The following hospital lawsuits were reported in the past month, beginning with the most recent.
1. Lawsuit alleges NYC hospital charges double legal amount for medical records
A lawsuit filed Feb. 24 alleges NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center in New York City charges patients twice as much as New York law allows for medical records.
2. Bermuda's ex-premier denies taking bribes from Lahey
Bermuda's attorney general filed a lawsuit against Boston-based Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in February accusing the hospital group of bribing the island's former premier Ewart F. Brown, MD, in exchange for preferential treatment in winning government healthcare contracts. In an interview with The Boston Globe, Dr. Brown defended his 20-year relationship with Lahey, claiming the lawsuit is racially and politically motivated.
3. Co-founder of Forest Park Medical Center pleads guilty in kickback case
Richard Toussaint, MD, co-founder of physician-owned Forest Park Medical Center in Dallas, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks and one count of commercial bribery.
4. Laundry provider responds in UPMC mold case: 9 things to know
After an internal report commissioned by Pittsburgh-based UPMC pointed to its outsourced laundry provider as the possible cause of a deadly mold outbreak that temporarily shut down UPMC's transplant program in 2015, the laundry provider has been roped into at least three lawsuits.
5. Man sues St. Joseph's Healthcare System for refusing to perform gender transition surgery
A transgender man filed a lawsuit against Paterson, N.J.-based St. Joseph's Healthcare System for refusing to perform a hysterectomy as part of the man's gender transition process.
6. Texas psychiatric hospital pays $860k to settle false claims case
University Behavioral Health of El Paso (Texas) entered into an $860,000 civil settlement with the Department of Justice to resolve allegations the psychiatric hospital violated the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law.
7. Bankrupt Louisiana hospital faces lawsuit over layoff notification
A former employee of Louisiana Heart Hospital in Lacombe filed a lawsuit alleging the hospital violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act when it laid off employees without proper notice.
8. Nurse files $6.5M retaliation suit against HCA, Florida hospital
A nurse filed a $6.5 million retaliation lawsuit against St. Petersburg (Fla.) General Hospital and its parent company Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corporation of America. Although hospital officials told the nurse she was fired due to a positive drug test after being injured while at work, the nurse claims she was let go in retaliation for filing a discrimination complaint against the hospital with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
9. Physician alleges Sharp Grossmont forced his resignation after patient safety complaints
Patrick Sullivan, MD, a one-time chief of anesthesiology at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa, Calif., filed a complaint against the hospital alleging administrators forced his resignation after he raised concerns regarding safety issues.
10. HCA inks $188M settlement in breach of contract case
Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corporation of America entered into a $188 million settlement with the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City to resolve breach of contract allegations.
More articles on legal and regulatory issues:
Drug treatment center CEO arrested on 93 counts of patient brokering
Owner of medical supply company gets 27 years for fraud
Lawsuit claims DaVita steered patients to commercial plans to boost profits