Here are 10 lawsuits or settlements involving hospitals from the past month, beginning with the most recent.
1. Financially Troubled Rhode Island Hospital Sues BCBS For Underpayments
Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket, R.I., is suing Blue Cross Blue & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, claiming the payor contributed to the hospital's financial problems through underpayments. The suit asks the court to order BCBS to negotiate reasonable rates, pay Landmark an unspecified amount for past underpayments and compel the insurer to reduce administrative expenses. BCBS has denied their involvement in the hospital's financial problems, saying Landmark is fairly compensated.
2. Tenet Settles Suit Over Patient Deaths At New Orleans Hospital After Katrina
Tenet Healthcare has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit regarding the deaths of patients who were stranded at one of the company's New Orleans hospitals in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. At least 34 patients died at Memorial Medical Center in Aug. 2005 when the hospital was without power, and families of patients who died claim the hospital was not prepared to care for patients and did not have an emergency plan. Both parties are keeping terms of the settlement confidential. Tenet has settled 11 other cases over Katrina, but this was the first suit to go to trial.
3. California Hospital Pays $125K to Settle Patient Dumping Allegations
Centinela Freeman Holdings, the owner of Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center in Inglewood, Calif., has agreed to pay $125,000 to settle allegations that it dumped a woman with chronic lung problems at a Los Angeles homeless shelter. The suit, filed by the Los Angeles city attorney, stems from a 2007 incident when the hospital discharged a woman with chronic lung problems at a temporary winter shelter without following required discharge procedures. The hospital corporation did not admit any wrongdoing.
4. California's John Muir Health Settles Latex-Allergy Discrimination Suit for $340K
Walnut Creek, Calif.-based John Muir Health has agreed to pay $340,000 to eight healthcare workers to settle allegations that the system withdrew job offers to individuals with latex allergies. The federal disability discrimination lawsuit was filed by the EEOC after John Muir allegedly withdrew job offers based on pre-employment health screenings and the assumption that eight workers had "life-threatening allergies and could not safely work in a hospital setting," Subsequently, some of the workers were independently evaluated by allergists who concluded they could work safely in a hospital.
5. Court Upholds Smoking Ban at Pennsylvania's ACMH Hospital
A federal appeals panel upheld a smoking ban at 139-bed ACMH Hospital in Kittanning, Pa., disagreeing with an arbitrator's decision striking down the ban. United Steelworkers Local 158-06, representing clerks, nurse aides and other nonprofessional workers at the hospital, filed a grievance after the ban was implemented on Jan. 1, 2009. The arbitrator ruled the ban was unreasonable because employees were accustomed to a designated smoking area. But in May, U.S. District Judge Terrence McVerry overturned the arbitrator's decision and the appeals panel agreed with the judge. The panel ruled that the arbitrator was improperly trying to create a new right for employees by concluding that their expectation of a designated smoking area constituted a protected right.
6. North Carolina's Haywood Regional Medical Center Pays Former CEO $150,000, Settles Lawsuit
Clyde, N.C.'s Haywood Regional Medical Center will pay former CEO David Rice $150,000 in an out-of-court settlement. Mr. Rice publicly resigned in 2008 after HRMC lost its Medicare and Medicaid status. Mr. Rice filed a lawsuit in 2010 claiming he was fired without cause and cheated out of promised payment. He alleges the hospital board verbally agreed to pay his salary of $199,000 and benefits through 2009 if he would say he resigned. The hospital had filed a countersuit claiming they did not fire Mr. Rice but would have had sufficient cause to do so. According to the report, the hospital settled to end the long-lasting conflict and to avoid continuing to pay attorneys.
7. Recipients of Allegedly Unnecessary Stents Sue Pennsylvania Hospital
Two recipients of allegedly medically unnecessary stents filed a class-action lawsuit against Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg, Penn. The lawsuit claims the hospital and two cardiologists — Ehab F. Morcos, MD and George M. Bousamra, MD — performed stent placements for the hospital's financial gain. It also alleges Westmoreland administrators failed in oversight of the physicians. Both cardiologists voluntarily resigned from the hospital in January. The suit follows a review by a team of cardiologists, who said Dr. Morcos and Dr. Bousamra had implanted stents in more than 141 patients who may not have needed them.
8. Nurse Claims San Antonio Hospital Fired Her For Reporting "Abortion" to Archdiocese
A nurse from San Antonio-based Christus Santa Rosa Health System has filed a lawsuit against the Catholic system, claiming it knowingly allowed an abortion to be performed in 2009 and later fired her out of retaliation after she reported it to the Archdiocese of San Antonio. CSRHS said the nurse was mistaken about the medical procedure, which did not violate Catholic teachings, and that her firing was not out of retaliation, but for violating patient privacy laws by revealing medical records to archdiocesan officials.
9. New York's Upstate University Hospital Asks Court to Dismiss Neurosurgeon's Lawsuit
Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y., is asking a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a neurosurgeon who alleges that the hospital retaliated against him for speaking out against its alleged dangerous medical practices and fraud. The New York Attorney General's Office, which represents the hospital since it is part of the State University of New York, filed a motion for dismissal this week. The motion says the hospital was never served with the complaint, the suit exceeds the statute of limitations and does not contain facts to support Dr. Holsapple's allegations.
10. LSU Medical Center Settles Retaliation Allegations After Firing Whistleblowers
LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, La., has settled a lawsuit brought forward by a nurse and orthopedic surgeon who blew the whistle on the medical center and claimed they were fired in retaliation. William Overdyke, MD, an orthopedic surgeon, and Susan Hodnett, RN, were fired from LSUHSC after they filed a lawsuit alleging some medical school faculty billed Medicare for procedures they did not perform. As part of the settlement, LSU has agreed to pay $120,000 in damages to Dr. Overdyke and $80,000 to Ms. Hodnett — along with the $700,000 it has already paid the U.S. government for the original false claims suit.
1. Financially Troubled Rhode Island Hospital Sues BCBS For Underpayments
Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket, R.I., is suing Blue Cross Blue & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, claiming the payor contributed to the hospital's financial problems through underpayments. The suit asks the court to order BCBS to negotiate reasonable rates, pay Landmark an unspecified amount for past underpayments and compel the insurer to reduce administrative expenses. BCBS has denied their involvement in the hospital's financial problems, saying Landmark is fairly compensated.
2. Tenet Settles Suit Over Patient Deaths At New Orleans Hospital After Katrina
Tenet Healthcare has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit regarding the deaths of patients who were stranded at one of the company's New Orleans hospitals in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. At least 34 patients died at Memorial Medical Center in Aug. 2005 when the hospital was without power, and families of patients who died claim the hospital was not prepared to care for patients and did not have an emergency plan. Both parties are keeping terms of the settlement confidential. Tenet has settled 11 other cases over Katrina, but this was the first suit to go to trial.
3. California Hospital Pays $125K to Settle Patient Dumping Allegations
Centinela Freeman Holdings, the owner of Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center in Inglewood, Calif., has agreed to pay $125,000 to settle allegations that it dumped a woman with chronic lung problems at a Los Angeles homeless shelter. The suit, filed by the Los Angeles city attorney, stems from a 2007 incident when the hospital discharged a woman with chronic lung problems at a temporary winter shelter without following required discharge procedures. The hospital corporation did not admit any wrongdoing.
4. California's John Muir Health Settles Latex-Allergy Discrimination Suit for $340K
Walnut Creek, Calif.-based John Muir Health has agreed to pay $340,000 to eight healthcare workers to settle allegations that the system withdrew job offers to individuals with latex allergies. The federal disability discrimination lawsuit was filed by the EEOC after John Muir allegedly withdrew job offers based on pre-employment health screenings and the assumption that eight workers had "life-threatening allergies and could not safely work in a hospital setting," Subsequently, some of the workers were independently evaluated by allergists who concluded they could work safely in a hospital.
5. Court Upholds Smoking Ban at Pennsylvania's ACMH Hospital
A federal appeals panel upheld a smoking ban at 139-bed ACMH Hospital in Kittanning, Pa., disagreeing with an arbitrator's decision striking down the ban. United Steelworkers Local 158-06, representing clerks, nurse aides and other nonprofessional workers at the hospital, filed a grievance after the ban was implemented on Jan. 1, 2009. The arbitrator ruled the ban was unreasonable because employees were accustomed to a designated smoking area. But in May, U.S. District Judge Terrence McVerry overturned the arbitrator's decision and the appeals panel agreed with the judge. The panel ruled that the arbitrator was improperly trying to create a new right for employees by concluding that their expectation of a designated smoking area constituted a protected right.
6. North Carolina's Haywood Regional Medical Center Pays Former CEO $150,000, Settles Lawsuit
Clyde, N.C.'s Haywood Regional Medical Center will pay former CEO David Rice $150,000 in an out-of-court settlement. Mr. Rice publicly resigned in 2008 after HRMC lost its Medicare and Medicaid status. Mr. Rice filed a lawsuit in 2010 claiming he was fired without cause and cheated out of promised payment. He alleges the hospital board verbally agreed to pay his salary of $199,000 and benefits through 2009 if he would say he resigned. The hospital had filed a countersuit claiming they did not fire Mr. Rice but would have had sufficient cause to do so. According to the report, the hospital settled to end the long-lasting conflict and to avoid continuing to pay attorneys.
7. Recipients of Allegedly Unnecessary Stents Sue Pennsylvania Hospital
Two recipients of allegedly medically unnecessary stents filed a class-action lawsuit against Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg, Penn. The lawsuit claims the hospital and two cardiologists — Ehab F. Morcos, MD and George M. Bousamra, MD — performed stent placements for the hospital's financial gain. It also alleges Westmoreland administrators failed in oversight of the physicians. Both cardiologists voluntarily resigned from the hospital in January. The suit follows a review by a team of cardiologists, who said Dr. Morcos and Dr. Bousamra had implanted stents in more than 141 patients who may not have needed them.
8. Nurse Claims San Antonio Hospital Fired Her For Reporting "Abortion" to Archdiocese
A nurse from San Antonio-based Christus Santa Rosa Health System has filed a lawsuit against the Catholic system, claiming it knowingly allowed an abortion to be performed in 2009 and later fired her out of retaliation after she reported it to the Archdiocese of San Antonio. CSRHS said the nurse was mistaken about the medical procedure, which did not violate Catholic teachings, and that her firing was not out of retaliation, but for violating patient privacy laws by revealing medical records to archdiocesan officials.
9. New York's Upstate University Hospital Asks Court to Dismiss Neurosurgeon's Lawsuit
Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y., is asking a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a neurosurgeon who alleges that the hospital retaliated against him for speaking out against its alleged dangerous medical practices and fraud. The New York Attorney General's Office, which represents the hospital since it is part of the State University of New York, filed a motion for dismissal this week. The motion says the hospital was never served with the complaint, the suit exceeds the statute of limitations and does not contain facts to support Dr. Holsapple's allegations.
10. LSU Medical Center Settles Retaliation Allegations After Firing Whistleblowers
LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, La., has settled a lawsuit brought forward by a nurse and orthopedic surgeon who blew the whistle on the medical center and claimed they were fired in retaliation. William Overdyke, MD, an orthopedic surgeon, and Susan Hodnett, RN, were fired from LSUHSC after they filed a lawsuit alleging some medical school faculty billed Medicare for procedures they did not perform. As part of the settlement, LSU has agreed to pay $120,000 in damages to Dr. Overdyke and $80,000 to Ms. Hodnett — along with the $700,000 it has already paid the U.S. government for the original false claims suit.