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 restr
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 f
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.
The First Department affirms a determination in a claim against NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan Hospital.
The Ninth Circuit reverses summary judgment for prison officials who denied a California prisoner prescription transitional lenses based on a blanket policy rather than individualized medical judgment, finding triable Eighth Amendment deliberate indifference issues.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a defense verdict in a Federal Tort Claims Act suit alleging VA doctors were negligent in prescribing gabapentin to a combat veteran with PTSD who subsequently committed suicide, finding no clear error in the district court’s credibility and standard-of-care determin
The Ninth Circuit reverses summary judgment for Orange County on a Monell claim and vacates a jury verdict for a jail nurse, finding the trial court’s rigid three-hour time limit prevented the plaintiff from presenting his case after a stroke was misidentified as intoxication during booking.
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.
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.
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.
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.
On the second screening of an 80-year-old veteran’s pro se complaint against VA officials and his primary-care doctor, the court dismissed his amended due-process, civil-rights conspiracy, federal elder-abuse, and Older Americans Act claims with prejudice and granted limited leave to amend onl
Eastern District of California dismisses Sutter Davis Hospital’s crossclaim for indemnity and contribution against the United States, holding that the century-old derivative jurisdiction doctrine bars federal jurisdiction over a state-court crossclaim that the federal government later removed.