Doc Walked in on Killer? IHS Sex Abuse Victims Get Millions; Axed Doc Wins Suit

Pediatrician Ravi Jayaram, MD, said he walked in on former nurse Lucy Letby as she was trying to kill a 98-minute-old baby, the doctor testified at Letby’s trial in the U.K. this week. Letby has been charged with murdering seven babies and attempting to murder 10 others from June 2015 to June 2016. (The Guardian)

The federal government will likely pay $1.5 to $2 million to each of eight victims of Stanley Patrick Weber, MD, who sexually assaulted Native American boys for decades when he worked for the Indian Health Service (IHS). Weber was previously convicted of abusing six victims and is serving a life sentence in federal prison. (Wall Street Journal)

Thomas Neal, MD, was awarded $879,000 by a jury for being fired from his job at Ironwood Family Practice in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, after refusing to refer his patients to a resident physician group rather than the local hospital. Neal said he was forced out of the place he worked for more than 23 years over the disagreement, and he was concerned about the care of his patients, as well as the financial agreement between his employer and the residency program. (East Idaho News)

Raynaldo Rivera Ortiz, MD, the Texas anesthesiologist who allegedly added dangerous drugs to IV bags resulting in several cardiac emergencies and the death of a coworker, has been indicted on 10 counts. He’ll be back in court on Friday and is expected to plead not guilty to the charges. (CBS News)

Frank Alario, MD, admitted to wrongfully disclosing patients’ protected personal health information to a pharmaceutical sales rep, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Alario allegedly allowed the rep to look up information so he could determine whether patients had insurance that covered the compounded medications he sold.

Gastroenterologist Shawn Khodadadian, MD, is suing Mount Sinai Heart Institute in New York City for $596,000 in alleged unpaid rent. Khodadadian owns the three-story building that houses the institute, which he purchased for $10.6 million in November 2020. (Becker’s GI & Endoscopy)

A patient is suing John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, California, over a $6,000 urine screen during an emergency department visit. That price is nearly 100 times Medicare’s reimbursement rate of $62 for the test. (Seattle Times)

Iredell Physician Network, which operates a hospital and several medical practices in the Statesville, North Carolina area, will pay $138,612 to resolve allegations that it avoided giving back overpayments to Medicare and Medicaid. (WHKY)

Fresno, California’s Community Health System sued physician group Santé Health System, seeking nearly $10 million in repayments over allegations of improper distribution or accounting of grants. (San Joaquin Valley Sun)

Nonprofit lawyers filed a class action suit against Mountain View Regional Medical Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico, for suing low-income patients over unpaid medical bills. (New Mexico Political Report)

Staten Island, New York doctor Somsri Ratanaprasatporn, MD, and seven others have been charged in an alleged drug-trafficking ring that reportedly pulled in $24 million and distributed 1.2 million oxycodone pills. (SI Live)