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Iowa Appellate Court Reverses $6 Million Nursing Home Negligence Decision Because of Hearsay Testimony

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A, LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law and Hartley Brooks, Law Clerk, The Health Law Firm

On June 21, 2023, the Iowa Court of Appeals overturned the verdict in a nursing home negligence case that awarded $6 million in compensation and damages to the plaintiff. The case was reversed and remanded for a new trial because the trial court judge admitted inadmissible hearsay testimony into evidence. The testimony being appealed was that of staff members who claimed to have heard “reports” and “rumors” of alleged abuse by a nurse on staff toward not only the resident in question but other residents.

Hearsay in Iowa law is defined as “a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted.” […]

U.S. Government Renews COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, Extending Health Benefits for Millions of Americans

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On July 15, 2022, the United States again renewed the COVID-19 public health emergency, allowing millions of Americans special access to free tests, vaccines, and treatments. The public health emergency was initially declared in January 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic began. Since then, the Department of Health and Human Services has renewed it each quarter. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra officially renewed the declaration extending it through October 13, 2022. View it in full here.

Ensuring Continued Access to Special Services During the Public-Health Emergency.

The declaration allows the U.S. to grant emergency authorizations of drugs, vaccines, and other medical countermeasures. As a result, it can administer those products to millions of people at no out-of-pocket cost. It’s also enabled millions of […]

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Female Scientist Files Suit Against Duke School of Medicine For Discrimination, Retaliation

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On August 10, 2023, a female scientist in the anesthesiology department at Duke University’s School of Medicine filed a complaint against the school under Title VII and the Equal Pay Act. She told the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina that Duke paid her less than her male colleagues, increased her hours without increasing her pay, and threatened her with demotions after complaining about it.

According to the complaint (lawsuit), she was the first female principal investigator (PI) to work in Duke’s hyperbaric medicine center. The term “principal investigator,” as used in scientific research, means an individual with a medical degree or Ph.D. appointed directly by third parties (usually the sponsors) to lead and oversee funded scientific research projects on their behalf.

Alleged Hostile […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T09:59:18-04:00October 11, 2023|Categories: Medical Education Law Blog|Tags: administrative complaint defense attorney near me, clinical investigation fraud misconduct defense lawyer, clinical research investigator defense lawyer, complex healthcare civil litigation attorney, complex litigation representation, complex medical litigation attorney, complex medical litigation lawyer, EEOC complaint legal representation, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigation defense, healthcare employment contract legal representation, institutional review board (IRB) investigation hearing defense attorney, legal defense in complaint investigation by institutional review board (IRB), legal defense in medical academic hearings, legal representation for discrimination in medical residency programs, legal representation for disputes with medical residency programs and institutions, legal representation for investigations against health care professionals, legal representation for medical contract review, legal representation for medical professor instructor, legal representation for Title IX hearing, legal representation of clinical professors and investigators, medical professor legal representation, medical research misconduct legal defense representation, misconduct in science defense attorney, representation for healthcare business litigation matters, research fraud defense attorney, resident physician defense legal representation, reviews of The Health Law Firm attorneys, the health law firm, university academic hearing defense lawyer, university medical school legal representation|Comments Off

Doctor’s Defamation Suit Okayed for Termination by University over Use of Resident Physicians

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law and Hartley Brooks, Law Clerk, The Health Law Firm

On July 11, 2023, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky allowed a doctor to move forward with one of his defamation claims against the university’s provost for allegations made to support his termination.

A medical doctor and oral surgeon at the University of Kentucky (UK) sued the university and university officials on multiple grounds, including making a defamation claim against the university’s provost. The defamation claim stems from the Statement of Charges made by the provost in the physician’s termination proceedings.

The Statement of Charges claims that the doctor stole from the UK, took credit for patient care services that a resident performed, caused the College of Dentistry to submit false claims to […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T09:59:18-04:00October 10, 2023|Categories: Medical Education Law Blog|Tags: administrative hearing defense lawyer, attorney for legal dispute with residency graduate medical education program, attorney for residency program physician accused of charges, attorney for resident physicians, complex civil litigation attorney, complex health care litigation attorney, complex medical dental healthcare litigation lawyer, dentist defense lawyer near me, Florida Colorado Louisiana D.C. Virginia board of dentistry defense attorney, graduate medical education hearing lawyer, insurance Medicare Medicaid billing defense attorney, legal defense attorney for oral surgeon dentist, legal defense in false insurance Medicare Medicaid billing charge, legal dispute with university medical dental school litigation attorney, legal representation against residency program near me, legal representation for dentist oral surgeon, medical staff clinical privileges defense attorney, medical staff peer review defense attorney lawyer, reviews of The Health Law Firm attorneys, termination of clinical instructor defense attorney, the health law firm, The Health Law Firm attorney, university hearing defense lawyer, university hospital medical staff peer review defense legal counsel|Comments Off

HCA Healthcare Data Breach May Affect 11 Million Patients

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On July 11, 2023, HCA Healthcare, which operates 180 hospitals in the U.S. and Britain, said a hacker may have stolen the personal data of about 11 million patients in a data breach. A press release warned patients that critical personal information had been compromised, including their full name, city, and when and where they last saw a healthcare provider.

What Happened to the Patient Data?

Data samples, including addresses, phone numbers, e-mails, and birth dates, were posted to DataBreaches.net (an online forum popular with cyber crooks) by a hacker trying to sell them. However, after publication, an HCA spokesperson told CNBC that the sample data set published was only a “marketing campaign” (or fake data) and was not an individual patient’s real medical assessment.

Who is Affected?

The […]

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Retaliation Because Graduate Student Requested Reasonable Accommodations Is Illegal Old Dominion University Case Shows

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Does a graduate student, resident physician or fellow have a good legal cause of action for retaliation or discrimination based on their school or program, retaliating against them for requesting reasonable accommodations? The answer is “Yes,” as a fairly recent case shows.

U.S. Department of Justice vs. Old Dominion University.

In the case of the U.S. Department of Justice vs. Old Dominion University, a doctoral student with a disability was discriminated against and retaliated against by Old Dominion University (ODU), in Norfolk, Virginia, for asking for reasonable accommodations.

Because the graduate student requested reasonable accommodations, their advisor (head of the college) stopped advising and supervising the graduate student. She also pulled the graduate student off of all publications and refused to allow them to assist her […]

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Helpful Tips Healthcare Professionals Should Be Following for Professional Correspondence

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

I review many letters, e-mails, memoranda, and other types of correspondence prepared by my physician and nurse clients during my legal representation. These come to me often because of a dispute with a hospital, their peers, an insurance company, a lawsuit filed by a patient, a complaint being investigated by the licensing agency, an investigation of an incident, or another serious matter.

In many cases, way too many cases, such correspondence is unprofessional and defeats the purpose of the reason you are sending the correspondence. Sometimes the “letter” is so bad, that it will be disregarded by the reader to whom it was directed. I have seen this from doctors, nurses, dentists, psychologists, owners of health care businesses, and many, many other highly educated professionals […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T09:59:18-04:00October 5, 2023|Categories: Medical Education Law Blog|Tags: defense lawyer for health care professionals, Florida health law attorney, health care professional representation, healthcare professional letter representation, legal representation for health care physicians, legal representation for nurses, nurse defense lawyer, physician defense lawyer, professional correspondence for legal dispute, representation for correspondence for doctors and nurses, representation for Professional correspondence, representation for professional letters, reviews of The Health Law Firm, the health law firm, The Health Law Firm attorney reviews, tips for professional correspondence|Comments Off

DOJ Files False Claims Suit Against Nursing Homes Over “Substandard Services and Nonexistent” Care

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On June 15, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it has sued three nursing homes in Ohio and Pennsylvania, citing their “grossly substandard skilled nursing services.” The False Claims Act (FCA) complaint against the American Health Foundation (AHF), its affiliate AHF Management Corporation, and three nursing homes alleges the facilities fraudulently billed the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for often “nonexistent care.”

According to the complaint, all three AHF nursing homes not only provided substandard nursing home care services that failed to meet required standards of care but also did not maintain adequate staffing levels between 2016 and 2018.

Click here to view the complaint filed by the DOJ in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

FCA Violations For “Substandard […]

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A, LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law and Hartley Brooks, Law Clerk, The Health Law Firm

Hearsay in Iowa law is defined as “a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted.” […]

From the archives: Supreme Court Explores Doctor Intent in “Pill Mill” Criminal Prosecutions Under the Controlled Substances Act

Previously published on June 24, 2022
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Physicians and other healthcare professionals usually have broad scope to prescribe most drugs, including potentially dangerous ones. However, over the past decade, many limits, often imposed arbitrarily through criminal prosecutions or drastic administrative sanctions, have been used to impose limits.

The question was recently put before the U.S. Supreme Court as to how far a physician’s judgment can be allowed to go in the context of prescribing controlled substances before it becomes criminal. This was in the context of criminal prosecution of a physician for allegedly over-prescribing.

On March 1, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court confronted the question of whether good faith is a defense for a doctor criminally prosecuted for unlawful distribution of controlled substances. For nearly […]