In Louisiana, law enforcement locked up a 16-year-old because all options for services had been exhausted: What we do know is prosecutors knew the 16-year-old Cadarius was not competent to stand trial, but they still charged him as an adult. The move, according to Judge Jenifer Clason, who handles both juvenile and adult cases in Claiborne Parish, was because “we were able to make sure he was safe and properly cared for.”   A very sad story. … [Read more...] about Law Enforcement & the Intellectually Disabled

  A former patient information coordinator of a health care system pleaded guilty to a count of unlawfully disclosing patient information: "Specifically, on Aug 11, 2017, Kalina unlawfully disclosed personal gynecological health information related to two such patients, with the intent to cause those individuals embarrassment and mental distress," the Justice Department statement says. Apparently, her motive was retaliation against employees who worked at her previous employment from … [Read more...] about Guilty Plea in HIPAA Criminal Case

Congressional hearings were recently held regarding alleged nursing home abuses.  Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) — head of the powerful Senate Committee on Finance, and a longtime nursing home critic — convened the hearing, and said SNF reform would be a “top priority” during his tenure. He said he wants to crackdown on nursing home abuse cases that never get reported to law enforcement and fix weaknesses in the five-star rating system. One of the top officials for the largest nursing home … [Read more...] about Calls for Reform in Response to Alleged Nursing Home Abuses

  The 5th circuit has affirmed a ruling in favor of an employer who did not accommodate a pregnant employee by exempting her from lifting and terminated her for the inability to do her job.  The Pregnancy Discrimination Act does not specifically require employers to so accommodate, but if other employees are allowed such exemptions for physical reasons, a pregnant employee can't be treated differently from them.  In this particular instance, the court found that there was no evidence that … [Read more...] about Pregnancy Discrimination and Lifting Restrictions

A bipartisan group of Texas Legislators has filed bills to empower the Texas Attorney General to stop "price-gouging" by freestanding emergency rooms.   SB 866 and HB 1941 "would protect Texans from exorbitant charges in an emergency, make prices “unconscionable” if they are more than 200 percent over the average hospital charge for the same service, and allow the state to take action to stop freestanding ERs via restraining order against the facility if unconscionable prices. The penalty for … [Read more...] about Texas State Senators and Representatives File Bill Regarding Freestanding ED’s

McKnight's is reporting on a Georgia case involving three nursing facilities who sued a plaintiff's personal injury firm for ads that were false, fraudulent, deceptive and misleading and for violating a specific Georgia statute restricting the use of nursing home data in ads.  The defendants have filed a motion to dismiss based on free speech grounds.  The Georgia Supreme Courts heard arguments on Tuesday. In Texas, it is likely any such claim would be subject to the Texas "Anti-Slapp" statute … [Read more...] about Disparagement versus Freedom of Speech?