Articles and Blogs

The Fourth District of the Appellate Court of Illinois reaffirmed that claims by a physician that a hospital’s failure to renew his privileges caused actual and intentional harm to his professional reputation are barred by the Illinois’s Hospital Licensing Act. Only claims alleging an actual or deliberate intention to physically harm the physician or others trump a hospital’s... READ MORE

This month’s announcement of the recent Anthem Data Breach sent shockwaves through the health care industry with some experts referring to 2015 as the “year of the health care hack.” Those who collect and store health data have been racing to strengthen security protocols and to understand their risk exposure. In a first-of-its-kind case in... READ MORE

Recently, a federal District Court for the Northern District of Indiana ruled that pharmacists in Indiana are not subject to patient lawsuits for their refusal to dispense certain prescriptions but can be sued by prescribing physicians for related claims or face administrative actions by the state for improperly refusing to fill a prescription.  Therefore, pharmacies and pharmacists should carefully determine when they... READ MORE

The Indiana Court of Appeals recently ruled the trial court erred in dismissing a patient’s Intentional Infliction of Emotion Distress (“IIED”) claim based on the lack of subject matter jurisdiction.  In this claim, the patient was admitted to the hospital while unconscious and under the influence of phencyclidine, a medication commonly known as the... READ MORE

On September 5, 2014, the Indiana Court of Appeals issued an opinion affirming the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the hospital defendant.  Plaintiff asserted teaching hospitals have a duty to specifically identify on its consent forms (both by name and qualification) all medical personnel, including interns and residents, that may... READ MORE

In Associated Bank, N.A., v. Jack W. Collier, 2014 WI 62, the Wisconsin Supreme Court (the “Court”) held that a judgment creditor must levy a debtor’s specified non-exempt personal property in order to obtain a priority lien. Prior to Collier, a judgment creditor could impose an equitable lien, superior to other creditors’ unsecured claims,... READ MORE

On July 21, 2014, the Indiana Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Giles v. Anonymous Physician I, refusing to extend the physician patient relationship to a hospitalist asked to consult on a patient – the hospitalist refused the consult because the patient’s primary care provider had not approved hospitalist care for his patients. ... READ MORE

 On July 22, 2014, the Wisconsin Supreme Court released Masri v. State of Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission, 2014 WI 81, in which it held that an unpaid intern was not an “employee” subject to anti-retaliation protection under Wis. Stat. § 146.997, Wisconsin’s whistleblower protection law for health care employees. Asma Masri, a... READ MORE

On May 28, 2014, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals reaffirmed that a governmental body that refuses to abide by the Open Records Law risks being ordered to pay attorney’s fees and costs for those who seek to compel disclosure of those records.  In The Journal Times v. City of Racine Board of Police and... READ MORE

In Watertown Regional Medical Center, Inc. v. General Casualty Insurance Company, 2013AP2324 and 2013AP2511 (April 17, 2014) (recommended for publication), the Wisconsin Court of Appeals confronted the issue of who is liable for the impairment of a hospital lien when personal injury settlement proceeds are disbursed to the injured patient without first having been... READ MORE