From a patient suing a Houston hospital after he was shot by an off-duty officer to the U.S. Supreme Court refusing to hear a case on a pharmacy's religious objection to contraceptives, here are the latest healthcare industry lawsuits and settlements making headlines.
1. Medical device company to pay $8M to resolve physician kickback claims
Minneapolis-based Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. agreed to pay the federal government $8 million to resolve allegations that it paid physicians illegal kickbacks to induce them to use the company's medical devices.
2. Physician guilty of conspiring with Pagans motorcycle gang in illegal drug distribution ring
A federal jury found Pennsylvania physician William J. O'Brien III, DO, guilty of causing a death through the illegal distribution of controlled substances.
3. Hospitals sue BCBS of Georgia for sending ED reimbursements to patients
Two hospitals in Georgia and California are individually suing Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia for sending reimbursement money for emergency department care directly to patients.
4. Fla. hospital sued after maggots found in patient's mouth
Orange Park (Fla.) Medical Center is facing a lawsuit from a former patient's family after maggots were found in the patient's mouth during a post-surgery stay.
5. UChicago Medical Center to pay $53M in birth injury lawsuit
In the biggest birth injury verdict ever in Cook County, a jury awarded a 12-year-old boy and his mother $53 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed against University of Chicago Medical Center.
6. Judge lets Prouty Garden lawsuit against Boston Children's Hospital move forward
Opponents of Boston Children's Hospital's $1 billion plan to expand its campus by building over the Prouty Garden are allowed to carry on its lawsuit against the hospital, a Suffolk Superior Court Judge decided.
7. SCOTUS strikes down abortion restrictions in Mississippi, Wisconsin
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down bids from Mississippi and Wisconsin seeking to put restrictions on physicians who perform abortions.
8. Nurse sues Texas hospital for allegedly working through lunch without pay
A nurse sued Houston-based Memorial Hermann Health System on grounds the system required her to work through her lunch break without pay.
9. Patient shot by off-duty officer sues Houston hospital
A patient shot last August by an off-duty police officer at St. Joseph Medical Center in Houston is suing the hospital and its parent company Franklin, Tenn.- based IASIS Healthcare as well as the City of Houston and four of its police officers.
10. Former Blue Shield executive accuses insurer of shortchanging California policyholders
Blue Shield of California's former public policy director filed suit against the insurer, claiming it didn't adequately reimburse policyholders for excessive administrative spending in 2014.
11. Alabama physician indicted for prescribing 'massive amounts' of opioids
Police in Tuscaloosa, Ala., arrested forensic psychiatrist James Fullerton Hooper, MD, and charged him with five counts of the unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and five counts of trafficking a control substance for prescribing large quantities of opioids without medical verification.
12. Mississippi nurse sentenced to prison for Medicaid fraud, drug theft
A nurse from Houston, Miss., was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to committing Medicaid fraud and illegally obtaining patients' medication.
13. Jury orders Tri-City Medical Center to pay nearly $20M for breached contract
A jury ordered Oceanside, Calif.-based Tri-City Medical Center to pay a private management and funding company nearly $20 million, plus attorney fees, in a dispute regarding the hospital's three-story medical office building.
14. Bacterial infections at York Hospital prompt 2 lawsuits
Two lawsuits were filed at the York (Pa.) County Court of Common Pleas against WellSpan Health and medical device manufacturer LiveNova. The complaints come eight months after WellSpan York Hospital notified 1,300 open-heart surgery patients they may have been exposed to harmful bacteria between 2011 and 2015.
15. SCOTUS won't review case on pharmacy's religious objection to contraceptives
The U.S. Supreme Court denied review of Stormans, Inc. v. Wiesman, a case involving a family-owned pharmacy that objected to providing emergency contraceptives under a state law due to Christian beliefs.
16. Physician pleads not guilty to stealing NorthShore medical equipment
After turning himself in to authorities in May, a physician charged with stealing $177,022 in medical equipment form NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, Ill., pleaded not guilty.