A jury in the 4th Judicial District Circuit Court in Portland has awarded $260 million to Kyung Lee, an Oregon woman who claimed that Johnson & Johnson's talc powder caused her to develop mesothelioma, a lethal cancer linked to asbestos exposure. The verdict, delivered on Monday, comprises $60 million in... Read More »
On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court denied a lawsuit brought by 22 patients and physicians seeking to ensure that doctors are not prosecuted for performing abortions they deem necessary in medically complicated pregnancies. This decision follows an earlier ruling from the same court that denied an emergency abortion request for... Read More »
On Friday, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed Senate Bill 276 into law, reclassifying two commonly used abortion-inducing drugs, Mifepristone and Misoprostol, as Schedule IV controlled substances. This legislative move makes Louisiana the first state in the United States to classify these drugs as controlled substances. Under the new law, the... Read More »
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday revived a lawsuit against the Mayo Clinic, alleging the illegal termination of five employees who refused COVID-19 vaccination or regular testing on religious grounds. The appellate court ruled that the lower court had erred in dismissing the consolidated lawsuits. The lawsuit... Read More »
Philips has agreed to a settlement exceeding $1 billion to resolve lawsuits involving thousands of individuals who allege they were harmed by the company’s breathing machines. These devices, used for sleep apnea and ventilation, were found to potentially release toxic particles and fumes, posing severe health risks to users. The... Read More »
The U.S. Supreme Court has been petitioned to examine whether the $667 million awarded in legal fees to plaintiffs' attorneys in a $2.7 billion class-action settlement with Blue Cross Blue Shield is excessively high. The settlement addressed accusations against the insurance giant for overcharging millions of subscribers nationwide due to... Read More »
CVS Health is set to continue a contentious legal battle following a federal judge's decision to deny the company's motion to dismiss a proposed class action lawsuit. The suit accuses CVS of discriminating against people with HIV through its mandatory mail-order medication program. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen, presiding in... Read More »
On Friday, February 16th, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos can be considered "children" under state law. This controversial decision emerged from a set of wrongful death cases where three couples sued a fertility clinic after their frozen embryos were destroyed in an accident. The state's top court,... Read More »
Michigan's leading insurance regulator has issued a directive to health plans mandating coverage for clinically validated cancer treatments, including innovative genetic and biologic therapies. This significant move comes after investigative efforts by ProPublica, a nonprofit public interest news organization, and legislative pressure, spotlighting a critical gap in treatment coverage. The... Read More »
Facebook is not only a longstanding social media platform but is also widely used to promote products and services to a mass audience. As telemedicine continues to penetrate the healthcare industry, it is not surprising that pharmaceutical companies use Facebook as a means of advertising. In 2019, pharmaceutical companies spent... Read More »
The federal government has relied on chemical analysis to monitor the safety of food since the mid-1800s. Since the passage of the Pure Food and Drugs Act in 1906, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has become the nation’s largest consumer protection agency. While the overall goal of the agency... Read More »
On July 26th, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a statewide vaccine mandate for public employees. For individuals who opt-out of inoculation, weekly testing will be required. This mandate will include not only healthcare workers but other employees in “high-risk congregated settings” such as jails, nursing homes, and homeless shelters. Under California’s... Read More »
On Saturday, two students at Loyola Marymount, a private Catholic university located in Los Angeles, California, sued the institution over new COVID-19 policies. Loyola Marymount is one of over 400 universities to implement a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students. In preparation for the return of in-person classes this fall, the... Read More »
On December 2nd, Atlanta-based home healthcare owner Diandra Bankhead was sentenced to over five years in prison for Medicaid fraud. Bankhead, owner of Elite Homecare, admitted to numerous wrongful acts, including submitting more than 5,400 fraudulent claims to Georgia Medicaid. Out of the $1.2 million Bankhead received in reimbursement, $1... Read More »
Telemedicine, or the distribution of health services through the use of technology, is drastically changing the way physicians deliver care. By making long-distance communication possible, telemedicine has increased access to healthcare for many populations, including rural communities that may not be located near hospitals. As COVID-19 cases continue to rise,... Read More »
