Healthcare Law

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

Seyb v. Labrador — Ninth Circuit stays injunction against Idaho abortion law pending appeal

automatic / October 30, 2026

Ninth Circuit stays injunction against Idaho abortion law pending appeal.

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

Phillip v. Baass — The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s judgment

automatic / October 9, 2026

This decision establishes a binding precedent in California that the Department of Health Care Services cannot recover capitation payments from Medi-Cal recipients' estates to the extent those payments exceed the actual cost of health care services received by the recipient.

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

Black v. IEC Group — Disclosure of entrusted health data supplies Article III injury

automatic / October 9, 2026

The panel reversed the Rule 12(b)(1) dismissal and remanded for further proceedings; it decided standing, not the ultimate merits of the privacy claims.

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

Bombardini v. Board of Psychology — Challenge to Discipline Was Untimely and Probation Ruling Stands

automatic / October 6, 2026

Bombardini v. Board of Psychology: Challenge to Discipline Was Untimely and Probation Ruling Stands.

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

MacDonald v. OHSU — Hospital showed undue hardship from religious vaccine exemption

automatic / October 2, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that a hospital proved undue hardship from allowing an unvaccinated mother-and-baby-unit nurse to remain in her role.

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

Collard v. Bisignano — Working through worsening pain cannot be used mechanically to deny disability benefits

automatic / September 23, 2026

The Ninth Circuit required a new disability analysis because an ALJ misused the claimant's work history, daily activities, treatment record, and corroborating lay testimony.

1st District Court of Appeal, Antitrust, Healthcare Law, Litigation

VHS Liquidating Trust v. MultiPlan Corp. — Out-of-network reimbursements may support Cartwright Act price-fixing claims

automatic / September 21, 2026

California's Cartwright Act can reach alleged coordination of out-of-network healthcare reimbursements through a shared pricing platform.

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.