The False Claims Act has a scienter requirement: it makes it illegal to knowingly present a false claim to the government. So if a company innocently presents a false claim, it can’t be guilty of violating the Act, right? Well, not exactly. The answer may depend on whether the company later discovers the …
In-Vitro Fertilization Inconceivable to Legislature
October 20, 2017 Leave a Comment
On Oct. 16 the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that the statute covering children “conceived by means of artificial insemination” doesn’t cover children born by means of in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Why? Well, for one thing, the statute was enacted in 1964, and the court says that IVF was unknown until the …
FDA Scolds Company Claiming to Bake with Love
October 12, 2017 Leave a Comment
Where’s the love? Apparently, not at the FDA. On September 22 the FDA issued Warning Letter CMS# 532236 to Nashoba Brook Bakery, of Concord, Mass. Among several infractions cited in the letter was one for the misbranding of granola bars—misbranding that must be corrected within 15 days to avoid …
Forced to Relay Fatal Diagnosis to Her Mother
October 6, 2017 Leave a Comment
A case in a Louisiana federal court addressed an unusual question: what if circumstances at a hospital require that you, rather than hospital personnel, be the one to tell your mother she has only two weeks to live? Do you have a claim under federal disability law? It happened when Katrina Labouliere’s mother …
You-Can’t-Make-this-Up Award
October 5, 2017 Leave a Comment
From time to time a development in health law confirms the adage that truth is stranger than fiction. That’s why we hand out the You-Can’t-Make-this-Up Award for real life developments that seem to defy the imagination. This month’s award goes to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ October …
Imagination-in-Pleading Award
September 25, 2017 Leave a Comment
The Imagination-in-Pleading Award for September goes to plaintiff Willie Pearl Smith for her lawsuit against the Hospital Authority of Cobb County, Georgia, and related entities in connection with the death of her daughter, allegedly resulting from medical negligence. Smith’s claims—sixteen by the district …