursday it named its legal chief — who is a seasoned attorney and leader in the biotechnology space — as its next CEO, as the founder and current top executive stepped down from her position at the biopharmaceutical company.

  • May 10, 2024

    3 Cases Poised To Apply High Court's Arbitration Ruling

    Cases that were in the judicial pipeline when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling on what workers qualify for a carveout from federal arbitration law are poised to be among the first that apply its holding. Here, Law360 discusses three cases that were frozen in anticipation of the high court's decision.

  • May 10, 2024

    Pharvaris CLO Set To Step Down In June, CFO Will Fill In

    The top lawyer for Swiss life sciences company Pharvaris will step down June 1 after two years in the role, with the company's chief financial officer set to take over her duties on an interim basis while the search begins for her replacement.

  • May 09, 2024

    Wash. Justices Say HR Managers Can Accept Service For Co.

    The Washington State Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a human resources manager is classified under state law as someone who can receive service on a company's behalf, siding with a personal injury plaintiff in a lawsuit against an Evergreen State nursing home.

  • May 09, 2024

    Doc Can't Escape Second Prednisone Overprescribing Suit

    A Pennsylvania federal judge won't strike claims for punitive damages and references to "outrageous" conduct from a complaint alleging that a doctor wrongly overprescribed medications including prednisone, saying the complaint plausibly alleged that he knowingly had a patient on a medication plan that harmed her.

  • May 09, 2024

    Ex-Official Says NJ, Ethics Board Are 'Stonewalling' Discovery

    A former New Jersey health official has asked a state judge to order the state and its ethics commission to provide full discovery around his claims that he was fired in 2020 for raising concerns about the governor's chief of staff earmarking COVID-19 tests for relatives, accusing the Garden State of "stonewalling" his requests for documents and communications.

  • May 09, 2024

    6th Circ. Panel Skeptical Of NLRB Hazard Pay Ruling

    A Sixth Circuit panel questioned on Thursday a National Labor Relations Board decision finding a Michigan nursing home violated federal labor law with its handling of temporary hazard pay and staffing during the COVID-19 pandemic, with judges appearing skeptical the company had to bargain over the changes.

  • May 09, 2024

    Philly Doctor Loses Bid To Restore $15M Bias Award

    A Philadelphia federal judge on Thursday denied a former Thomas Jefferson University Hospital surgeon's request to reinstate a $15 million jury verdict against his onetime employer, reasoning that the judge would have reached the same conclusion as a previous judge who vacated the award before recusing himself from a new trial.

  • May 08, 2024

    Duke Doctor Partially Resuscitates NC Firing Suit

    The North Carolina state appeals court has partially revived a fired Duke University hospital resident's lawsuit alleging that health care system officials terminated him because of his depression after an inadequate firing-review process that violated an employment contract.

  • May 07, 2024

    GOP Reps. Want IP Enforcers To Get Tougher On Infringers

    Republican lawmakers complained at a Tuesday congressional hearing about the Biden administration's move to end the controversial Trump-era "China Initiative" aimed at curbing suspected economic espionage and questioned administration officials over how diligently they have pursued intellectual property cases on behalf of U.S. manufacturers, retailers, movie studios and vape companies.

  • May 07, 2024

    US News' Suit Over SF Ranking Probe Premature, Judge Says

    A California federal judge on Tuesday tossed without prejudice U.S. News & World Report's lawsuit challenging the San Francisco City Attorney's subpoenas seeking information about its methodology for ranking hospitals, saying the suit jumps the gun because U.S. News is not bringing a valid pre-enforcement claim.

  • May 07, 2024

    Pharma Co. Falsely Touted Obesity Drug Results, Suit Claims

    Biopharmaceutical company Altimmune Inc. and three of its executives were hit with a proposed class action alleging they overstated the clinical trial results and prospects of its obesity drug and its ability to compete with other weight loss medications like Ozempic.

  • May 07, 2024

    Pear Therapeutics Ch. 11 Liquidation Plan Confirmed

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge said at a hearing Tuesday that he would confirm the Chapter 11 liquidation plan for software-based medicine venture Pear Therapeutics after it sold most of its assets and reached a settlement with former employees.

  • May 07, 2024

    Hospital Says Appellate Court Flubbed $1.9M Payout Review

    A Connecticut hospital has asked the state's appellate court to hold a full court rehearing on its refusal to pause a $1.9 million prejudgment remedy the hospital was ordered to pay to a group of anesthesiologists pursuing billing claims against it, arguing the decision causes irreparable harm.

  • May 07, 2024

    Swiss Co. Says $8M Equatorial Guinea Award Is Valid

    A Swiss clinic operator ousted from a hospital contract in Equatorial Guinea has asked the D.C. Circuit to affirm the enforcement of an $8 million arbitral award against the country, rebutting its argument that the company was required to litigate in the local courts first.

Expert Analysis

  • Cell Therapy Cos. Must Beware Limits Of Patent Safe Harbors

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    Though developers of gene and cell therapy products commonly assume that a legal safe harbor protects them from patent infringement suits, recent case law shows that not all preapproval uses of patented technology are necessarily protected, say Natasha Daughtrey and Joshua Weinger at Goodwin.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data

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    Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Tylenol MDL Highlights Expert Admissibility Headaches

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    A New York federal court's decision to exclude all plaintiff experts in a multidistrict litigation concerning prenatal exposure to Tylenol highlights a number of expert testimony pitfalls that parties should avoid in product liability and mass tort matters, say Rand Brothers and Courtney Block at Winston & Strawn.

  • Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert

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    As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic

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    Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals

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    Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.

  • Breaking Down EEOC's Final Rule To Implement The PWFA

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    Attorneys at Littler highlight some of the key provisions of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's final rule and interpretive guidance implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which is expected to be effective June 18, and departures from the proposed rule issued in August 2023.

  • 4 Ways To Refresh Your Law Firm's Marketing Strategy

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    With many BigLaw firms relying on an increasingly obsolete marketing approach that prioritizes stiff professionalism over authentic connection, adopting a few key communications strategies to better connect with today's clients and prospects can make all the difference, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law.

  • This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener

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    As Earth Day approaches, law firms and attorneys should consider adopting more sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint — from minimizing single-use plastics to purchasing carbon offsets for air travel — which ultimately can also reduce costs for clients, say M’Lynn Phillips and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.

  • The Shifting Landscape Of Physician Disciplinary Proceedings

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    Though hospitals have historically been able to terminate doctors' medical staff privileges without fear of court interference, recent case law has demonstrated that the tides are turning, especially when there is evidence of unlawful motivations, say Dylan Newton and Michael Horn at Archer & Greiner.

  • How DEI Programs Are Being Challenged In Court And Beyond

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    In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's affirmative action decision last year declaring the consideration of race in university admissions unconstitutional, employers should keep abreast of recent litigation challenging diversity, equity and inclusion training programs, as well as legislation both supporting and opposing DEI initiatives in the workplace, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease

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    This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.

  • For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill

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    A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.