Mental Health Law Blog | The Health Law Firm Blog

Florida Court Denies Motion to End Patient Wrongful Death Suit Despite Settlement

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On November 15, 2016, The Florida Supreme Court refused to dismiss a lawsuit over the death of an escaped psychiatric hospital patient for the second time. The suit questions the thin line between medical and ordinary negligence, even though the parties settled their dispute several months ago.

The justices offered no explanation when they denied a motion from defendant-appellee Shands Teaching Hospital and Clinics Inc. (Shands) asking them to reconsider that ruling. Additionally, the court also maintained the same 4-3 split across both orders.

The Background.

The ongoing case stems from the January 23, 2013, death of Ashley Lawson. […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:52-04:00May 15, 2018|Mental Health Law Blog|

Major Health Care Reform Bill On FDA Approvals, Mental Health Policy Clears House

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On November 30, 2016, the House of Representatives passed the 21st Century Cures Act. The new bill overwhelmingly passed wide-ranging legislation meant to overhaul the drug approval process, boost biomedical research, and many other significant health-related policies.

The Bill.

The bill would change research prioritization and medication review rules at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Additionally, it would push medication development rules for a variety of items including new antibiotics to medical devices. The mental health reforms, originally developed in Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Reform […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:52-04:00May 15, 2018|Mental Health Law Blog|

Optometrist Dodges Malpractice Suit for Patient’s Brain Tumor

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

A New York appeals court freed a Madison Avenue Eye Care Ltd. optometrist Paul Kantrowich from a malpractice suit on November 23, 2016,. It was alleged in the suit that Kantrowich negligently failed to diagnose a patient’s partial blindness that was caused by a brain tumor. The brain tumor was diagnosed by a different doctor. The patient, Neil Flaherty, filed the suit too late, the court said, so the complaint against Kantrowich was dismissed.

Case Dismissed Because of Three-year Statue Limitations in New York.

The New York appellate court said in its decision that Flaherty cannot bring up any […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:52-04:00May 15, 2018|Mental Health Law Blog|

DOJ Releases 2016 False Claims Act Recovery Statistics: Third Highest Annual Recovery Ever

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On December 14, 2016, the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released its annual False Claims Act (FCA) recovery statistics. It revealed that the DOJ obtained more than $4.7 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases involving fraud and false claims against the government in fiscal year 2016. What this indicates to me is that, if all of these cases had been brought by individual relators, those relators could have shared in as much as $1.41 billion as their personal reward for the relator’s part of the recoveries. A whistle blower can receive […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:52-04:00May 15, 2018|Mental Health Law Blog|

Appeals Court Affirms $1.37 Million in Sanctions Against Doctor for Dismissed Defamation Suit Against Former Employers

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On November 16, 2016, an appeals court in Texas affirmed a $1.37 million sanction assessed against a doctor. The doctor was ordered to pay the sanction after the dismissal of a defamation lawsuit he filed against his former employers. The doctor’s former employers were Baylor College of Medicine (Baylor) and Texas Children’s Hospital.

The case had previously been appealed to the Texas Supreme Court. This makes the November 16, 2016, opinion the second time the Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals has had to rule on the case. Additionally, it is the second time that it […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:52-04:00May 15, 2018|Mental Health Law Blog|

Wisconsin Supermarket Violated FCA With Illegal Kickbacks, Pharmacist Claims

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On December 20, 2016, a pharmacist and whistle blower told an Illinois federal court that Wisconsin and Chicago-area chain of grocery stores, Roundy’s Supermarket, Inc. (Roundy’s), knew gift cards it was providing Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries were actually illegal kickbacks. In defense of his False Claims Act (FCA) Suit, the whistle blower claims the chain proceeded to hand them out anyway despite knowing they were illegal.

The Whistle Blower and the Alleged Scheme.

The whistle blower in the suit, pharmacist Jefferey Kotwica, alleged the company was involved in illegal kickbacks, thus allegedly defrauding government health care […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:52-04:00May 15, 2018|Mental Health Law Blog|

City of Fort Myers, Florida, Agrees to Pay $149,000 to Settle Dispute With Mental Health Facility

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On February 3, 2017, the city of Fort Myers, Florida, agreed to pay $149,000 to settle a discrimination-related real estate zoning and licensing dispute with Sovereign Health of Florida Inc., a rehabilitative mental health and addiction treatment provider.

Sovereign Health, which opened January 2015, filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the city of Fort Myers violated discrimination and disability laws by trying to shut it down after nearby residents started to complain about the center and the crime they believed it would bring to the community. According to the lawsuit, the city allegedly violated the rights of […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:52-04:00May 15, 2018|Mental Health Law Blog|

U.S. District Court in Texas Orders Hospital to Void Report to National Practitioner Data Bank

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On February 8, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order directing Memorial Health System of East Texas (Memorial Health) to submit a Void Report to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). In the case Walker v. Memorial Health System, the court found the initial report, submitted after 30 days of an uncompleted proctoring requirement, to be improperly submitted because the Hospital had not specified that the proctoring take not less than 30 days.

Following a peer review process, Memorial Health ordered Dr. Walker to “have five bowel […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:52-04:00May 15, 2018|Mental Health Law Blog|

Finding an Attorney/Lawyer Who Takes Healthcare Providers Service Organization (HPSO) Insurance for Mental Health Counselors and Social Workers

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

We often hear from callers and clients in professional licensing complaints, Department of Health investigations and Board of Mental Health, that they had good insurance coverage with Healthcare Providers Service Organization (HPSO) Insurance, but could not find an attorney that would accept it. Often these professionals retain us after action has been taken to appeal or attempt to reverse an adverse disciplinary action taken against their license.

This should not be a difficult task. Our firm and its attorneys have accepted HPSO Insurance for over 25 years.

Our firm has attorneys that are licensed in […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:52-04:00May 15, 2018|Mental Health Law Blog|

Mental Health Counselors and Social Workers Should Not Have Difficulty in Finding A, Attorney/layer Who Takes Cph & Associates (CPH&A) Insurance to Represent Them in Complaint Investigations

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

We often hear from Mental Health Counselors, Social Workers, Psychologists and Family Therapists who call and retain us to represent them in complaints against their professional licenses in professional licensing complaints. This includes letters from the Department of Health (DOH) advising them that they are being investigated, Administrative Complaints, emergency restriction orders (EROs), and emergency suspension orders (ESOs).

In many cases they had good insurance coverage with CPH & Associates (CPH&A) Insurance, but could not find an attorney that would accept it. Often these mental health professionals retain us after adverse disciplinary action has already […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:52-04:00May 15, 2018|Mental Health Law Blog|