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 …
Third Circuit’s Gift to Qui Tam Defendants
May 10, 2017 Leave a Comment
It’s so brief—just eleven words in a 23-page, single-spaced opinion---that you could easily overlook it, but the Third Circuit’s recent opinion cites the government’s nonintervention in a qui tam case as evidence supporting dismissal of the case for failure to state a claim. Since the government declines …
California Physician Loses at Dating Game
September 14, 2016 Leave a Comment
A California appellate court has declared physician Visha Dev the loser in his dating contest with Blue Shield Life and Blue Shield California. The contest arose when the Blues moved for summary judgment in Dev’s action against them for denying three reimbursement claims. The Blues argued that the date when …
A Grossly Negligent Claim Isn’t a False Claim
March 16, 2016 Leave a Comment
You have to feel sorry for whistleblower Darilyn Johnson. The former billing clerk thought she had a sure-fire, double-barrel False Claims Act (FCA) case against the medical clinic that fired her. Barrel one was her basic FCA case. Darilyn could prove that when the allergy clinic filled out its Medicare …
7th Cir. Won’t Let EEOC Skip Pre-Suit Conciliation
December 18, 2015 Leave a Comment
When CVS fired store manager Tonia Ramos in 2011, it offered her its standard severance agreement that included a broad release of waivable claims, including claims under Title VII, but explicitly preserving the right to participate in any proceeding enforcing discrimination laws. Tonia signed. A month later …
Health Facilities May Be Insuring Doctors without Knowing It
October 7, 2015 Leave a Comment
A September 29 ruling by the New Jersey Supreme Court effectively makes a health facility liable for the professional negligence of a medical staff member who doesn’t have malpractice insurance or who has insurance that doesn’t cover the acts in question. Dr. Kaul performed a spinal fusion on Jim Jarrell at …