'Foot Bath' Fraud; Doc's Wrongful Termination Suit; Nurse Overdosed Patients?

— A weekly roundup of healthcare's encounters with the courts

MedicalToday
Legal Break over a blindfolded Lady Justice statue holding scales.

Tennessee podiatrist Nathan Lucas, DPM, was convicted of fraud for prescribing medically unnecessary "foot bath" medications, and garnering millions in reimbursement, .

Emergency physician Liam Gannon, MD, filed a against Copley Hospital in Morrisville, Vermont, alleging he was retaliated against after raising concerns about safety. He claimed that leadership grew increasingly antagonistic toward him, so he stepped down in March 2023, and was ultimately terminated last November. (VT Digger)

Georgia physician Jackson Gates, MD, who posted videos of a decapitated newborn baby on social media, has been for intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and fraud. A bench trial will determine the amount of damages owed to the parents. (NBC News)

A California man has pleaded guilty to selling herbal mixtures that he falsely claimed could treat a variety of medical conditions, including COVID-19, .

New York nurse practitioner Paul Igbide was arrested for allegedly a 19-year-old female patient. (News 12 Long Island)

Iowa physician Scott Piper, MD, who was accused of sexual exploitation, will get and won't be placed on the state's sex-offender registry. (Des Moines Register)

An Iowa nurse has been accused of , including hydrocodone and tramadol. (KTIV)

A Pennsylvania nurse has been accused of and using it to make more than $1,200 in fraudulent purchases, including at Target and Pandora. (WHTM)

Ohio doctor Gregory Gerber, MD, was sentenced to and a year of house arrest after pleading guilty to illegally giving patients narcotics, and California doctor Parto Karimi, MD, was sentenced to for prescribing opioids in exchange for cash and street drugs including cocaine and methamphetamine. (19 News and KRON)

Detroit pharmacist Hasna Bashir Iwas was sentenced to more than 8 years in prison for unlawfully distributing controlled substances, .

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has sued a former employee for allegedly about commercial strategies to competitor Pfizer. (FiercePharma)

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    Kristina Fiore leads MedPage’s enterprise & investigative reporting team. She’s been a medical journalist for more than a decade and her work has been recognized by Barlett & Steele, AHCJ, SABEW, and others. Send story tips to k.fiore@medpagetoday.com.