Two logos side by side with Critical Legal Content in a red square on the left and HB Litigation in blue on the right

HIPAA Meets Social Media Marketing with Liz Heddleston and Leah Stiegler

June 22nd, 2026|Categories: ELP, Emerging Litigation & Risk, New Featured Post for Home Page|Tags: , , |

Healthcare providers increasingly use social media, patient testimonials, influencer partnerships, and AI-assisted content to engage patients and build their brands. But as recent OCR enforcement actions demonstrate, these marketing efforts can create significant HIPAA risks when protected health information is disclosed without proper authorization. In this episode, Liz Heddleston and Leah Stiegler discuss the Cadia Healthcare settlement, emerging compliance challenges, and what healthcare organizations need to know to navigate the intersection of privacy, marketing, and regulatory enforcement.

Read More

Opioid Addiction Litigation 2026: The New Post-Mega-Settlements Normal, Why Tribal Claims Are Central, and a Federal Pullback on Treatment Programs

February 7th, 2026|Categories: Emerging Litigation & Risk, Environmental Torts, HB Tort Notes, Journal, Mass Torts, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , |

Opioid litigation has entered a new phase defined less by courtroom trials and more by long-term settlement governance, tribal sovereignty, and evolving bankruptcy law. National opioid settlements now fund abatement through strict reporting and multi-year payment schedules, while Tribal Nations administer parallel sovereign recovery systems. At the same time, the Supreme Court’s Harrington v. Purdue Pharma decision has reshaped how mass-tort bankruptcies resolve claims. Yet as litigation-driven funding stabilizes, federal support for addiction treatment and overdose prevention faces deep cuts and growing uncertainty. Together, these developments show opioid litigation moving into a complex era where courts, settlements, and public policy intersect.

Read More

The Medical Monitoring Tort Remedy: Advanced Level

August 29th, 2024|Categories: Class Actions, CLE OnDemand, Environmental Torts, Mass Torts|Tags: , , , , |

The medical monitoring tort remedy – allowing for medical monitoring without physical injury – is recognized in 14 states and not allowed in 23. The law is divided in two states while the rest have not specifically addressed the issue. States that allow medical monitoring to do so when a group of claimants is at increased risk of disease or injury due to exposure to a known hazardous substance or a dangerous product as the result of a defendant’s conduct. Under this tort remedy, claimants are tested periodically, for an agreed or decided period, usually between 10 and 40 years. In this CLE webinar, Gentle Turner & Benson LLC attorneys Edgar (“Ed”) C. Gentle III and Katherine (“Kip”) A. Benson discuss the evolution of the medical monitoring tort, related cases, tests to determine whether the tort should be applied, types of monitoring, and the arguments for an against medical monitoring.

Read More

Digital Health Care Companies, Beware: Federal Agencies Are Tracking Your Use of Online Tracking Technologies

June 1st, 2023|Categories: Corporate Compliance, Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Tort Notes, Journal, Mass Torts, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , , |

The Authors Patricia A. Markus (trish.markus@nelsonmullins.com) represents health care providers and health technology companies across the country on wide-ranging regulatory compliance, reimbursement, licensure, and operational matters, with a special focus on issues surrounding health information privacy, security, and technology. Shane Duer (shane.duer@nelsonmullins.com) focuses his practice on healthcare regulatory and corporate matters, with an emphasis on data privacy, cyber security, and information management concerns within and beyond the health care industry. Interviews with leading attorneys and other subject matter experts on new twists in the law and how the law is responding to new twists in the world. Digital Health Care Companies, Beware  Federal Agencies Are Tracking Your Use of Online Tracking Technologies. Abstract: Health care industry stakeholders have regularly used online tracking technologies to help improve patient experience. However, growing scrutiny by the Office for Civil Rights, which enforces the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), requires covered entities and business associates to proceed cautiously in their use of such technologies. In addition, recent enforcement actions by the Federal Trade Commission make clear that a wide range of digital health companies, whether or not regulated by HIPAA, must tread carefully when collecting and disclosing personal information related to health, especially where consumers’ location data is to be used for [...]

Read More

Government Involvement in Medical Decisions During Outbreaks with Bryce McColskey and Sandra Cianflone

March 28th, 2023|Categories: ELP, Environmental Torts, HB Tort Notes|Tags: , , , , |

Government Involvement in Medical Decisions During Outbreaks  It's apparently (and hopefully) on its last legs. The Covid-19 pandemic was the most recent health issue to raise questions around government’s involvement (or interference) in an individual’s control over their own medical treatment. In their article – Government Involvement in Medical Care Decisions During Outbreaks of Disease: How Far is Too Far? – our guests wrote about the intersection of law and medicine. They reviewed medical mandates, implications brought about by the impact of advances in science and medicine, and where role of government to protect public health intersects (or collides) with personal healthcare choices. They focused is on governmental responses to the pandemic, that is, what the government can mandate in the spirit of public health, and not on the separate issue of abortion, which is a “choice” subject for another day. How much authority do government agencies or even the courts have over a person’s healthcare decisions? People often assume the practice of medicine and the enactment and enforcement of laws are separate and independent enterprises; that they remain fixed in their respective corners. However, they wrote, after a deeper  dive  into  history and precedent, it’s evident that the tension between individual rights and health-related mandates has existed for some time. Listen to my interview with the authors, Bryce McCloskey and  Sandra M. [...]

Read More

Government Involvement in Personal Medical Care Decisions During Outbreaks of Disease: How Far Is Too Far? by Bryce McColskey and Sandra M. Cianflone

March 23rd, 2023|Categories: Environmental Torts, HB Tort Notes, Journal, Mass Torts, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , , |

The Authors Bryce McColskey (bmccolskey@hallboothsmith.com) is an attorney with Hall Booth Smith, P.C., based in Jacksonville, Florida, where he focuses on medical malpractice and professional liability law. Sandra M. Cianflone (scianflone@hallboothsmith.com) is a partner in the Atlanta office of Hall Booth Smith, where she concentrates on a variety of aspects of healthcare defense and chairs the firm’s Coronavirus Task Force. She is also a member of the Editorial Board of Advisors of the Journal of Emerging Issues in Litigation. Interviews with leading attorneys and other subject matter experts on new twists in the law and how the law is responding to new twists in the world. Government Involvement in Personal Medical Care Decisions During Outbreaks of Disease:  How Far Is Too Far? "Breakthroughs in technologies, our knowledge of diseases and mutations, and advances in treatment options have been remarkable and have drastically reduced fatality rates from disease outbreaks. However, regardless of medical achievements, rapid changes in any field open the door to renewed debates over different laws and individual rights." Abstract: The coronavirus pandemic is the latest health issue to raise the question of government’s involvement (or interference) with an individual’s control over their own healthcare and medical treatment. In this article, the authors, two health care and professional liability [...]

Read More

EMR Audit Trail—What Is It? Why Do They Matter? What Should You Look For? by Haley K. Grieco and Brooke E. Reddin

September 20th, 2022|Categories: Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Tort Notes, Journal, Mass Torts, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , , |

The Authors Haley K. Grieco (hgrieco@hallboothsmith.com) is a partner in the Paramus, New Jersey, office of Hall Booth Smith, where she defends physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare providers in a wide range of medical malpractice litigation. Brooke E. Reddin (breddin@hallboothsmith.com) is an associate with the firm, where she focuses her practice on healthcare, medical malpractice, and aging services litigation. Interviews with leading attorneys and other subject matter experts on new twists in the law and how the law is responding to new twists in the world. EMR Audit Trail—What Is It? Why Do They Matter? What Should You Look For? "As the healthcare industry becomes increasingly digitized, it is imperative that attorneys appreciate the impact it may have on their clients and their practice. In medical malpractice matters, discovery requests for metadata—specifically, the production of the EMR audit trail—has steadily increased over the past few years." Abstract: Maintaining electronic medical records, or EMRs, is now a nearly universal best practice among medical providers from small physician practices to large hospital networks. Unlike handwritten or typed records, these digital documents carry with them much more data than meets the eye. In this article, the authors—two medical malpractice attorneys— discuss what attorneys need to know about EMRs in the litigation context and [...]

Read More

Telepsychiatry: Mitigating the Risks

August 18th, 2022|Categories: CLE OnDemand, Corporate Compliance, Featured On-Demand, Law Firm Operations|Tags: , , , , |

REGISTER Registration Includes Nearly 90 minutes of insights from experienced professionals. CLE credit: 1+ (subject to bar rules). For CLE questions: CLE@LitigationConference.com The complete Power Point presentation. Continued access to the complete recording for later use. Answers to your questions via email to the presenters or write to HB and we will be sure to contact the speakers. Understand the risks associated with telepsychiatry and how to manage them.  Telemedicine has emerged as an important solution for healthcare in general and psychiatric medicine specifically during the current global pandemic. Remote access for sub-practices including addiction counseling have been commonly used. Our panel of psychiatric professionals who have served as expert witnesses and attorneys who counsel and represent physicians have prepared a 90-minute session to share insights with attorneys, physicians, healthcare providers, risk professionals, and more. Agenda Examining procedures and best practices that exist for ensuring confidentiality in a telemedicine practice How do you draft a telepsychiatric consent form? What is the emerging standard of care for telemedicine? Will the standard of care for telemedicine become a national standard? (Should it?) Review the case law addressing telemedicine or telepsychiatry How do the HIPAA regulations and HITECH privacy laws impact telemedicine? How have the HIPAA regulations and HITECH privacy laws been relaxed during the pandemic? Will the [...]

Read More

Social Inflation’s Impact on Jury Verdicts

March 10th, 2022|Categories: Complex Business Litigation, ELP, Emerging Litigation & Risk, Insurance, News|Tags: , , , , |

Social Inflation's Impact on Jury Verdicts in Healthcare Litigation Our guests wrote in the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation: “These outsize awards are often driven by myriad factors including sympathetic jurors, societal conceptions about income and wealth of corporations, the use of emotion-driven ‘Reptile Theory’ tactics by plaintiff attorneys, the media spotlight on ‘bad apple’ physicians, and numerous other social factors. A new factor that influences elevated jury verdicts is the increasing volume of information—whether true or false—that is exchanged on social media platforms.” Listen to my interview with Hall Booth Smith P.C. attorneys Sandra Cianflone, Samantha Myers, and Lindsay Nishan, each of whom represents members of the healthcare industry, as they discuss what drives large verdict and what attorneys should consider in mitigating the effects of this phenomenon. In keeping with tradition, we may have strayed a bit from the topic. One guest’s Aunt Lulu made an appearance. It turns out Covid lockdowns may have produced more enthusiastic jurors. And I added another reason why writing and podcasting, and not the practice of law, was a better career path for me. (Apparently lawyers aren’t supposed to laugh in people’s faces. Noted.) This podcast is the audio companion to the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation, a collaborative project between HB Litigation Conferences and the Fastcase legal research family, which includes Full Court Press, Law Street Media, and Docket Alarm. [...]

Read More

Going Viral or Going Nuclear: Social Inflation’s Impact on Jury Verdicts …

February 22nd, 2022|Categories: Class Actions, Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Tort Notes, Insurance, Journal, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , , |

The Authors All three authors are with the law firm of Hall Booth Smith, P.C., and concentrate on various aspects of healthcare defense.  Lindsay A. Nishan (lnishan@hallboothsmith.com) is an Associate in the HBS Charleston office. Samantha Bowen Myers (smyers@hallboothsmith.com) is an Associate in their West Palm Beach, Florida, office. Sandra Mekita Cianflone (scianflone@hallboothsmith.com) is a Partner in the firm’s Atlanta office. She is also a member of the Editorial Board of Advisors for the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation, and a frequent contributor to the Emerging Litigation Podcast. Going Viral or Going Nuclear: Social Inflation’s Impact on Jury Verdicts and How to Safeguard Against It By Lindsay A. Nishan, Samantha B. Myers and Sandra M. Cianflone A juror’s perception of companies and healthcare providers is increasingly colored by TV and social media. The same is true for their understanding of the practice law or medicine, which may be as wrong as it is immovable. “Social inflation” refers to rising litigation costs and the resulting higher insurance payouts which drive up the cost of insurance. In this article the authors, each of whom represents parties in the healthcare industry, discuss the evolving social trends that lead jurors to render “nuclear verdicts,” and what attorneys should consider in mitigating the effects of this [...]

Read More

The Mega Verdict Trend in Healthcare Litigation with Sandra Cianflone

August 12th, 2021|Categories: ELP, Emerging Litigation & Risk, Insurance, Mass Torts, News|Tags: , , , |

The Mega Verdict Trend in Healthcare Litigation with Sandra Cianflone Joining me to discuss this high-stakes litigation is Sandra M. Cianflone of Hall Booth Smith, P.C.  Sandie counsels and defends hospitals, physicians, nurses and institutional employees in a broad spectrum of catastrophic injury and medical malpractice cases. She received her Juris Doctorate from Pace University School of Law and her undergraduate degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University. This podcast is the audio companion to the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation, a collaborative project between HB Litigation Conferences and the Fastcase legal research family, which includes Full Court Press, Law Street Media, Docket Alarm and, most recently, Judicata. If you have comments or wish to participate in one our projects, or want to tell me how insightful and informative Sandie is, please drop me a note at Editor@LitigationConferences.com. This podcast is based on an article she wrote for the forthcoming issues of the Journal. Note that in my introduction I have created the phrase "badly wrong," which is, itself, badly wrong.  Listen to the bitter end when Sandie and I discuss working from home, and how we really feel about family and co-workers.  Feel free to scold me at the email address provided. I hope you enjoy the interview and this professional's practical insights into defending healthcare providers. Tom Hagy Damage awards against physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare providers [...]

Read More

Sandra Cianflone on Current and Emerging COVID-19 Litigation

June 3rd, 2021|Categories: ELP, HB Risk Notes, Insurance, Mass Torts, News|Tags: , , , |

Sandra Cianflone on COVID-19 Litigation in 2021 and Beyond It’s now been more than 18 months since the world was besieged by the novel coronavirus pandemic. In addition to the human toll, it disrupted our lives in ways big and small, new and old, as it raced across continents, first visiting North America in January 2020. There are an estimated 15,000 lawsuits relating to the outbreak, with some 350 filings directed toward the healthcare and medical communities. The number of insurance coverage suits is fast-approaching 1,800. Litigation has been initiated against aging services, hospitals, and healthcare providers, with the next anticipated wave likely to  surround vaccines themselves. What will be the basis of these claims? What defenses will we see? And what can healthcare providers do now in anticipation of this onslaught? Joining me to discuss this out-of-the-blue rash of litigation is Sandra M. Cianflone of Hall Booth Smith, P.C.  Sandie counsels and defends hospitals, physicians, nurses and institutional employees in a broad spectrum of catastrophic injury and medical malpractice cases. She received her Juris Doctorate from Pace University School of Law and her undergraduate degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University. This podcast is the audio companion to the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation, a collaborative project between HB Litigation Conferences and the Fastcase legal research family, which includes Full Court Press, Law Street Media, Docket Alarm and, most [...]

Read More
Go to Top