Ortiz Victim Speaks Out; Collapsed Imaging Table Suit; Hospital Exec Embezzled $600K

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

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

The family of a 19-year-old who almost died after getting an IV bag that had been poisoned by anesthesiologist Raynaldo Ortiz, MD, has spoken out about their experience: "I hope he [Ortiz] can comprehend the magnitude of what he did and spend the rest of his life marinating in it," the boy's father said. Ortiz was found guilty and faces 190 years in prison. (FOX 4)

A man in Connecticut was awarded $9 million in a malpractice lawsuit after a nuclear imaging table collapsed under him, leading to injuries that required surgeries in which he experienced complications. (Hartford Courant)

A former U.S. Marine who firebombed a Planned Parenthood clinic in California -- and plotted other attacks -- was sentenced to 9 years in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Washington state ob/gyn Vulihn Ta, MD, was charged with child rape and commercial sex abuse of a child, after being arrested on suspicion of abusing a child he knew for many years. (Kitsap Sun)

New York psychologist Maya Hayes was arrested and accused of sexually assaulting numerous victims over several years. (CBS 6)

A former Pennsylvania hospital director pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $600,000 from a hospital charity account and was sentenced to 5 years' probation. (6 ABC)

Nursing supervisor LaToya Jackson-Terry has filed suit against her former employer, Emory University Hospital, alleging it fired her after she reported racial discrimination. (WSB-TV)

A lawsuit alleges that large insurance sales agency call centers paid tens of thousands of dollars a day to buy patient names and information, and then enrolled them in Affordable Care Act plans or switched their existing plans. (KFF Health News)

New Jersey doctor Felicia Gonzalez, DO, was sentenced to 2 years in prison for illegally prescribing opioids without properly assessing patients, according to the DOJ.

A doctor and a chiropractor were sentenced to prison time for their roles in an unnecessary urine drug test billing scheme that siphoned millions from insurers, according to the DOJ.

  • author['full_name']

    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. Follow