From an antitrust complaint filed against UPMC, to Northwell Health suing a former employee for allegedly posting graphic photos and videos from a morgue, here are 13 lawsuits and settlements involving hospitals and health systems Becker's has reported since May 4.
1. A group of labor unions, led by SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, launched what they are calling a "groundbreaking antitrust complaint" against Pittsburgh-based UPMC. The complaint alleges labor abuses and anti-competitive practices by UPMC over a number of years.
2. Worcester, Mass.-based UMass Memorial Medical Center paid $1.2 million to settle a March 2022 lawsuit regarding a data breach of its payroll management system Kronos.
3. Springfield, Ill.-based St. Elizabeth's Hospital agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle allegations in a whistleblower suit that it committed billing errors resulting in an overpayment for services.
4. St. Charles Hospital in Bend, Ore., is facing a lawsuit filed by a former employee claiming that the health system repeatedly violated meal break policies and underpaid staff. The lawsuit comes on the heels of a series of complaints filed by nurses to the Oregon Health Authority St. Charles Health is also facing a separate $2.5 million lawsuit filed by 11 other employees in early May alleging the system violated their religious freedoms.
5. North Kansas City (Mo.) Hospital was cleared in a wrongful death suit involving a 51-year-old man who died of pancreatitis.
6. Bradenton, Fla.-based MCR Health settled with HHS after a woman who is deaf complained she was not given auxiliary aids or an interpreter when attending her husband's postsurgical medical appointment as his companion.
7. A federal judge has dismissed several claims against San Francisco-based UCSF Health in a lawsuit accusing the health system of transmitting patient data to Facebook parent Meta Platforms.
8. Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health and Northeast Medical Group in Bridgeport, Conn. — a physician and associated provider group affiliated with the health system — agreed to pay $560,718 to resolve allegations they overbilled Medicare and the state of Connecticut.
9. Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit over accusations it let tech companies "intercept" private patient data for advertising purposes.
10. Duluth, Minn.-based Essentia Health System will pay $19 million to the family of a child left permanently brain damaged as a result of misdiagnosis as a newborn.
11. New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health filed suit against a former employee for allegedly posting graphic photos and videos from the morgue at Long Island Jewish Medical Center.
12. Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health is facing a $250 million lawsuit amid allegations the health system failed to live up to promises it made regarding a major liver sample center whose products are used in medical research.
13. A Pennsylvania appeals court reversed a lower court's ruling that blocked Crozer Health-owned Delaware County Memorial Hospital from closing its emergency department and ending general inpatient services. The decision is not expected to have immediate impact, however, as the state health department in November ordered the hospital to stop admitting patients and suspend its emergency room services because it lacked staff.