Below of Ring of Fire’s top stories from the past week. This week, we’ve seen a resurgence of interest in the case of Karen Bartlett, the ending of Kentucky’s private prisons, Rick Scott’s banning of computers and smart phones in Florida, whistleblowers and transvaginal mesh litigation.
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With Bartlett, Supreme Court Delivers Devastating Blow to Consumers The Supreme Court has given a major injury to the American consumer with its decision in Mutual Pharmaceutical Co., Inc. v. Bartlett. Deciding that federal law preempts defect design claims for generic drug manufacturers, the Justices have again displayed their allegiance to American and Big Pharma corporations. … Read more. |
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Kentucky Puts an End to Private Prisons The State of Kentucky is withdrawing from the private sector of inmate facilities. On Tuesday, the state announced they are not renewing their contract with the privately-owned prison giant, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), for the upcoming year. … Read more. |
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Rick Scott Bans Computers and Smart Phones The hasty and slipshod effort of Gov. Rick Scott to respond to illegal gambling in Miami has resulted in a poorly-crafted law that bans computers and smart phones in all of Florida. This year alone, Florida Gov. Rick Scott has approved one piece of bad legislation after another. … Read more. |
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False Claim Settlement: Fifty-Five Hospitals, Twenty-One States The Department of Justice announced one of the largest settlements in the recent history for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT). Bringing a resolution to a long and devoted effort to protect taxpayers from rampant Medicare fraud, the settlement resolves claims against more than fifty-five hospitals and total over $34 million dollars. Fifty-one of the claims settled last week were brought under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the federal False Claims Act for facilities incorrectly charging for kyphoplasty procedures. … Read more. |
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Avaulta Transvaginal Mesh Trial Begins The first of four bellwether trials regarding C.R. Bard transvaginal mesh lawsuits began yesterday in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of West Virginia, with the plaintiff of the first transvaginal mesh multi-district litigation trial alleging to have suffered injuries from C.R. Bard’s Avaulta transvaginal mesh device. The woman claims that the transvaginal mesh device was made from a resin-based plastic not suitable to be implanted in the human body. … Read more. |
Joshua is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire.