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Doctor Wins $14M Judgment; Poppy Seeds and Positive Drug Tests; Fixing Nurse Wages?

— A weekly roundup of healthcare's encounters with the courts

MedpageToday
Legal Break over a blindfolded Lady Justice statue holding scales.

Kentucky doctor James Dustin Chaney, DO, who had been accused of writing improper scripts for opioids, after arguing that CVS and Rite Aid had wrongly attributed drug orders to him. Jurors found the two companies "knowingly or recklessly" reported he wrote prescriptions that he did not. (Lexington Herald-Leader)

Two mothers are suing two New Jersey hospitals for allegedly performing drug tests on them . The tests turned up positive, leading them to be reported for possible neglect or abuse days after giving birth. The mothers said the poppy seed bagels they ate for breakfast were the true cause of the positive tests. (The Guardian)

Colorado physician Barbara Morris, MD, is trying to revive her lawsuit against a Catholic hospital that for advocating for a terminally ill patient who wanted to end his life. (Courthouse News Service)

A nurse who was found not guilty after being accused of breaking the fingers of a patient at an assisted living facility . Nancy Waller, RN, had agreed to a voluntary suspension of her nursing license after she was charged with abuse. (New Hampshire Union Leader)

The Federal Trade Commission sued Dalal Akoury, MD, and her clinics for allegedly making about addiction treatment, cancer treatment, and treatment for other conditions including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

Home health agency executive Eduardo Lopez of Las Vegas was indicted for conspiring to fix nurses' wages. Lopez allegedly participated in meetings and other communications to fix the wages of nurses between March 2016 and May 2019, .

Colorado dentist James Toliver Craig, DDS, was arrested for allegedly . (CNN)

Missouri neurosurgeon Sonjay Fonn, DO, and his companies will pay $825,000 to settle claims tied to taking kickbacks from spinal implant companies for using their devices in surgeries. The case stemmed from whistleblower allegations brought by five other doctors, .

Pennsylvania nurse practitioner Stefanie King pleaded guilty to prescribing drugs without a collaborating physician and false billing. Some of the allegations happened while she was involved in an inappropriate relationship with a patient, .

Mississippi physician Gregory Auzenne, MD, after pleading guilty to a lesser charge. Auzenne was accused of defrauding federal insurers in a pain cream scheme and originally stood trial in 2020. He was sentenced to 5 years of probation and will pay a $20,000 fine along with nearly $117,000 in restitution. (Clarion Ledger)

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    Kristina Fiore leads MedPage’s enterprise & investigative reporting team. She’s been a medical journalist for more than a decade and her work has been recognized by Barlett & Steele, AHCJ, SABEW, and others. Send story tips to k.fiore@medpagetoday.com.