Becker’s reported on five developments in orthopedic-related lawsuits since June 19.
1. Medical technology company Treace Medical Concepts filed a lawsuit against Zimmer Biomet and Paragon 28 alleging infringements of four patents. The lawsuit, related to Treace’s Lapiplasty 3D Bunion Correction technologies, was filed in a Delaware federal court seeking to halt the alleged infringement, as well as financial penalties from Zimmer and Paragon. The lawsuit alleges that Treace was the first company to develop, patent and market an instrumented 3D bunion correction system for true tri-planar lapidus bunion correction.
2. A lawsuit challenging Montana Blue Cross-Blue Shield over a claim denial for spine surgery is allowed to move forward. The judge ruled that the case could be expanded into a class-action lawsuit, the report said. Attorneys involved in the case said the insurer flagged claims above $50,000 and skipped important steps in the review process.
3. Life Spine is suing its former CEO, Michael Butler, alleging breaches of fiduciary duty, trade secret misappropriation and tortious interference. However, Mr. Butler described the litigation as retaliation for legal action he filed in April.
4. Forty-seven defendants, including orthopedic surgeons with Hempstead, N.Y.-based Total Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, were named in a racketeering lawsuit filed in the New York Eastern District Court in Brooklyn. The lawsuit alleged that medical providers performed unwarranted surgeries on construction workers in fraudulent accidents.
5. Orthopedic surgeon Emmanuel Hostin, MD, settled with American Transit Insurance Co. and was dropped from a $450 million medical fraud lawsuit. He was named alongside more than 180 other defendants who the insurer accused of fraudulent billing and kickbacks. American Transit filed a stipulation of voluntary dismissal for Dr. Hostin and his practice.
