Healthcare & Pharmaceutics

Government fights health care fraud with aid of data analytics

The government is using data analytics to spot trends in Medicare and Medicaid billing patterns that point to possible health care fraud.

Oct 22, 2019 12:44 PM CDT

Motion accuses judge of ‘partisan glee’ after $8B Risperdal verdict

A Philadelphia judge is accused of showing “partisan glee” after jurors awarded $8 billion in punitive damages in a case brought by a man who contended his childhood use of the drug Risperdal had caused him to grow breasts.

Oct 22, 2019 10:10 AM CDT

4 drug companies agree to $260M opioid settlement with 2 Ohio counties

Four drug companies have agreed to a $260 million opioid settlement with two Ohio counties—Cuyahoga and Summit counties—that contended that the companies misled the public in their opioid marketing and created a public nuisance that endangered health.

Oct 21, 2019 11:02 AM CDT

Oops! Judge mistakenly added three zeroes to part of opioid award

An Oklahoma judge who ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million for its role in the state’s opioid epidemic admitted in court on Tuesday that he made a $107 million math error.

Oct 16, 2019 10:43 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Arrests for low-level crimes plummet; inmate complains about commissary-money restitution

Arrests for low-level crimes plummet in some cities and states In some cities and states, arrests are plummeting for minor crimes such as disorderly conduct, loitering, prostitution and driving violations. Areas with lower arrest rates for such crimes include New York, California and rural Virginia, along with the cities of…

Oct 10, 2019 4:07 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Jurors award $8B in Rispderdal case; most minority partners have nonequity status

Jurors award $8B in punitive damages in Risperdal case Jurors in Philadelphia found Johnson & Johnson liable for $8 billion in punitive damages Tuesday in a case brought by a man with autism, who said the drug Risperdal had caused him to grow breasts. Nicholas Murray had taken the drug…

Oct 9, 2019 4:48 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Justice for bilked law firms; conviction upheld for driving lawn mower while drunk

Belgian man to plead guilty in scheme to bilk US law firms and charities Belgian national Aref Said has notified a Massachusetts federal court that he plans to plead guilty in a case alleging that he and a co-conspirator used counterfeit checks to scam law firms and charities. In the…

Oct 2, 2019 4:21 PM CDT

$572M verdict against Johnson & Johnson in opioid suit is based on Oklahoma’s unusual public nuisance law

An Oklahoma judge ruled Monday that Johnson & Johnson is liable for $572 million for the public nuisance it created when it engaged in a marketing campaign that promoted opioid use.

Aug 27, 2019 10:37 AM CDT

Federal judge blocks HHS rule requiring drugmakers to disclose prices in TV ads

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has vacated an agency rule that required drugmakers to disclose the list price of prescriptions in TV advertising.

Jul 9, 2019 9:37 AM CDT

Founder of online abortion-pill service says she won’t turn anyone away, despite FDA warning

A Dutch doctor who founded an online abortion-pill service called AID Access is striking a defiant tone after the Food and Drug Administration sent her a warning letter telling her to “immediately cease” introducing the drugs into the United States. Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, founder of Aid Access, said in a…

May 17, 2019 2:19 PM CDT

Purdue Pharma reaches $270M settlement with Oklahoma in opioid epidemic suit

Purdue Pharma and its owners have agreed to a $270 million settlement with Oklahoma in the state’s lawsuit claiming OxyContin contributed to an opioid epidemic, according to multiple publications. The settlement was to be announced at a press conference on Tuesday, report Reuters, the Washington Post, Bloomberg and the Wall…

Mar 26, 2019 12:43 PM CDT

Sellers of blood-thinner drug to settle about 25,000 suits for $775M

The sellers of the blood thinner Xarelto have agreed to pay $775 million to settle about 25,000 lawsuits claiming the companies failed to warn the drug can cause potentially fatal bleeding. Johnson & Johnson and Bayer agreed to the settlement Monday, report the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal,…

Mar 26, 2019 11:03 AM CDT

Federal prosecutor moves to block nonprofit from opening nation’s first safe injection facility

Plans for the nation’s first safe injection facility hit a snag earlier this week, when Philadelphia’s top prosecutor filed a federal complaint to keep it from opening its doors. U.S. Attorney William McSwain, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said in the complaint filed Feb. 5 that in providing spaces…

Feb 8, 2019 5:10 PM CST

Cops in this Pennsylvania county claim sex workers with cellphones possess ‘instruments of crime’

Health Law

Oct 31, 2018 4:38 PM CDT

Widow of BigLaw partner loses en banc petition in wrongful-death lawsuit

The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday denied a petition to rehear a wrongful-death finding involving GlaxoSmithKline and a former Reed Smith partner who died by suicide while taking a generic version of the prescribed antidepressant Paxil. Wendy Dolin, who was Stewart Dolin’s wife, alleged that GSK…

Sep 21, 2018 3:01 PM CDT