Healthcare Law

4th District Court of Appeal, Healthcare Law, Litigation

Sujan v. UHS Corona — Physician had to exhaust hospital peer-review remedies before damages suit

automatic / September 16, 2026

The Fourth District affirmed summary judgment because a physician failed to exhaust hospital peer-review remedies and upheld the related attorney-fee award.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Healthcare Law, Litigation

Adom v. CDCR — ADA accommodation duty does not turn solely on medical necessity

automatic / September 8, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that CDCR could not defeat an ADA accommodation claim solely by deeming requested incontinence supplies medically unnecessary.

5th District Court of Appeal, Healthcare Law, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Stallion Springs Medical Services v. Superior Court — Staffing company owed no common-law fair-procedure hearing

automatic / September 2, 2026

A physician staffing corporation was not a quasi-public institution and owed no common-law fair-procedure hearing before ending a staffing relationship.

4th District Court of Appeal, Healthcare Law, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Godshall v. Peterson — Ongoing symptoms did not conclusively start malpractice limitations clock

automatic / September 2, 2026

Triable issues remained over when an injury from carpal-tunnel surgery manifested, so the malpractice action could not be dismissed on limitations grounds.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Healthcare Law, Litigation

Conservatorship of K.L. — Written Notice Alone Did Not Establish a Valid Jury Waiver

automatic / August 25, 2026

A written citation mentioning the jury right did not establish that an LPS conservatee knowingly waived a jury where neither counsel nor the court explained the right.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Healthcare Law, Litigation

Doe v. Adventist Health — health-site tracking claims may proceed as classes

automatic / August 24, 2026

A California appellate court revived class-certification efforts over tracking technology on health-risk and patient-portal pages.

4th District Court of Appeal, Family Law, Healthcare Law

Marriage of R.M. and P.N. — Parent’s IHSS Caregiver Pay Counts as Support Income

automatic / August 21, 2026

A California Court of Appeal held that IHSS caregiver pay received by a parent counts as gross income when the child’s need established eligibility for the services.

4th District Court of Appeal, Healthcare Law, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Nassman v. Superior Court — PREP Act Shields Deliberate COVID-19 Treatment Allocation Decisions

automatic / August 18, 2026

The Fourth District held that PREP Act immunity covers a conscious decision not to administer a COVID-19 countermeasure when the decision reflects purposeful allocation.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Healthcare Law

QueerDoc, PLLC v. DOJ — Policy Opposition Alone Does Not Show a Healthcare Subpoena Was Issued in Bad Faith

automatic / August 14, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that political opposition to gender-affirming care alone did not prove DOJ issued an otherwise authorized healthcare subpoena in bad faith.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Antitrust, Healthcare Law, Litigation

Surgical Instrument Service v. Intuitive Surgical — Ninth Circuit Revives Robot Aftermarket Antitrust Claims

automatic / August 13, 2026

The Ninth Circuit reversed. The special factors apply when a plaintiff cannot show power in a competitive foremarket and instead claims that a seller later exploited customers locked into a brand. They were unnecessary here because evidence directly supported a conventional claim that dominant foremarket power was leveraged into the tied aftermarket.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Healthcare Law, Personal Injury & Tort

Godshall v. Peterson — Persistent symptoms did not conclusively start the medical-malpractice clock

automatic / August 11, 2026

A patient's continuing symptoms after surgery did not establish as a matter of law that she had discovered a negligent incomplete carpal-tunnel release.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Healthcare Law, Insurance Law, Litigation

Healthcare Ally v. WSP — ERISA does not preempt provider’s negligent-misrepresentation claim over benefit verification

automatic / August 11, 2026

An out-of-network provider's negligent-misrepresentation claim based on a plan administrator's benefit-verification statements was not preempted by ERISA.

California Supreme Court, Healthcare Law, Personal Injury & Tort

Gilead Tenofovir Cases — Drug Makers Owe No Negligence Duty to Launch a Safer Alternative Sooner

automatic / August 3, 2026

The California Supreme Court rejected negligence liability based solely on delaying a safer alternative to a nondefective drug.

1st District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Healthcare Law

Conservatorship of C.O. — Counsel may communicate conservatee’s jury-trial waiver

automatic / August 3, 2026

An LPS conservatee may knowingly waive a jury trial through counsel, although the trial court should personally advise the conservatee of that right.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Healthcare Law, Labor & Employment Law

Weiss v. Permanente Medical Group, Inc. — Religious-Objection Notice Was Sufficient at the Pleading Stage

automatic / July 24, 2026

The Ninth Circuit revived a medical employee's religious-accommodation claims, holding that her allegations plausibly gave the employer notice of a conflict between her faith and its COVID-19 vaccination policy.

California Supreme Court, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Healthcare Law

Conservatorship of E.A. — A Nearly Year-Long Delay in an LPS Trial Violated Due Process

automatic / July 23, 2026

The California Supreme Court held that an almost year-long delay in an LPS conservatorship trial violated due process, though the error was harmless on this record.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Healthcare Law, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Aud v. RRT Enterprises, LP — MICRA Cap Does Not Cover Nursing-Home Custodial Neglect

automatic / July 23, 2026

A nursing-home resident's neglect claims arose from custodial care rather than professional medical services, so MICRA's noneconomic-damages cap did not reduce the jury's award.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Healthcare Law

Ortiz v. Bisignano — ALJ Cannot Reject Pain Limitation by Citing Normal Gait and Strength Tests

automatic / June 24, 2026

The Ninth Circuit orders an award of Social Security benefits after holding that an ALJ improperly rejected a treating physician's pain limitation by pointing to normal gait and strength tests, and improperly discounted two examining psychologists' opinions of marked-to-severe work restrictions.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Healthcare Law

People v. Russo — Prior Failure in the Same Treatment Program Justifies Denying Mental Health Diversion

automatic / June 12, 2026

A trial court may deny mental health diversion under Penal Code section 1001.36 when a defendant proposes returning to the same treatment program that previously failed to address his needs — even if the court frames its analysis in terms of treatment adequacy rather than the statutory suitability factors.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Healthcare Law, Personal Injury & Tort

Sgaraglino v. County of Ventura — LPS Act Immunizes Hospital From Wrongful Death Suit After Psychiatric Patient’s Post-Discharge Suicide

automatic / June 9, 2026

California's Second District confirms that Welfare and Institutions Code section 5113 grants absolute immunity to psychiatric hospitals for any action taken by a patient after a 5150 hold is released — including the patient's own suicide — with no exception for gross negligence.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Criminal Law, Healthcare Law

People v. Tourville — 2nd District Says Trial Court Cannot Condition Mental-Health Treatment on a No-Contest Plea Where Defendant Is Eligible for Diversion

automatic / May 5, 2026

The Second District holds that when a trial court finds a defendant eligible and suitable for mental-health diversion under Penal Code section 1001.36, requiring a no-contest plea as the price of receiving the same treatment via probation directly conflicts with the statute's purpose.

1st District Court of Appeal, Healthcare Law, Personal Injury & Tort

Sobalvarro v. Vibra Health Care — Hospital can be negligent for not offering paralyzed patient choice of female nursing assistant; expert testimony not required for causation

automatic / March 27, 2026

First District reverses JNOV and reinstates a $1 million negligence verdict against Kentfield Hospital for failing to offer a paralyzed stroke patient the choice of a female nursing assistant for intimate care.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Healthcare Law, Litigation

Wright v. WellQuest Elk Grove — California arbitration procedural rules apply by default; trial court properly refused to compel arbitration over wrongful death and elder neglect claims

automatic / March 18, 2026

Third District holds that a memory care facility's selection of the FAA does not displace California's section 1281.2(c) procedural provisions, allowing the trial court to deny arbitration of survivor and wrongful death claims based on the risk of conflicting rulings.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Healthcare Law, Litigation

Pomona Valley Hospital v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan — Expired contract rates are admissible in quantum meruit dispute over emergency room reimbursement; prejudgment interest capped at 7 percent

automatic / March 12, 2026

Second District holds that a hospital's expired 2004 contract with Kaiser was admissible in a quantum meruit dispute over emergency reimbursement and that prejudgment interest in such actions is 7 percent, not 10 percent.