Health Care
Sixth Circuit: Under Contract Law, Whirlpool Not Obligated to Provide Lifetime Retiree Healthcare Benefits
Insight
The court found that the CBAs covering the retirees lacked clear, affirmative language that Whirlpool had an obligation to fund their health benefits after the expiration of the agreements’ general durational clause.
Lawsuit: Trump Family-Planning Rule ‘Politicizes’ Medicine
News
The new Department of Health and Human Services rule would prohibit family planning clinics funded by the federal Title X program from making abortion referrals.
Michael Best Adds Litigator Victoria Lovato to Denver Office
News
Michael Best announced that Victoria Lovato has joined the firm’s Litigation Practice Group as senior counsel in Denver.
Roberts Again Sides With Liberal Supreme Court Justices in Disagreeing With Lower Court Interpretations
News
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has sided with liberal Supreme Court justices in cases involving the death penalty and abortion access, reports The Washington Post.
Opioid Epidemic Lawsuits Take Strategy from Epic Big Tobacco Litigation
Insight
Trial lawyers are demanding that manufacturers and companies along the prescription drug supply chain pay sweeping economic penalties for damages caused by opioid drugs.
Bionpharma Fails to Get Rival’s GC Disqualified in Supply Spat
News
Bloomberg Law reports that Generic drug distributor P&L Development LLC’s general counsel and an outside firm may continue to represent P&L in its breach-of-contract and fraud suit against Bionpharma Inc., a federal court in North Carolina ruled.
Biglaw Associate With ALS is in Race Against Time to Find a Cure
News
After his diagnosis, Brian Wallach returned to Skadden Arps, the firm where he started his career, and he was welcomed back by the firm with open arms.
Opioid Overdoses Overtake Car Accidents on List of Preventable Deaths
News
The National Safety Council’s recently released report on preventable injury and fatality statistics, reveals that accidental opioid overdoses have overtaken car accidents as a leading cause of deaths among Americans.
Bradley Adds Veteran Healthcare Lawyers to Dallas Office
News
Healthcare lawyers Wendi Campbell Rogaliner and Scott Schardt have joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP’s newly opened Dallas office.
Why Johnson & Johnson May Not Have to Pay Its $4.7 Billion Court Verdict
News
While a $4.7 billion jury verdict against Johnson & Johnson in July was eye-popping, J&J may pay far less, or nothing, reports Bloomberg. No verdict of that size has survived appeal.
FisherBroyles Adds Health & Pharmacy Law Partner Janna King in Houston
News
Janna King has joined FisherBroyles, LLP as a partner in the firm’s Houston office and Health & Pharmacy Law practice group.
Jordan, Lynch & Cancienne Wins Take-Nothing Decisions in Texas, Louisiana
News
Trial lawyers with Jordan, Lynch & Cancienne PLLC scored big defense wins recently for two separate clients, securing a quick summary judgment for The Dow Chemical Company in Texas and prevailing in a jury trial for Union Carbide Corporation in New Orleans.
Judge Who Tossed Obamacare Has Had More Than His Share of Contentious, High-Profile Cases
News
Judge Reed O’Connor has become a go-to judge for Republicans over certain heated national social issues such as health care and transgender rights, reports The Dallas Morning News.
Contract Review Tips for Long-Term Care Facilities
Insight
A long-term care facility can execute contracts with many different vendors including food product and service vendors, laundry and linen providers, IT companies, and others, points out a post from Poyner Spruill.
Oklahoma Jury Hits Health Insurer Aetna with $25.5 Million Verdict
News
The Oklahoman reports that jurors wanted to send a message to health insurer Aetna after hearing how the company’s overworked doctors denied an Oklahoma cancer patient’s claim for coverage for proton beam therapy.
Hospital System Fires General Counsel Amid Alleged Compliance Violations
News
The Broward Health board fired its general counsel Lynn Barrett as the taxpayer-supported health system continues to struggle after a series of state and federal investigations related to alleged overspending, kickbacks and open-government law violations, reports Modern Healthcare.
Lawsuit Claims El Paso Doctor, Lawyer Conspired to Violate State Law
News
An El Paso neurosurgeon is the subject of a lawsuit filed last week, accused of unlawfully conspiring with a local attorney to solicit legal representation for a dying truck wreck victim, according to a release from Androvett Legal Media & Marketing.
Feds Settle Huge Whistleblower Suit Over Medicare Advantage Fraud
News
MedCity News reports that one of the nation’s largest dialysis providers will pay $270 million to settle a whistleblower’s allegation that it helped Medicare Advantage insurance plans cheat the government for several years.
‘Evasive Discovery Tactics’ Cost Lead Plaintiff Against Sanofi
News
Bloomberg Law reports that a plaintiff in a bellwether products liability case involving the chemotherapy drug Taxotere was sanctioned for withholding information about her medical history.
Health Care Fraud: How a Strike Force is Selected for a City
News
According to the Department of Justice, a Medicare Fraud Strike Force consists of a partnership between the DOJ and Department of Health and Human Services to prevent fraud and enforce anti-fraud laws.
