Deadly Medication Error; FDA Clearance for Bone Saw Faked; Hadden Gets 20 Years

An 81-year-old man transferred to CHI Saint Joseph Health Main in Lexington, Kentucky, in need of higher-level care for a gastrointestinal bleed reportedly died from a medication error, according to a coroner’s report and documents from a nursing board investigation. The patient was allegedly given NaturaLyte, a dialysis liquid not made to be ingested, instead of GoLytely for colonoscopy prep. (LEX 18)

A former employee of a medical device company pleaded guilty to creating two fake letters claiming FDA cleared two devices. Peter Stoll III admitted that he never submitted any 510(k) documents to the FDA for either a high-speed surgical bone saw and a medical instruments sterilization container; instead, he faked the letters using FDA letterhead and a forged digital signature of an FDA official, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Former New York gynecologist Robert Hadden, MD, accused of sexually abusing hundreds of patients, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. A previous prosecution ended with a plea bargain that spared him from jail. (AP)

Tony Daniel Klein, a former nurse with the Oregon Department of Corrections, was found guilty of sexually assaulting nine women while he worked at a women’s prison. (KGW8)

Two patients have sued Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville over its decision to hand over detailed patient records to the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office, which purports to be investigating possible medical billing fraud related to transgender care. (The Tennessean)

Ammon Bundy — who led armed protests at St. Luke’s Hospital in Boise, Idaho in March 2022, resulting in a facility lockdown — will have to pay the hospital more than $50 million in damages, though it remains to be seen whether St. Luke’s will ever collect the money. (NPR)

A class-action suit has been filed against Cigna over its alleged use of an algorithm to review — and frequently reject — hundreds of thousands of patient claims. (CBS News)

Two doctors in Texas and Missouri, along with their medical practices, will pay $525,000 to settle allegations that they took kickbacks for referring patients for laboratory testing, according to the DOJ.

Illinois physician John A. Greager II, MD, and his surgical center will pay almost $758,000 to settle claims around mole removal procedures that were allegedly performed on one date, but billed as if they were performed on multiple dates, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

Thomas Jefferson University will pay $2.7 million to resolve claims that it improperly managed funds from the federal Primary Care Loan program, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

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