Unnecessary surgery claims, device liability, kickback prosecutions and executive disputes have all shaped the year for spine and orthopedic providers and manufacturers.
Here are 10 cases that occurred during 2026, as reported by Becker’s:
Unnecessary surgery and fraud
- Providence and MultiCare Health System agreed to pay a combined $155.5 million to settle two class-action lawsuits brought by former patients of neurosurgeon Jason Dreyer, DO, who is accused of performing unnecessary spine surgeries to boost his productivity. Under the proposed terms, every patient who had spine surgery with Dr. Dreyer or Daniel Elskens, DO, at Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla, Wash., is eligible for $2,000. The settlements followed MultiCare’s earlier agreement to pay $3.7 million to resolve allegations it billed federal healthcare programs for medically unnecessary spine surgeries.
- Allstate sued Palm Springs, Fla.-based Florida Orthopedics and Neurosurgery, which operates as University Orthopedic Care, alleging the 13-location practice used a kickback structure to multiply facility fees. The insurer claims the practice billed a large facility fee when it sent a patient to an ASC, then sold the right to collect that fee to a related company for a fraction of its value.
- A federal jury convicted Sophie Dufort, 57, of Gainesville, Fla., for her role in an $8.6 million Medicare fraud scheme involving medically unnecessary orthotic braces, the Justice Department said Oct. 27. Prosecutors said the equipment companies bought prescriptions from marketing firms that paid practitioners to sign brace orders without examining patients or used stolen physician credentials to forge them.
Kickbacks and executive disputes
- Aditya Humad, former CFO of spinal implant company SpineFrontier, was sentenced in August to four months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to pay more than $540,000 in bribes to surgeons to use the company’s products.
- Orthofix paid nearly $24 million to three former executives after legal disputes over their 2023 firings. Former CEO Keith Valentine received $14.8 million in April, and the company paid the late CFO John Bostjancic and Chief Legal Officer Patrick Keran $4.25 million each through settlements. The arbitrator ruled that text messages sent before the executives signed severance agreements could not be used as grounds for termination under those contracts.
- Zimmer Biomet sued former executive Kristoff Goson, alleging he stole confidential information and violated a noncompete agreement after becoming CEO of Pixee Medical. The company says the stolen material included its strategy and analysis of the ASC market, which it called a key target for Pixee.
Device litigation
- Patients have filed lawsuits over spinal cord stimulation systems against Abbott, Boston Scientific, Medtronic and Nevro, alleging device malfunctions and repeat surgeries. In June, a federal judicial panel consolidated the Boston Scientific cases into multidistrict litigation.
- Alphatec Spine is defending a lawsuit alleging a pedicle screw fractured during a 2023 spinal fusion at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, requiring a second surgery. It is the company’s second pedicle screw fracture complaint this year.
Malpractice and data security
- The University of California Board of Regents paid $11.5 million to a patient after the patient’s leg was amputated when a severed artery went undetected during a routine knee procedure at UCI Health.
- Des Plaines, Ill.-based Illinois Bone & Joint Institute paid $4 million to settle a class-action lawsuit related to a 2024 data breach.
This roundup is based on Becker’s reporting and does not represent every legal case involving spine and orthopedics in 2026.
At the Becker’s 32nd Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, taking place October 29-31 in Chicago, ASC leaders, surgeons and healthcare executives will explore strategies to drive growth, enhance operational performance, navigate reimbursement challenges and prepare for the future of ambulatory surgery. Apply for complimentary registration now.
