The following hospital lawsuits were reported in the past month, beginning with the most recent.
1. Geisinger sues to stop New Jersey health system from severing merger
Geisinger is seeking a court order to block Atlantic City, N.J.-based AtlantiCare from breaking away from the Danville, Pa.-based system.
2. Surgeons sue SUNY, allege retaliation for reporting patient safety concerns
Albany-based State University of New York and SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in New York City face a lawsuit from two surgeons, who allege the organization retaliated against them for voicing patient safety concerns.
3. 3 Texas health systems settle lawsuit alleging they colluded to stifle nurse pay
Ending more than a decade of litigation, three Texas health systems settled claims that they colluded to depress the salaries of registered nurses in San Antonio and four other cities.
4. Aggressive creditor forced hospital chain into bankruptcy, CEO says
Americore Health and its affiliated hospitals were forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late December after a lender hijacked the company's bank accounts, Americore Founder and CEO Grant White alleges in court documents.
5. Patient files class-action lawsuit against New York health system following phishing attack
A patient of Health Quest is suing the Lagrangeville, N.Y.-based health system for allegedly failing to safeguard her protected health information after it was exposed in a phishing attack.
6. Missouri hospital hit with class-action suit over failure to pay for employees' insurance
Employees filed a class-action lawsuit against Pinnacle Regional Hospital in Boonville, Mo., on Jan. 15, the same day it abruptly closed.
7. Hospital groups sue HHS, seek to block site-neutral pay cuts
Two organizations representing hospitals and health systems across the nation and several individual hospitals sued HHS Jan. 13 over site-neutral payment cuts for 2020.
8. South Carolina hospital escapes suit over physician's lack of adequate insurance
An appeals court affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit seeking unpaid medical malpractice awards from a South Carolina hospital.
9. Nurse drops racial discrimination suit against California hospital
A Latina nurse dropped a racial discrimination lawsuit against Pasadena, Calif.-based Huntington Hospital, her former employer, Jan. 13.
10. CHS reaches $53M deal in class-action stock drop lawsuit
Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems agreed to pay $53 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit filed by pension funds and shareholders.
11. Wisconsin health system will pay $10M to settle whistleblower case
Agnesian HealthCare, a three-hospital system based in Fond du Lac, Wis., and its affiliated physician group agreed to pay $10 million to resolve allegations that Agnesian paid kickbacks to physicians in exchange for patient referrals.
12. Feds accuse Indianapolis health system of Medicare billing fraud
The Department of Justice filed a complaint against Indianapolis-based Community Health Network, alleging the health system violated Stark Law and submitted false claims to Medicare.
13. Quorum, Vermont hospital board seek dismissal of lawsuit over former CEO's departure
The Springfield (Vt.) Hospital and Springfield (Vt.) Medical Care Systems' board and operator Brentwood, Tenn.-based Quorum Health Resources are asking a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by former CEO Tim Ford related to his departure from the hospital.
14. Ballad antitrust lawsuit heads to federal appeals court
Tennessee residents suing Johnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health for an anticompetitive board structure appealed a judge's decision to dismiss the case.
15. Trinity Health not responsible for ex-Mount Carmel physician's legal fees, judge says
A federal judge ruled that Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health is not required to cover legal costs for William Husel, DO, the former physician charged with 25 counts of murder.
16. Former Iowa medical center director sues, claims hospital permitted gender discrimination
A former radiology director at Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Mercy Medical Center sued the hospital, alleging Mercy permitted gender discrimination and unequal pay.
17. Court dismisses Beaumont's lawsuit over denied hospital application
A Court of Claims dismissed a lawsuit filed by Southfield, Mich.-based Beaumont Health that claimed Michigan regulators wrongly rejected its application to build a hospital.
18. Dignity Health isn't owed millions from Medicaid insurer, appellate court rules
Upholding a lower court decision, a California appellate court rejected San Francisco-based Dignity Health's lawsuit claiming that L.A. Care Health Plan owes it hundreds of millions of dollars in out-of-network payments for inpatient stabilization post-emergency.
19. Georgia high court stalls Augusta University Health's 100-bed county hospital
Augusta (Ga.) University Health's plan to build a 100-bed hospital in Columbia County (Ga.) was delayed again after the Georgia Supreme Court sent a case attempting to stop construction back to a lower court.
20. New York hospital seeks dismissal of lawsuit alleging human trafficking law violations
Albany (N.Y.) Medical Center seeks to dismiss a union lawsuit accusing the hospital of federal human trafficking law violations linked to its program to recruit nurses from the Philippines to work in the hospital.