Health

  • June 28, 2024

    3 Biggest Benefits Policy Developments From 2024's 1st Half

    The U.S. Department of Labor and other agencies finalized significant changes to regulations affecting employee benefits in the first half of 2024. Here are three policy moves that benefits attorneys should have on their radar.

  • June 28, 2024

    Judge Finalizes $4M Deal In Eye Doc Ransomware Dispute

    A North Carolina federal judge has signed off on a $4 million deal to resolve two class actions over an electronic patient recordkeeping and billing company allegedly failing to give truthful, timely notice to ophthalmology practices and their patients about ransomware attacks that damaged its software for months.

  • June 28, 2024

    Mich. EMTs Did Not Prove Immunity Over False Death Declaration

    A Michigan Court of Appeals panel says first responders who declared a 20-year-old woman with cerebral palsy dead only for a funeral home embalmer to discover she was still breathing after having been placed in a body bag have not yet proven they are immune from liability, restoring a dismissed lawsuit.

  • June 28, 2024

    5th Circ. Tosses Texas Health System's COVID-19 Suit

    The largest nonprofit health system in Texas cannot get coverage for COVID-19-related business interruption losses it said totaled over $192 million, the Fifth Circuit affirmed, highlighting previous circuit precedent establishing that COVID-19 does not cause "physical loss or damage."

  • June 28, 2024

    Litigation Pro Joins Bradley Arant From Houston Boutique

    Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has strengthened its litigation practice in Texas with a partner who came aboard from Houston corporate law firm BoyarMiller.

  • June 28, 2024

    Iowa Supreme Court Approves 6-Week Abortion Ban

    The Iowa Supreme Court narrowly ruled Friday that the state can enforce a law restricting abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, finding the state has a "legitimate interest in protecting unborn life," according to the majority opinion.

  • June 28, 2024

    Supreme Court Strikes Down Chevron Deference

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned a decades-old precedent that instructed judges about when they could defer to federal agencies' interpretations of law in rulemaking, depriving courts of a commonly used analytic tool and leaving lots of questions about what comes next.

  • June 27, 2024

    Biden, Trump Spar On Abortion Access In The Wake Of Dobbs

    The U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs decision upending Americans' access to abortion care made an early appearance at Thursday night's presidential debate, with President Joe Biden lamenting the end of Roe v. Wade and former President Donald Trump taking credit for handing the issue of abortion rights "back to the states."

  • June 27, 2024

    OptumRx Agrees To Pay $20M To Resolve DOJ Opioid Claims

    OptumRx Inc. has reached a $20 million deal with the U.S. Department of Justice to end allegations the company improperly filled opioid prescriptions in combination with other drugs, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

  • June 27, 2024

    State AGs Want Stay Lifted In Generic Drug Pricing Suit

    The attorneys general of New York and Connecticut have asked a federal judge to lift a partial discovery stay in three state-led generic drug pricing lawsuits against the pharmaceutical industry, saying it is no longer necessary because sentencing is complete in a parallel U.S. Department of Justice proceeding.

  • June 27, 2024

    Judge Blasts Prisons Bureau, Sends Exec To Halfway House

    An Illinois federal judge said Thursday he felt he needed to protect Outcome Health's co-founder from the Bureau of Prisons' "ridiculous" policy barring her from a low security camp just because she isn't a citizen, sentencing her to time served and three years' supervision in a Chicago halfway house instead. 

  • June 27, 2024

    Insurers Call Rite Aid Ch. 11 Opioid Deal Unfair

    Counsel for bankrupt drugstore chain Rite Aid told a New Jersey bankruptcy judge Thursday that it hopes to reach an agreement with at least some of its insurers on payments into an opioid settlement fund before closing arguments in its Chapter 11 plan confirmation Friday.

  • June 27, 2024

    Texas DAs Escape Defendant Class Cert. In Abortion Case

    A Texas federal judge on Wednesday rejected a bid to force state prosecutors to become a certified class of defendants in a suit aimed to curb retaliation against advocates who help women get an abortion outside the state, saying there was no risk of varying adjudications.

  • June 27, 2024

    Ga. Judge Says NBC Falsely Reported Mass Hysterectomies

    A Georgia federal judge has ruled several news programs under the NBCUniversal umbrella incorrectly portrayed a doctor as having performed unwanted mass hysterectomies on immigrant women held at a private detention center.

  • June 27, 2024

    ACLU Says Mich. Can't Ban Medicaid Coverage Of Abortions

    The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday lodged a suit challenging a Michigan law barring Medicaid coverage of abortions, claiming that the ban is a violation of the state constitution's newly enacted right to reproductive freedom.

  • June 27, 2024

    11th Circ. Upholds Radiology Practice's FMLA Suit Win

    The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday backed a Florida radiology practice's defeat of a doctor's lawsuit alleging he was fired because he requested medical leave, ruling a lower court didn't err when it blocked him from presenting evidence he hadn't previously disclosed.

  • June 27, 2024

    Hospitals' Charity Care Does Not Equal Taking, NJ Panel Rules

    A New Jersey appellate panel Thursday rejected a group of Garden State hospitals' challenge to a lower court's finding that a state requirement to treat patients regardless of the patient's ability to pay does not amount to constitutional taking, ruling that they failed to show evidence of physical taking of hospital property.

  • June 27, 2024

    6th Circ. Dismisses Doctors' ACA Trans Healthcare Appeal

    The Sixth Circuit dismissed on Thursday an appeal from a group of doctors attempting to block the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from enforcing prohibitions on gender-identity discrimination under the Affordable Care Act, finding subsequent agency action overruled the doctors' claims.

  • June 27, 2024

    Calif. Justices Say Patient's Choice A Factor In Product Cases

    The California Supreme Court has sided with a woman alleging that a shock therapy device made by Somatics LLC caused her permanent injuries, saying she can establish that her injuries were caused by a lack of warning as long as she shows that a prudent patient would have declined treatment upon hearing a warning. 

  • June 27, 2024

    Fla. Gov. Vetoes Bill Giving Immunity On Data Breach Claims

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday vetoed a bill that would have provided immunity from data breach lawsuits for businesses that complied with certain cybersecurity standards, citing concerns that the legislation could result in Floridians' data being less secure.

  • June 27, 2024

    4th Circ. Won't Revive Navy Hospital Gangrene Suit

    The Fourth Circuit declined to revive a North Carolina woman's lawsuit over a U.S. Navy hospital allegedly misdiagnosing her kidney failure and causing her to contract gangrene and require multiple amputations, standing by a lower court's ruling that her suit was filed too late under a state-level statute.

  • June 27, 2024

    High Court Allows Idaho Emergency Abortions, For Now

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday allowed abortions in Idaho to continue in emergency situations under a federal law requiring doctors at Medicare-funded hospitals to provide emergency care, including abortions.

  • June 26, 2024

    Ex-Outcome CEO Gets 7½ Years For Fraud Conviction

    Former Outcome Health CEO Rishi Shah was sentenced to 7½ years in prison Wednesday for engaging in a massive fraud through which he grew the health advertising company by lying to investors, lenders and customers about its value and capabilities.

  • June 26, 2024

    Moms For America Sues Biden Admin Over Vax Liability Law

    Conservative nonprofit Moms for America has sued the Biden administration over a law that shields companies from COVID-19 vaccine injury lawsuits, saying the law is unconstitutional because it circumvents judicial review and violates fundamental rights, including due process and trial by jury.

  • June 26, 2024

    Justices Chide 5th Circ. In Biden Social Media Case

    The Fifth Circuit relied on "clearly erroneous" facts and an overgeneralized view of standing when it ordered the Biden administration to stop working with social media platforms to combat COVID-19 and election misinformation, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday as it threw out a challenge to the government's actions.

Expert Analysis

  • What CRA Deadline Means For Biden Admin. Rulemaking

    Author Photo

    With the 2024 election rapidly approaching, the Biden administration must race to finalize proposed agency actions within the next few weeks, or be exposed to the chance that the following Congress will overturn the rules under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Are Concessions In FDA's Lab-Developed Tests Rule Enough?

    Author Photo

    Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's new policy for laboratory-developed tests included major strategic concessions to help balance patient safety, access and diagnostic innovation, the new rule may well face significant legal challenges in court, say Dominick DiSabatino and Audrey Mercer at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 8 Questions To Ask Before Final CISA Breach Reporting Rule

    Author Photo

    The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s recently proposed cyber incident reporting requirements for critical infrastructure entities represent the overall approach CISA will take in its final rule, so companies should be asking key compliance questions now and preparing for a more complicated reporting regime, say Arianna Evers and Shannon Mercer at WilmerHale.

  • Series

    Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.

  • Mid-2024 FCA Enforcement And Litigation Trends To Watch

    Author Photo

    Reviewing notable False Claims Act trends and enforcement efforts in the last year and a half reveals that healthcare is a key enforcement priority for the U.S. Department of Justice, and the road ahead may bring clarification on Anti-Kickback Statute causation and willfulness standards, along with increased focus on private equity, cybersecurity and self-disclosure, say attorneys at Epstein Becker.

  • A Recipe For Growth Equity Investing In A Slow M&A Market

    Author Photo

    Carl Marcellino at Ropes & Gray discusses the factors bolstering appetite for growth equity fundraising in a depressed M&A market, and walks through the deal terms and other ingredients that set growth equity transactions apart from bread-and-butter venture capital investing.

  • What 100 Federal Cases Suggest About Changes To Chevron

    Author Photo

    With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn or narrow its 40-year-old doctrine of Chevron deference, a review of 100 recent federal district court decisions confirm that changes to the Chevron framework will have broad ramifications — but the magnitude of the impact will depend on the details of the high court's ruling, say Kali Schellenberg and Jon Cochran at LeVan Stapleton.

  • Notable Q1 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

    Author Photo

    Mark Johnson and Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler discuss notable insurance class action decisions from the first quarter of the year ranging from salvage vehicle titling to rate discrimination based on premium-setting software.

  • New Federal Bill Would Drastically Alter Privacy Landscape

    Author Photo

    While the recently introduced American Privacy Rights Act would eliminate the burdensome patchwork of state regulations, the proposed federal privacy law would also significantly expand compliance obligations and liability exposure for companies, especially those that rely on artificial intelligence or biometric technologies, says David Oberly at Baker Donelson.

  • The Fed. Circ. In April: Hurdles Remain For Generics

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit’s recent Salix v. Norwich ruling — where Salix's brand-name drug's patents were invalidated — is a reminder to patent practitioners that invalidating a competitor's patents may not guarantee abbreviated new drug application approval, say Sean Murray and Jeremiah Helm at Knobbe Martens.

  • Tylenol MDL Highlights Expert Admissibility Headaches

    Author Photo

    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.

  • PE-Healthcare Mergers Should Prepare For Challenges

    Author Photo

    State and federal regulators are increasingly imposing new requirements on healthcare transactions involving private equity partners, with mergers that would have drawn little scrutiny a few years ago now requiring a multijurisdictional risk analysis during the deal formation process, say attorneys at Stinson.

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

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Online Portal Helps Fortify Feds' Unfair Health Practices Fight

    Author Photo

    The Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently launched an online portal where the public can report potentially unfair healthcare practices, effectively maximizing enforcers' abilities to police anti-competitive actions that can drive up healthcare costs and chill innovation, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Series

    Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Health archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!