Consumer Fraud Legal News Articles & Interviews

Santa Clara, CA Despite government entities recognizing Long Covid as a disability, attorneys are litigating against health insurance companies that deny disability benefits to COVID long haulers.

Memphis, TN  Count IX of this class-action ERISA lawsuit, alleges the “Tort of Outrage.” That, if nothing else, captures the flavor of the case.

Green Bay, WI  The Eastern District of Wisconsin has approved a $5.1 million settlement in Soulek v. Costco Wholesale Corporation. The settlement brings to an end another ERISA lawsuit, which alleged that plan fiduciaries failed to manage employee retirement funds prudently, as required by ERISA.

Nashville, TN There was a flurry of reports and studies about five years ago that found routine price gouging in emergency rooms nationwide, and it was worse for the most vulnerable populations – poor and minority patients. It appears that, no matter how advanced medical technology gets, many emergency room patients are left in the dark, and left with an unexpectedly huge ER overcharges bill.

Chicago, IL Cast your mind back to 2020. We were staying at home, fully masked, wearing blue gloves, bleaching our kitchen counters and very worried about people living in congregate settings, like nursing homes. Needless to say, we weren’t flying anywhere. United Airlines, like all other airlines, had a powerful incentive to reduce overhead, including employee costs. Such is the background for this ERISA lawsuit.

Islip, NY A number of elements go into the calculation of emergency room fees. Apart from the cost of providing care, hospitals must factor in reasonable expectations that some bills will go unpaid and that insurance companies will try to negotiate certain charges down – sometimes because of suspicions of healthcare fraud. The net effect, however, is that patients pay more.

San Francisco, CA In 2019, the Northern District of California’s decision in Wit v. United Behavioral Health was hailed as a big win for patients seeking coverage parity for mental health disorders. But on March 22, 2022 the Ninth Circuit panel reversed the District Court’s decision. The latest twist in this ERISA lawsuit has thrown longstanding and developing law concerning mental health patients’ rights into turmoil.

Rochester, NY Vollmer v. Xerox Corp., an ERISA lawsuit pending in the Western District of New York, raises a question that weighs heavily on the minds of many retirees. Can an employer offer a valuable incentive to encourage workers to retire and then unilaterally change the deal after the employee is out the door? 

Clear Lake, CA On April 8, the DC Circuit Court, which has jurisdiction over Medicare cases, held that Medicare need not reimburse St. Helena Clear Lake Hospital for the cost of maintaining nonemergency room specialists on call. Without Medicare reimbursement, the cost of maintaining these doctors on call will ultimately be passed along to patients through higher emergency room charges.

Santa Clara, CA If you are a COVID 19 long-hauler and your disability claim has been denied, don’t give up – don’t accept excuses from your insurer. The medical and legal community, state and federal governments (including the CDC) and a recent global survey recognize Long COVID as a disability and insurers will increasingly find it difficult to deny LTD benefits.