Legal News

Stories about physicians and other healthcare professionals involved in lawsuits—as either a plaintiff or a defendantor accused of breaking the law. Various legal updates or unusual stories in the news may land here.

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Radiology group will pay over $5M to settle allegations it bribed referrers

Private equity-backed American Health Imaging allegedly doled out tickets to concerts, the SEC Football Championship, meals and fishing trips to help induce referrals. 

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33-year-old radiologist father of 4 dies while hiking

James MacDonald, MD, with Oregon Health & Science University, went missing Nov. 6 in the Mount Hood National Forest.  

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Patient suffers traumatic brain injury after radiologist misreads CT scan, lawsuit claims

The lawsuit names Betty Matthew, MD, Advanced Radiology Consultants and Hartford HealthCare, both in Connecticut, as defendants. 

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Radiologist dodges $2M malpractice verdict that jury pins on negligent surgeon

Hamilton County, Ohio, jurors ruled against surgeon Robert Bradley, MD, while absolving colleague and diagnostic specialist Sean A. Litherland, MD. 

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Radiologist seeks $8M in lawsuit alleging retaliation after he blew whistle against peers

Layne Tarbox, MD, and his attorney filed the complaint Oct. 28, alleging a husband-wife pair of rads engaged in fraud at one of the Pacific Northwest's largest medical groups. 

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Practice can be held liable for deadly on-call interventional radiologist delay, appeals court rules

A 63-year-old man visited the Saint Vincent ED in Worcester, Mass., but was told he couldn't receive a crucial IR service for three days, with no available specialist on hand. 

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Radiology practice must pay $1.85M to settle class action lawsuit stemming from cyberattack

East River Medical Imaging PC experienced the data breach sometime between August and September 2023, with over 533,000 individuals potentially impacted. 

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Fraudsters arrested for $54M alleged scheme to bilk Medicare via radiology, hospice care

Authorities arrested Sophia Shaklian, 36, of Los Angeles, and Alex Alexsanian, 47, of Burbank, California, on the morning of Oct. 9. 

Around the web

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.

The all-in-one Omni Legend PET/CT scanner is now being manufactured in a new production facility in Waukesha, Wisconsin.