Doc Indicted in Old Rape Case; Telehealth Death Suit; $66M Plastic Surgery Award

Business News —
A weekly roundup of healthcare’s encounters with the courts

by
Kristina Fiore, Director of Enterprise & Investigative Reporting, MedPage Today
December 24, 2024

Ohio doctor Frederick Tanzer, MD, has been indicted on federal charges related to a rape case from 1989. (KCTV)

A family sued Amazon One Medical alleging a 45-year-old patient died after a telehealth visit with the company. He reported being short of breath, coughing up blood, and having his feet turn blue, but was reportedly prescribed an inhaler. He allegedly collapsed and died later that day. (Washington Post)

A court awarded $66 million to the family of a woman who died due to complications of plastic surgery. (CBS Chicago)

California oncologist Lauren Pinter-Brown, MD, was awarded nearly $4 million in attorney fees in a discrimination and wrongful termination case against the Regents of the University of California, according to a press release from attorneys. In May, a jury had awarded her $14 million in the case.

New Hampshire physician Thomas Marks, MD, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a patient and will spend 8 months in jail. (WMUR)

A Kansas nurse practitioner is suing her employer after allegedly firing her for taking maternity leave. (The Mercury)

A county jail nurse in California has been convicted in a catfishing sex case. (The Press Democrat)

More than a dozen cardiology practices will pay more than $17 million to settle claims that they overbilled Medicare for diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

California is investigating a Medi-Cal program following whistleblower reports of patient harm and deaths. (NBC Bay Area)

Massachusetts physician Stephen Holuk, MD, will pay $220,000 in civil penalties to settle allegations that he prescribed controlled substances without legitimate medical purpose. (WWLP)

A traveling nurse has been accused of stealing a credit card from a patient in New York. (Syracuse.com)