Source: Medical Malpractice
The United States and 43 states will receive $49.5 million from Omnicare, Inc., of Covington, Kentucky, to settle Medicaid prescription-drug-fraud claims initiated by two whistleblowers, federal and state officials announced today. Omnicare, the largest provider of pharmacy services to skilled nursing facilities and assisted living communities in the United States, allegedly substituted different versions of prescribed drugs (such as tablets for capsules) solely to significantly increase the cost and profit rather than for any legitimate medical reason. The settlement covers Omnicare’s submission of reimbursement claims to Medicaid programs in 43 states for three prescription drugs from April 2000 through 2005: Ranitidine (generic Zantac), Fluoxetine (generic Prozac) and Buspirone (generic Buspar).

Source: Katie Zezima
A mistrial was declared on Tuesday in a medical malpractice case brought by the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame after a juror collapsed and the defendants, two doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital, rushed to help him.

The coach, Charlie Weis, who had N.F.L. coaching positions with the New England Patriots, the New York Giants and the New York Jets, has accused the doctors of negligence by letting him bleed internally for 30 hours after a gastric bypass in 2002. Mr. Weis’s lawyer said that he nearly died after the procedure and that the operation left his legs with nerve damage. The doctors, Richard A. Ferguson and Charles M. Hodin, said that Mr. Weis knew the dangers of the operation and that bleeding was not uncommon after such surgery. Around 10 a.m. as another doctor was testifying, a juror gasped and lost consciousness. The witness, with Drs. Ferguson and Hodin, rose and helped the juror, who was taken to a hospital.

After the juror left, Mr. Weis’s lawyer, Michael Mone, asked Judge Charles T. Spurlock of Superior County in Suffolk County for a mistrial. In an interview, Mr. Mone said two jurors had told the judge that the events could influence their verdict. “Like anybody, he wanted the case to be completed,” Mr. Mone said of his client. “But he also wanted to have the case decided by a jury that was not affected by such an extraordinary event.” On Friday, the Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady, testified that after the operation he saw Mr. Weis drift in and out of consciousness and that leg pain subsequently often hobbled the coach.

Source: OLS
A woman who suffered a debilitating seizure after having a tumor surgically removed has won a $16 million verdict in a medical malpractice lawsuit against the medical school at which the surgery was performed, and the doctor who performed it.

Lourdes Landis went to Jackson Memorial complaining of headaches. She received an MRI scan which revealed she had a brain tumor. Dr. Jacques Morcos, the neurosurgeon who performed the procedure, also discovered that Landis had a condition known as Von Willebrand disease. This condition slows the coagulation of blood.

“The neurosurgeon sought a consultation with a hematologist to do surgery on her with that condition,” said Jay Halpern, Landis” lawyer. “The doctor did not follow the hematologist’’s recommendations.” According to Halpern, the MRI also showed that there was blood in Landis’ brain. The hematologist recommended that the doctor not perform the procedure because of the high risks associated with performing the procedure on such a patient. “We alleged that the surgery should not have been undertaken because the risks far outweighed the benefits,” Halpern said.

Halpern also claims the surgeon mismanaged the blood during the tumor removal. To make matters worse, after the surgery, according to Halpern, the doctor did not confirm Landis’ anti-seizure medication regimen. As a result, Landis suffered a brain seizure that left her incapable of returning to her job. Halpern said the neurosurgeon “prematurely discharged her while she was going downhill clinically.”