Health Law Monitor

Supreme Court to Decide Whether Federal Courts Will Enforce State Statutes Requiring Pre-Suit Affidavits Against Health Care Providers

March 10, 2025

On March 10, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to hear Berk v. Choy, No. 23-1620, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 18336 (3d Cir. July 25, 2024), a case over whether a Delaware statute which requires service of an affidavit of merit before a claimant can sue a health care provider will be applied in cases filed in federal court.   This is important to health care providers because the Supreme…

ANCHORS AWAY: FIGHTING DAMAGE TACTICS

August 10, 2023

For years we have been facing Reptile tactics designed to increase verdicts.  With each nuance in the strategies, defense counsel are often playing catch up as to how to battle them.  Consulting services conduct studies on juror reactions and war stories are shared to determine how best to combat each new approach.  A common one being addressed currently is the use of anchors.  The attorney will…

Supreme Court Confirms Government’s Discretion to Dismiss Qui Tam False Claim Act Lawsuits

July 7, 2023

On June 16, 2023, the United States Supreme Court handed down its decision in U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, No. 21-1052.  The decision may have a lasting impact on the quickly growing False Claims Act (“FCA”) qui tam litigation throughout the United States.

In Polansky, the Supreme Court held that the federal government has the authority to dismiss an FCA suit in which it…