Plastic surgeon Geoffrey Kim, MD, was sentenced to 15 days in jail and two years of probation for causing the death of an 18-year-old woman during breast augmentation surgery. In August 2019, Emmalyn Nguyen suffered cardiac arrest while receiving anesthesia and died 14 months later. King reportedly revived Nguyen on the spot, but spent the next five hours “misleading her family about the seriousness of the situation, failing to transfer her to a hospital, and telling staff not to call 911.” .” (9 news)
Oncologist Benjamin Neel, who was reportedly fired from NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center for his social media posts about the Israel-Hamas war, has filed a lawsuit against his former employer. Neil claimed he was a “sacrifice” who was “unceremoniously dumped” because of his posts on X (formerly Twitter). His wrongful termination lawsuit calls for a jury trial and damages of at least $500,000. (business insider)
Texas doctor Jonathan Rosenfield was sentenced to 10 years in prison for running a drug factory, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Clinic partner Elmer Taylor was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Massachusetts psychiatrist Mohammad Oher, M.D., was convicted by a federal jury of repeatedly prescribing a combination of benzodiazepines and stimulants without legitimate medical need, federal prosecutors said.
Former Iowa nurse practitioner Carl Markley faces charges of sex trafficking, child sexual exploitation and possession of child pornography. (iowa state daily)
Washington state-based PeaceHealth will pay up to $13.4 million to more than 15,000 low-income patients after an investigation by the Washington state attorney general found that it billed these patients without telling them they might be eligible for financial assistance. (Becker’s)
UnitedHealth Group faces a class-action lawsuit for allegedly using an algorithm to deny rehabilitation care to seriously ill patients, even though the group knew the algorithm had a high error rate. Cigna was also sued earlier this year for allegedly using computer algorithms to automatically deny thousands of claims. (Statistical data, Associated Press)
A microbiologist is suing the University of Auckland in New Zealand, accusing it of failing to keep her safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Suzy Wells, a prominent scientist providing public information about the pandemic, claimed she was harassed and doxxed online and that the safety measures provided by the university were insufficient. (nature)
Major’s lawyer. By Michael Stockin, M.D. Plaintiffs’ attorneys have filed five new federal civil lawsuits against the Army and Defense Department, alleging they failed to protect alleged victims from abuse, after deciding to bypass preliminary hearings. Stocking faces charges of inappropriate touching by at least 39 people. (cbs news)
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against a Salem, Massachusetts, hospital after it announced that improper IV procedures may have exposed up to 450 endoscopy patients to HIV and hepatitis B and C.CBS News Boston)
A Missouri jury ordered Bayer to pay $1.56 billion to four plaintiffs who claimed they suffered injuries, including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, from their use of the Roundup herbicide. (Reuters)
The Federal Trade Commission announced it has filed a lawsuit to block California-based John Muir Health’s $142.5 million acquisition of San Ramon Regional Medical Center from Tenet Healthcare.
