The Affordable Care Act (ACA) establishes a cause of action for healthcare discrimination: “[A]n individual shall not, on the ground prohibited under [four existing federal nondiscrimination statutes], be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under, any health program or activity, any part of which is receiving Federal financial assistance….The enforcement mechanisms provided for and available under [29 U.S.C.
The case is Clanton v. United States of America (No. 20-2059, 7th Cir., 12/17/2021) and once again, the opinion’s opening paragraph summarizes it better than any of my several attempts:
Two recent federal appellate court opinions have brought my attention to an issue that is literally a matter of life and death – namely, a change in the policy for allocating donated organs among patients awaiting transplants. The cases (filed barely over a week apart) are Adventist Health System/SunBelt v. United States Department of Health and Human Services (No. 21-1589, 8th Cir., 11/8/2021), https://ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/21/11/211589P.pdf, and Callahan v. United Network for Organ Sharing (No.
Back in June, in a post about the first (as far as I know) case in which healthcare workers challenged a COVID-19 vaccination requirement, I wrote, “This could be the first of many cases in which employees object to their employer’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement – we’ll have to wait and see.” https://www.videntpartners.com/blog/2021/federal-judge-dismisses-lawsuit-houston-methodist-hospital-employees-who-refused-covid-19. Well, it was indeed th
This one could be headed to the Supreme Court. In Hepp v. Facebook (Nos. 20-2725 & 2885, 3d Cir., 9/23/2021), https://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/202725p.pdf, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals created a split in the circuits on an important issue, the Ninth Circuit having ruled the other way in Perfect 10, Inc. v. CCBill LLC, 488 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2007). Both cases were 2-1 decisions with vigorous dissenting opinions.
This case is must reading for any trial lawyer (plaintiff or defense) who litigates product liability cases that rely on sophisticated expert testimony. In a workmanlike 35-page opinion (I did say the case was complex), the Eighth Circuit reversed the trial court’s exclusion of the plaintiffs’ medical and engineering experts and its resulting grant of summary judgment to the defendant. In re: Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming Devices Products Liability Litigation – Amador v.
That is the startling title of a recent article in the Atlantic, https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/07/paramedics-not-just-ambulance-drivers/619395/. The subtitle is, “The misperception that paramedics are merely ambulance drivers is everyone’s problem.” Key excerpts are below, but the whole article is well worth reading. The Atlantic is paywalled, but nonsubscribers get three free articles a month, so you should be able to access it. And remember, if you need an E
This could be the first of many cases in which employees object to their employer’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement – we’ll have to wait and see. In Bridges v. Houston Methodist Hospital (S.D.
That’s an unkind title, I know. But really, when the plaintiff’s attorney submitted a pharmacist’s affidavit in opposition to a physician’s motion for summary judgment (which was supported by a physician’s affidavit), what did he think was going to happen?
