Business Law Health Law Committee

Keith Burchell consented to undergo a surgical procedure to remove a mass in his scrotum for testing. During the surgery, Dr. Gary Barker discovered the mass was much larger than expected. Believing the mass was malignant, Dr. Barker decided to remove it entirely. Dr. Barker did not first consult Burchell (who was under general anesthesia) or Burchell’s medical proxy (who was present but unknown to Dr. Barker) before performing the more extensive surgery. Burchell suffered serious side effects from this surgery. Read more

“Virtual Presence” by Real-Time Livestreaming Satisfies the Contemporaneous Presence Requirement for a Bystander NIED Claim Read more

Unlicensed companies may manage licensed skilled nursing facilities via an approved management agreement. Read more

Physician is not liable for treatment recommendation unless no reasonable physician would recommend it or it was based on a misdiagnosis. Read more

Physician may face a negligent misrepresentation claim for steering a patient away from a procedure by falsely stating it won’t be covered by insurance. Read more

Privacy rights mostly foreclose litigation discovery of non-party health care professionals’ administrative records and other non-public records maintained by State agencies. Read more

Saint Francis Memorial Hospital was fined $50,000 by the California Department of Public Health. The Department served Saint Francis with the final decision on December 16, 2015, which stated that it “shall be effective immediately.” Read more

MICRA statute of limitations runs from when a patient reasonably should notice that an undiagnosed condition has developed into a more serious condition. Read more

Provider, who falsely billed for a speech pathologist who provided no services, was properly convicted of identity theft. Read more

Medical group’s proprietary “Relative Value Unit” assessment of physician performance and productivity may be protected as a trade secret. Read more