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Luke 4:23

King James Version

23 And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.

Source: Bible, KJV

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Understanding Health Law and Its Significance

Health law is a multidisciplinary field that focuses on the regulations and policies governing the health care industry and healthcare itself in government settings as well as the private sector. This area of law affects legal issues related to medical providers, health insurers, patients, and government agencies, and it addresses a wide range of issues including medical malpractice, Medicare, Medicaid, the HIPAA Privacy Rule, and even estate planning documents.

Health law is essential for ensuring the quality and safety of medical care while protecting the rights and interests of all parties involved in the healthcare system.

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As the industry continues to evolve, laws play a crucial role in addressing emerging challenges and trends.

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Health care lawyers work closely with healthcare professionals, organizations, and government agencies to navigate complex regulations, provide guidance on compliance, and advocate for patients' rights.

In their practice, healthcare attorneys also handle issues related to health insurance, fraud and abuse, and intellectual property rights for pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers.

 

Key Components of Health Care Law

Health care law encompasses multiple areas of legal practice, such as malpractice, informed consent, insurance issues, and government regulations. Some of the most significant components of health care law include the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the False Claims Act, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Anti-Kickback Statute.

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These laws and regulations protect patients, ensure access to quality health care services, and combat fraud and abuse within the health care industry.

Health care lawyers help people navigate these complex legal frameworks, addressing issues like privacy and confidentiality, insurance coverage, and compliance with government regulations.

 

The Role of Health Care Lawyers in the Health Care Industry

Health care lawyers play a crucial role in the health care industry, providing legal advice and representation to a wide range of people, including health care providers, hospitals, insurance companies, and government agencies. These healthcare attorneys specialize in health law and are well-versed in the various regulations that govern the healthcare sector.

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Health care lawyers assist clients in several ways, such as advising on regulatory compliance, handling medical malpractice claims, negotiating contracts, and defending against fraud allegations. They may also work with pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers on intellectual property issues or represent clients in disputes related to health insurance.

 

Navigating Medical Malpractice and Health Insurance Issues

Malpractice is a significant area of health care law that involves claims of serious medical negligence made by health care providers. Health care lawyers represent clients in cases where people have suffered harm due to substandard care or a failure to obtain informed consent for treatment.

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Insurance issues are another critical aspect of health care law. Health care attorneys help clients navigate the complex statutes company policies surrounding health coverage and ensure that their rights are protected. They may work on cases involving insurance disputes, denial of coverage, or violations of the ACA.

 

How Health Law Affects Health Care Providers and Patients

Health law directly impacts health care providers and patients by setting the standards for care, protecting patient rights, and ensuring access to quality health services. Health care lawyers work to uphold these standards and protect the rights of both providers and patients in the healthcare system.

For providers, health care lawyers assist with contract negotiations, regulatory compliance, and defending against malpractice claims. They also help providers navigate issues related to health insurance and reimbursement, ensuring that they receive fair compensation.

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Health care lawyers advocate for people's rights to quality medical care, informed consent, and privacy. They may represent people in malpractice cases or disputes with insurance companies over coverage and benefits.

Health care attorneys also work to ensure that patients have access to essential health services and that their rights are protected under various laws and statutes.

 

The Importance of Health Law for Government Agencies and Regulations

Health law plays a vital role for healthcare lawyers and in shaping government policies related to the health care industry. Health care lawyers work with government agencies to develop, implement, and enforce laws that protect patients, ensure access to quality health services, and promote public health.

These agencies include the Department of Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and state health departments. Health care attorneys may also represent government agencies in legal disputes, advise on policy development, and ensure compliance with health care regulations.

 

The Path to Becoming a Health Care Lawyer: Law School and Beyond

To become a health care lawyer, prospective attorneys must first complete law school and pass the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). Law schools typically offer elective courses in health law, allowing students to gain specialized knowledge in this field. Graduates must then pass the bar exam to become licensed to practice law.

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Many law schools also offer health law programs that provide additional training and resources to aspiring health care lawyers. These programs may include internships, clinical experiences, and networking opportunities with healthcare professionals and organizations.

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Once licensed, health care lawyers can potentially work in a variety of settings, including law firms, federal agencies and as in-house counsel for hospitals or insurance companies.

 

Health Care Organizations and Compliance with Health Laws

Healthcare organizations, such as hospitals, nursing homes, and medical practices, must comply with a complex array of laws.

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Some of the primary responsibilities of health care lawyers working with organizations include drafting and reviewing contracts, advising on regulatory compliance and payment issues, and providing guidance on issues such as patient privacy, informed consent, and health insurance. They may also represent organizations in legal disputes, such as malpractice claims or regulatory enforcement actions.

 

Health Care Fraud and Abuse: Enforcement and Legal Aspects

Healthcare fraud and abuse are significant concerns in the health care industry, costing taxpayers billions of dollars each year. Health care lawyers work to combat abuse and fraud by representing clients in enforcement actions and advising on compliance with relevant laws.

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Some of the key laws addressing fraud - as well other factors such as abuse - include the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute, and the Stark Law. Health care attorneys may represent clients accused of violating these laws, assist with internal investigations, and provide guidance on developing and implementing compliance programs to prevent future violations.

 

The Future of Health Law: Challenges and Opportunities

As the health care industry continues to evolve, health law will play an increasingly important role in addressing emerging challenges and opportunities.

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Some of the key issues that health care lawyers will need to tackle in the coming years include the ongoing implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the integration of new technologies and telemedicine, and the changing landscape of health insurance.

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Healthcare lawyers will also need to stay abreast of new laws, as well as developments in related fields such as intellectual property law, tax law, and civil rights law. By staying informed and adapting to the changing healthcare law landscape, health care lawyers can continue to effectively advocate for their clients.

 

International Health Lawyers

In addition, as the global health landscape evolves, health care lawyers will need to consider the implications of international health law and policy.

This may involve working on cross-border health care transactions, addressing global public health crises, and navigating international regulatory tax policy frameworks.

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Another emerging area of health law involves addressing the legal and ethical challenges surrounding genetic testing, personalized medicine, and bioethics.

Health care lawyers will need to develop expertise in these areas to effectively counsel clients on navigating the complex ethical, legal, and regulatory issues that arise as new medical technologies continue to advance.

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Source: American Public University

Image by Sebastian Pichler
Image by Tingey Injury Law Firm

Medical Law @ Practice

Purdue Pharma L.P. Files New Plan of Reorganization Providing for More Than $7.4 Billion in Creditor Distributions

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  • Sacklers to contribute approximately $6.5 – $7 billion, $1 billion more than under previous Plan  

  • $2.4 billion of cash expected to be distributed on the effective date 

  • Company assets will be transferred to new public benefit company dedicated to abating the opioid crisis 

  • Widespread creditor support expected 

 Stamford, Conn. – March 18, 2025 – Purdue Pharma L.P. (“Purdue”) today filed a Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization (the “Plan”) and related disclosure statement with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Assuming full creditor participation, the Plan will deliver to creditors more than $7.4 billion of cash, subject to certain reserves, to compensate victims and abate the opioid crisis. There will also be substantial value created by the continued development and distribution of lifesaving opioid use disorder and overdose rescue medicines for no profit, as well as expected insurance and other recoveries

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True to the vision Purdue articulated at the outset of the bankruptcy, a new public benefit company, 100% devoted to improving the lives of Americans, will be created upon emergence. Purdue will be dissolved and its assets transferred to the new company. The Sacklers will have no ownership interest or role with the new company, just as they have had no involvement in Purdue since the end of 2018. 

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In compliance with the Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling, the Plan does not contain non-consensual third-party releases. Instead, creditors will need to opt in to the settlement to receive their full settlement payments. Alternatively, creditors can preserve their right to take legal action against the Sacklers if they do not opt in to the Sackler releases contained in the Plan.  

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“Following the 2024 Supreme Court ruling, we doubled down on our commitment to work with our creditors to design a new Plan that delivers unprecedented value to those affected by the opioid crisis. Today’s filing is a major milestone in that effort,” said Purdue Board Chairman Steve Miller. “We and our creditors have worked tirelessly in mediation to build consensus and negotiate a settlement that will increase the total value provided to victims and communities, put billions of dollars to work on day one, and serve the public good. I sincerely thank our stakeholders for their dedication and collaboration, and I look forward to having the plan confirmed and consummated as quickly as possible.”  

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Plan Value 

The cash value of the Plan, assuming full creditor participation and net of certain reserves, is approximately $7.4 billion, including available cash from Purdue and payments by the Sacklers. The number could go higher, with up to an additional $500 million from the Sacklers if the international pharmaceutical businesses they will be required to sell yield proceeds above a certain value. Additional value is also expected from insurance and litigation recoveries that the bankruptcy estate will pursue.  

  • Assuming full creditor participation, the Sacklers will contribute approximately $6.5 billion in installments over the next 15 years, subject to certain reserves. They will pay $1.5 billion on the day the Plan becomes effective.  

  • Purdue will contribute 100% of its assets, with an expected $900 million in cash available for distribution on the day of emergence. 

  • Notably, the Plan is the only opioid settlement to date that meaningfully compensates individual victims. Assuming full participation, individual victims will receive more than $850 million, subject to certain reserves.  

 

In addition to this cash value, the Plan creates a company equipped to provide millions of doses of lifesaving opioid use disorder treatment and overdose reversal medicines. 

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Structure of Emerging Public Benefit Company 

Upon emergence, Purdue will be dissolved. The public benefit company that succeeds it will be owned by an independent, newly created foundation. By charter, its core mission will be to abate the opioid crisis and improve public health.  

  • The states, with input from other case constituents, will select the initial slate of directors. Creditors will otherwise have no ongoing role in the new company’s operations or governance.  

  • The post-emergence company will be subject to a strict operating injunction to ensure that it provides its medicines in a safe manner that limits the risk of diversion. This continues Purdue’s current commitment, as the company has operated under a voluntary self-injunction since 2019, with the oversight of a court-appointed monitor.  

  • The Plan also contains provisions that will ensure that the post-emergence company satisfies Purdue’s obligations to the Department of Justice under the 2020 criminal and civil settlements. Because the new company will be dedicated to abating the opioid crisis, the Plan satisfies the conditions to receive a $1.775 billion forfeiture judgment credit against the $2 billion forfeiture payment that the company would otherwise have to pay to the United States. 

  • The Sacklers, who exited the Board of Purdue by the end of 2018 and have had no involvement in Purdue since that time, will have no role whatsoever in the new company. 

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Dedicated to Addressing the Opioid Crisis 

The post-emergence company will continue Purdue’s work to abate the opioid crisis, at no profit. 

  • Since 2018, Purdue has helped develop a low-cost over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray, resulting in dramatic decreases in the cost of naloxone products in the marketplace, thereby improving access and saving lives.  

  • Purdue has distributed more than 2 million tablets of buprenorphine naloxone sublingual tablets CIII (generic equivalent to Suboxone®) for a penny a tablet to state and local correctional facilities to treat incarcerated people with opioid use disorder. Click here for prescribing information. 

  • Purdue distributes, at no profit, nalmefene HCl injection for use by healthcare professionals for the complete or partial reversal of opioid drug effects, including respiratory depression induced by either natural or synthetic opioids. Click here to learn more, and here for prescribing information.  

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Document Repository and Other Injunctive Relief 

  • The Plan also provides a historic level of transparency. It creates a document repository that will make available to the public millions of documents, including privileged documents, related to Purdue’s historical sales and marketing practices. 

  • The repository will be significantly larger than the entire tobacco industry repository. 

  • Supplements to the Plan will contain provisions relating to Sackler naming rights and the sale of the Sacklers’ international companies similar to the provisions contained in the original Plan. 

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The current terms of the Plan and disclosure statement as filed can be viewed here. The Debtors expect that the new Plan – which is the result of many months of mediation between and among Purdue and its creditors – will receive support from the overwhelming majority of its creditors.  

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The Plan filed today will be amended or supplemented from time to time and is subject to confirmation by the Bankruptcy Court. A hearing to approve the disclosure statement is currently expected to occur in May 2025. Assuming the Bankruptcy Court approves the disclosure statement, Purdue will commence the solicitation of votes on the Plan and thereafter move to confirmation and emergence.  

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About Purdue Pharma L.P.  

Purdue Pharma and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market medications to meet the evolving needs of healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers. Purdue and its subsidiaries focus on balancing innovative science with clinically effective, compassionate care. The Company’s goal is to serve patients who rely on its medicines, pursue its pipeline of branded and generic medications, and introduce medicines that will help save and improve lives.  

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Source: Perdue Pharmaceuticals

The First Case of Temporary Insanity

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To be responsible for a crime, the defendant must traditionally have criminal intent, mens rea, a guilty mind. Hence, the accused cannot be punished for an act perpetrated while insane. Sir Edward Coke observed in 1628: “A madman is only punished by his madness.”[1] And as an 1828 British decision declared, “Insanity vitiates all acts.”[2]

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Yet despite the defense’s acceptance in the law,[3] it is controversial.[4] When denying a pardon request, Theodore Roosevelt wrote: “I have scant sympathy with the plea of insanity advanced to save a man from the consequences of crime, when unless that crime had been committed it would have been impossible to persuade any reasonable authority to commit him to an asylum as insane.”[5]

The insanity defense is especially unpopular when it is based on so-called “temporary insanity.” But this was not true in the first case where a plea of temporary insanity was used.[6] The people rejoiced in the streets when the defendant was acquitted.[7]

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Daniel Sickles shooting Philip Key

On Sunday, Feb. 27, 1859, at fashionable Lafayette Square, a couple of blocks from the White House, 39-year-old Congressman Daniel E. Sickles of New York, after shouting “You villain, you have defiled my bed and you must die!,”[8] shot and killed the unarmed Philip Barton Key, the son of Francis Scott Key, the author of “The Star Spangled Banner.” The 42-year-old Key was also the district attorney for Washington, D.C., receiving his appointment thanks to Sickles’s influence with his old friend, President James Buchanan.

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After doing the deed, Sickles surrendered to the U.S. Attorney General. He was permitted to return to his home on the square, Stockton Mansion, retrieve some personal items, and in the company of the mayor, presented himself at the D.C. jail. The socially prominent Sickles and his beloved dog, Dandy, were given the warden’s comfortable quarters.

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Sickles, a cog in the Tammany Hall political machine, rallied help. Three of the best lawyers in America, two from New York City, were assembled for the defense, including the bulldog-like Edwin M. Stanton, who would be Lincoln’s secretary of war. Prosecution was left to the dead Key’s young and inexperienced assistant, Robert Ould. President Buchanan refused to appoint a special prosecutor. So Key’s friends raised funds to hire a leading local lawyer to assist. When the trial convened, there was difficulty empaneling a jury because scores of prospective jurors expressed their support of Sickles’s act of killing his wife’s paramour.

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Despite all his advantages, Sickles had problems. Newspapers throughout the country began to expose his “notorious profligacy.”[9] He was notorious for cheating on his wife, the beautiful and much younger Teresa Sickles. As one commentator said, “Sickles is not the man to take the law into his own hands and constitute the avenger of sin.”[10]

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The Murder Trial

At trial, the prosecution began by pointing out that Sickles irreverently selected a Sunday to execute his “deed of blood”[11] and that it was “murder, no matter what may be the antecedent provocation.”[12] Testimony described how Key hid behind a tree after the first shot missed and then fell to the pavement when hit by the second. While on the ground, he cried, “Don’t shoot,”[13] but a third shot struck him. Key’s only response was to harmlessly toss his opera glasses at his attacker.

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The Sickles Trial

The proof showed that Sickles learned of the betrayal from an anonymous letter and subsequently obtained confirmation from a detective. He then made a hysterical Teresa write a graphic confession admitting that she was “a wicked woman”[14] and detailing at least six liaisons with Key at a house rented for their encounters in a secluded neighborhood. As fate would have it, while Sickles and a friend, Samuel Butterworth, were conversing about the affair in Sickles’s home, they spotted the handsome Philip Barton Key through a window in Lafayette Square as he was slowly twirling his handkerchief in circles, apparently to signal Teresa. Butterworth went outside to detain Key while Sickles hurried upstairs and loaded his pistol.

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Defense counsel commenced by countering Ould’s comment about murder on Sunday saying it was Key, “a confirmed, habitual adulterer,”[15] who disrespected the Sabbath. Furthermore, he said Sickles was only acting in self-defense, the defense of his home, his wife, his marriage. Such a husband’s right to vengeance is “given by the law of God.”[16] It was also noted that Key’s adultery was still an offense under the criminal code and the accused was defending himself against that crime. Then defense counsel John Graham raised the defense of temporary insanity saying: “Sickles’ provocation was so enormous that he was, from a legal point of view, insane.”[17]

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The defense then attempted to introduce Teresa’s written confession to show Sickles’s state of mind. The elderly judge ruled it inadmissible since it would violate the married couple’s “confidential identity.”[18] Nevertheless, the confession was spread across the nation’s newspapers. Next testimony was given describing Sickles “crying aloud” that morning before the shooting,[19] his upset at seeing Key signaling his wife, and his screams and “unnatural and unearthly sounds” after the shooting.[20] Stanton punctuated the scene by denouncing the prosecution’s “thirst for blood.”[21] Finally, the defense hinted that Key might have been armed, because 12 days before his death Key told a friend, “I am prepared for any emergency.”[22]

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The prosecution moved to exclude all evidence of Teresa and Key’s adultery based on relevancy. To the joy of the spectators and the defense (Stanton danced a jig) the judge held that the evidence was admissible as “an explanation.”[23] Thus it became “hard to tell whether Sickles was on trial for murder or Key for adultery.”[24] Another debate ensued when Stanton contended that the burden was on the prosecution to establish that the defendant “was a person of sound memory and discretion at the time the act was committed.”[25] The judge held that every person “is presumed to be sane until the contrary is proved; that is the normal condition of the human race, I hope.”[26]

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In rebuttal, the prosecution was not allowed to introduce proof of Sickles’s own adulteries and the proof closed. The judge instructed the jury: “If the jury have [sic] any doubt as to the case, either in reference to the homicide or the question of sanity, Mr. Sickles should be acquitted.”[27] A verdict of not guilty was returned and the cheering crowd unharnessed the horses from a carriage and pulled Sickles triumphantly through the streets of Washington.

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Philip Barton Key, the murdered D.C. District AttorneyDaniel Sickles
(1819-1914)Teresa Sickles. Although reconciled with her husband,
they were never seen in public again.

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The Aftermath

Defense attorneys copied the strategy, increasingly with the support of medical testimony. Yet critics would arise. Mark Twain wrote: “Heaven knows insanity was disreputable enough, long ago; but now the lawyers have got to cutting every gallows rope and picking every prison lock with it.”[28]

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As for Dan Sickles, he and Teresa reconciled. She died eight years later. He would go on to serve as a Union general in the Civil War. Some (including himself) said he was critical to winning the Battle of Gettysburg. Others argued his rashness almost lost it for the North. He did lose a leg in the war. President Grant would name him ambassador to Spain. During this appointment he carried on an affair with the deposed Queen of Spain, Isabella II. After being elected to Congress again in the 1890s, he served as chair of the New York Monuments Commission, but was fired for misappropriation of funds.[29] He donated his shattered leg bone for display at the Army Medical Museum and died in New York City at the age of 94 in 1914. He was given a hero’s funeral.

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Source: Tennessee Bar Association

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COVID-19 sparks more than 1,000 workplace-related lawsuits in 2020 as employees complain about safety, wages

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The COVID-19 pandemic spawned more than 1,000 workplace-related lawsuits last year and drove a record number of class-action cases as employees sued over disputes over workplace safety, how they’re paid while working from home, and family and medical leave.

In 2020, the pandemic led employees to file 1,005 workplace lawsuits in state and federal courts, according to Chicago-based law firm Seyfarth Shaw.

 

Another law firm, Littler Mendelson, based in San Francisco, says the figure was even higher. It estimated 1,425 such cases as of mid-December.

 

The lawsuits represent just the leading edge of an even bigger wave that’s expected this year, says Gerald Maatman Jr., a Seyfarth partner. Many were filed after employees were laid off during the pandemic, he says.

 

“COVID is now a driver of filings and is significantly impacting workplace class-actions,” Maatman says.

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Among the 1,005 workplace lawsuits sparked by the outbreak, well over half – 690 – dealt with layoffs and firings, with employees arguing they were victims of age or racial discrimination, for example.

 

Mask demonstrations continue:  Protests go on as coronavirus cases surge with one leading a California Trader Joe's to close early

 

Workplace safety

Nearly 200 were related to workplace safety. Workers claimed businesses didn’t provide adequate personal protective equipment or hygiene products, didn’t comply with cleaning and sanitation protocols, or didn’t enforce temperature checks or mask-wearing by customers or visitors, among other accusations.

 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires employers to establish a workplace “free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm” to employees.

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Last year, OSHA issued COVID-19-related citations triggered by 295 inspections, and it proposed penalties totaling $3.8 million. But Debbie Berkowitz, worker safety and health program director for the National Employment Law Project, a worker advocacy group, noted the agency has received more than 9,000 complaints.

 

Meanwhile, 113 of the workplace suits were so-called wage-and-hour claims, in which staffers contended they were forced to work off the clock, for instance. While most white-collar workers are exempt from overtime requirements, hourly workers must be paid extra for the hours they put in beyond 40 each week.

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Fast-food workers may sue because they weren’t paid for the time they spent putting on and taking off protective gear. And call-center and clerical employees working from home may claim they weren’t compensated for all the hours they logged, or for their purchases of computers or printers.

 

A record 231 wage-and hour-related class-action lawsuits were certified last year, Maatman says, and COVID-19 cases made up about one-third of those. That’s significant because class-action suits can include hundreds or thousands of plaintiffs, and certification means a judge has determined the case can go forward as a class action. Most such lawsuits are settled before they go to trial, Maatman says.

Other types of workplace suits, according to Seyfarth Shaw:

 

• Discrimination. In New Jersey, a firm denied a 70-year-old plaintiff’s request to work from home. He had cited his age and medical condition for the request. In another case, a worker lost a job because the employer was concerned about exposing him to COVID-19.

• Leave. Many suits say employees grappling with COVID-19 themselves or caring for a relative have been illegally denied sick leave or family and medical leave.

• Retaliation. Employees charged that they were fired for complaining about unsafe working conditions, or the failure to comply with COVID-19 protocols.

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Source: USA Today

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