From a Tennessee hospital settling a false claims case to a Florida physician accused of bilking $26 million from insurers, here are the latest healthcare industry lawsuits and settlements making headlines.
1. Black hospital employees told to 'get over' racist remarks, lawsuit claims
A former patient technician is suing St. Luke's Health System, accusing the Kansas City, Mo.-based system of racial discrimination and retaliation.
2. Hospital worker fired for refusing flu shot not victim of religious bias, court rules
A U.S. appeals court ruled that an employee who was fired from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for not getting the flu vaccine was not discriminated against due to her religion.
3. Florida physician allegedly bilked $26M from insurers to fund political ambition
Federal prosecutors claim a Florida physician who had ambitions to become the president of Ghana took $26 million from Medicare, Medicaid and other insurers for phony services.
4. Seattle Children's sues to block release of health records; top official resigns
Seattle Children's Hospital filed a lawsuit to block the release of health department records regarding mold at its facility.
5. Tennessee hospital to pay $4.1M to resolve false claims allegations
Cookeville (Tenn.) Regional Medical Center agreed to pay $4.1 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act, Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute.
6. Connecticut hospital sued, blamed for not preventing suicide after patient threatened it
The family of a patient who died by suicide at Waterbury (Conn.) Hospital is suing, alleging that the hospital failed to provide proper supervision after the patient told a hospital social worker that he wanted to kill himself.
7. Former Blue Shield exec sues California, claiming failure to protect nonprofit assets
The former director of Blue Shield of California filed a lawsuit against the state claiming that regulators are being too lax when it comes to guarding charitable assets.
8. 3M drops lawsuit against IBM Watson Health
3M filed a notice on Feb. 18 to voluntarily dismiss its lawsuit alleging that IBM Watson Health had used 3M's healthcare software "in unauthorized ways."
9. Patients say medical records company overcharged them for copies of records in lawsuit
Four patients of different Montana hospitals filed a lawsuit this month alleging medical records company Ciox Health overcharged them for copies of their records.
10. Rutgers medical school faces age discrimination lawsuit
Pathology professor Norman Ende, MD, filed an age discrimination lawsuit Feb. 7 against Newark-based Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.