Healthcare

A landmark Federal Court class action against private health insurer Medibank will be a test case for when privacy claims can sidestep the regulatory path, and whether group members can prove they suffered loss from exposure of their data.

Australia's largest private health insurer Medibank is facing a class action over a data breach that affected close to 10 million customers.

The applicant in a Shine Lawyers-run class action against Boston Scientific over alleged defective pelvic mesh wants to switch legal representation, taking her business to Shine's former class actions head, who recently parted ways with the firm to launch her own boutique.

Regenerative medicine company Mesoblast has hit back at a shareholder class action over its Remestemcel-L treatment for COVID-19, saying that some group members are barred from bringing claims because of a settlement reached in a US class action.

Monash IVF has hit back at a class action brought on behalf of hundreds of men and women demanding damages for the alleged destruction of potentially viable embryos, saying patients “were made aware of the risks” of a novel testing technique.

Three class action law firms have joined forces to run a landmark data breach complaint against Medibank, seeking compensation for up to 9.7 million affected customers. 

An Adelaide digital printing firm has brought a case against two healthcare companies in the United States, challenging a patent for producing 3D printed, artificial cadavers used in medical training and research. 

A judge has opened the administration of a $300 million settlement in a pelvic mesh class action to a competitive bidding process, shortly after another judge said law firms were not uniquely qualified to distribute class action spoils.

The applicant who lost a class action against animal health giant Zoetis over alleged side effects resulting from its Hendra virus horse vaccine has filed an appeal, arguing the judge should have found the vaccine was not of acceptable quality.

A psychiatrist that sued HarperCollins for defamation over a book on the use of deep sleep therapy at the Chelmsford Private Hospital in the 1970s has lost his bid to disallow the publisher’s claim that any damage he suffered was mitigated by his bad reputation.