Medical Advances Being Developed On the Front Lines

A revolutionary foam has been developed to help stop internal bleeding.  The developers of the foam, who believe it may save lives on the front lines, have received funds from the U.S. military to continue developing the product.

Researchers have been working on a medical foam which would limit the amount of internal bleeding once injected into the body. The foam is comprised of two separate liquids which, when injected, mix together, expand and harden to become a kind of internal wound dressing.  The technology, still in its infancy, would help save the lives of wounded soldiers far from medical facilities by slowing or staunching blood loss. Currently, there is no way to stop or slow the internal bleeding in the chest and abdomen prior to in-hospital care.

The polyurethane polymer foam mix is expected to control internal hemorrhaging for at least one hour and possibly longer, researchers say. The foam is designed to be easily removed by surgeons as a solid mass. Abdominal injuries are considered especially dangerous, as the best methods for treatment at this time to stop blood loss is with compression pads and tourniquets.

The foam mix was presented to the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma annual meeting in Hawaii earlier this year. The study on the foam use estimated an increase in survival rates for liver injuries from 8 percent to 72 percent and a dramatic reduction in blood loss for more than three hours. The foam may be used in as many as 50 percent of battlefield wounds currently seen, either to control hemorrhaging far from medical care or to manage care when facing multiple injuries, such as head injury and major internal bleeding.

The product has yet to be approved by the Federal Drug Administration. It still needs extensive testing to ensure it is safe and effective, and a plan for staff training on use must be developed, researchers caution. Polyurethane foam is widely used for thermal insulation and inside refrigerators.

A loss of blood has long been a major cause of death in war, but battlefields have also been the place where many medical inventions were developed, due to necessity. Though ligatures had been used by Arabs and the Romans in ancient times, the practice had been dropped. It wasn't until the 1600s when during the Siege of Turin, someone "reinvented" the us of ligatures to stop bleeding arteries. Previously, most battlefield wounds were treated with cauterization and boiling oil.  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20693705

Law of Social Media

By Matt Worley, Esq.

Michigan joins the growing list of states to pass legislation that limits employers' right to seek social media login information from employees or applicants.  Governor Rick Snyder recently signed into law the Internet Privacy Protection Act.

This new law makes it illegal for employers to request or require employees or applicants to provide login information to online accounts, such as Facebook.  The law also prohibits discharging, disciplining, failing to hire, or otherwise penalizing a person who fails to provide access to an online account.  The law also applies to educational institutions.

Employers who violate this new law are guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of up to $1,000.  The law also allows individuals damaged by a violation to bring a civil action in district court to recover up to $1,000, plus attorney fees and costs.

There are a few exceptions to the law, including login credentials for company-paid devices and employees using personal accounts to disclose proprietary or confidential information without authorization.  Additionally, the Act recognizes that employers may need to violate the Act to stay in compliance with other state or federal laws.  This situation provides an affirmative defense to an alleged violation.

Employers are still permitted to use social media to research applicants or when deciding to implement employment decisions.

Michigan joins California, Maryland, Delaware, Illinois and New Jersey in the expanding list of states with similar laws.

If you have questions about employment law or other legal issues, contact Matt Worley at Fausone Bohn, LLP at (248) 380-0000, or online at www.fb-firm.com.

To read the original article, please visit: 

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2013/01/02/business/doc50e440f6235bf812525429.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Detroit-Area Physical Therapy Clinics Involved in Medicare Fraud

Mark Mandell, Esq.

It seems Medicare fraud permeates all areas of the health care field as yet another case has come to light in the metro-Detroit area, this time involving a physical therapy clinic. The clinic was involved in a $13.8 million home health care fraud scheme. Physical therapy assistant Ankit Patel of Westland, Michigan pleaded guilty to his involvement in the scheme, admitting to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Beginning in June 2009, Patel falsified medical documents for a number of different home health care agencies in the Detroit-area. Patel created evaluations, falsified therapy revisit notes and other medical documentation, and signed such documents, validating treatment for physical therapy patients that did not exist. Patel later admitted that he was in fact aware that the false documents he created would be used to support false claims to Medicare.

Over the past few years, Medicare paid out almost $1.5 million to Physicians Choice Home Health Care LLC, Quantum Home Care Inc., and Moonlite Home Care Inc. – three companies that benefited from Patel’s involvement.

As a result of his involvement in the fraudulent scheme, Patel faces a maximum of 10 years in prison as well as a $250,000 fine. However, Patel is not alone in these charges. Ten others have pleaded guilty to involvement. One has already been sentenced: Hetal Barot was sentenced to 30 months in prison for her involvement for the same criminal charge. Patel is scheduled to be sentenced in March.

These charges were brought about by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, an agency that has charged more than 1,480 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $4.8 billion.

To learn more and read the original article, please visit: http://7thspace.com/headlines/428595/usdoj_physical_therapy_assistant_pleads_guilty_in connection_with_detroit_medicare_fraud_scheme.html

If you have questions about Medicare or Medicaid fraud, or other legal issues, please contact Mark Mandell or Tariq Hafeez at 248.380.0000 or online at www.MichiganFraudLawyer.com.

Fertility Treatment for Wounded Veterans

Currently, the Department of Veterans Affairs does not cover the cost of in vitro fertilization and other fertility services for servicemen and servicewomen. Advocates hope that will soon change, as a growing number of veterans with war wounds that impede their ability to have children without artificial reproductive services are coming home.  New legislation would cover in vitro fertilization and other fertility services for wounded veterans.

Technological advances in medicine are allowing troops who were catastrophically wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan to come home; homemade bombs which target foot patrols are noted for the damage to lower limbs and the reproductive systems. Since 2003, almost 2,000 service members, both men and women, have come home with reproductive system injuries.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) is pushing for coverage for in vitro and other reproductive services support to be covered by the VA. Murray stated that providing artificial reproductive technologies (ART) is just one of the costs of war. Murray is Chairwoman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and introduced legislation which was  then passed by the Senate in mid-December, instructing the VA to make available to disabled veterans more advanced fertility techniques, such as like IVF. It is unknown if similar legislation will pass through the House, currently focused on spending cuts.

While the VA does cover some aspects of fertility support, including testing, counseling, and some procedures, it does not usually cover the cost of care for veterans' spouses or surrogates. For service people who have more severe wounds, where extensive treatment may be needed, the VA falls short. IVF, in which the egg and sperm are combined and then the resulting embryo is transferred in hopes of implantation and pregnancy, is not covered.  The cost for IVF, which can take several cycles before success, typically costs  more than $10,000 and as much as $20,000, and even then, it may not work.

While the DOD covers the cost of IVF for injured active-duty service members, as of 2010, that does not help many veterans. The policy funds three cycles of treatment for both service members and their spouses, but only is they are active duty. Many service members must wait until they have healed from trauma, and have left the service. For many, it is long after they have left the military before they even know that they face fertility issues.

The Congressional Budget Office currently estimates that the overall cost of fertility services as requested would cost more than $550 million over the next five years. Senator Murray has proposed funding the ART services from money saved via the drawdown of Iraq and Afghanistan troops. The VA has not yet taken a public position on the bill, but has stated that the goal is the VA is to offer services and support to help restore veterans' physical and mental capabilities as much as possible.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-veterans-fertility-treatment-20121215,0,4501470.story

Veteran Service Organizations

Jim Fausone
Veterans Disability Attorney

We work with hundreds of veterans every week.  We also work with VSO's on a weekly basis and know the good they perform. We have been concerned that the ranks of the VSOs have been diminishing as WWII, Korean and Vietnam veterans pass on.  For example, the American Legion in Michigan has seen its 100,000 membership in the 1990s drop to 70,000 in 2012.  With an average 10 to 15-year gap between a veteran’s time getting out of the military and joining a service group, the two leading organizations, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion, are battling to hang on until reinforcements hit. A good article on VSO's need to and effort at involving younger vets.

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2013/01/03/news/doc50e5ccfe1e96a579064367.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Putin Bans Americans from Adopting Russian Children

By Melissa A. Cox, Attorney

Last  week, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill that bans the adoption of Russian children by U.S. families.  The action will affect hundreds of U.S. families seeking to adopt.  American adopted close to 1,000 Russian children last year, according to U.S. State Department figures.  Russia remains the third-most-popular country for U.S. citizens to adopt, with China and Ethiopia, first and second.

The bill is widely criticized as being political retaliation for a law that President Obama signed in December, the "Magnitsky Act".  The Act imposes U.S. travel and financial restrictions on human rights abusers in Russia and is named for Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who exposed the largest tax fraud in Russian history in the form of rebates claimed by government officials who stole money from the state.  Magnitsky was beaten to death in 2009 after spending a year in a Moscow detention center.

The Russian bill's implementation also nullifies a recent agreement between the United States and Russia in which the countries agreed to additional safeguards to protect children and parties involved in inter-country adoptions.  The government has also threatened dozens of adoptions already underway.  These adoptions are instances in which American families have already met and bonded with the children, promising to bring them home to America in the near future.

Russia has approximately 740,000 orphans who currently reside in dismal orphanages.  The adoption ban has angered both Americans and Russians who argue it victimizes these children to make a political point.  U.S. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell expressed disappointment over Putin signing the law and urged Russia to "allow those children who have already met and bonded with their future parents to finish the necessary legal procedures so that they can join their families".  Vladimir Lukin, head of the Russian Human Rights Commission and a former ambassador to Washington, said he would challenge the law in the Constitutional Court.

If you have questions about adoptions, contact attorney Melissa Cox at (248) 380-0000.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20121229/NATION/212290352#ixzz2H1jCjmiN

Vietnam Veterans Are Suing the Military Over PTSD

Vietnam Veterans of America has joined a proposed class action lawsuit in Connecticut against the armed forces. The lawsuit, filed by a veteran last year against the Army, Navy and Air Force, states that Vietnam War-era veterans who suffered PTSD were discharged under other-than-honorable conditions which meant they were ineligible for disability and other benefits. The military has not reviewed or upgraded the discharge statuses of thousands of those vets with service-related PTSD. As John Rowan, national president of

Vietnam Veterans of America, said, PTSD was not understood by mental health professionals when those vets were in service.

"Now that diagnoses have been updated," says veterans’ lawyer James Fausone, "it seems perfectly reasonable that there are some vets who would like their discharge status changed to reflect that."

The U.S. Attorney's Office is currently reviewing the matter and plans to respond in court. The office is representing the military in this lawsuit, which was filed by Vietnam vet John Shepherd. Shepard says he was first diagnosed with PTSD in 2004, but repeatedly has had his discharge upgrade requests denied. Shepherd is being represented by Yale Law School students who are working at a Connecticut-based legal services clinic for vets. According to those students, the Army has approved less than 2 percent of Vietnam vet upgrade applications since 2003, in sharp contrast to the 46 percent of overall discharge upgrades. And, say the students, some of the vets who are being denied an upgrade have been formally diagnosed with PTSD by Veterans Affairs.

The students estimate that some 85,000 of the 250,000 other-than-honorably discharged Vietnam veterans had PTSD. Their PTSD was likely a factor in the discharges that were based on conduct including drug use, unauthorized absence without leave, and shirking.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is in support of the vets, and has reportedly been working in concert with the Yale Law Clinic and federal agencies to attempt to resolve the issue. He stated that though PTSD was not understood in the past, that should not preclude how cases are assessed now.

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/Vietnam-veterans-sue-military-in-Conn-over-PTSD-4087471.php