Business

Scrushy sues HealthSouth

NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 2, 2006

Print  |   Email  |   Respond  |   Reprints  |   Like Facebook  |   Share Twitter  |   Tweet Linkedin

Richard M. Scrushy is suing HealthSouth, the company he founded, for $70 million in severance payments he says are owed to him.

Scrushy was fired as CEO in March 2003, after a $2.6 billion accounting scandal surfaced. However, a federal court acquitted Scrushy of charges against him relating to the scandal. Scrushy says that that action now compels the company to pay him severance. HealthSouth is not commenting on the lawsuit.

Meanwhile, former HealthSouth chief financial officer William Owens has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the massive accounting fraud at the Birmingham, Ala.-based outpatient services giant.

The sentence, handed down Dec. 9, 2005, in U.S. District Court in Birmingham, Ala., is believed to be the longest yet in the scandal, which has resulted in 18 former executives facing criminal charges. Owens cooperated with prosecutors and testified against his former boss at the ousted CEO's criminal trial last year.

Meanwhile, a grand jury indictment unsealed in October 2005 accused Scrushy of bribing a government official in Alabama to get a seat on the state certificate-of-need review board. In a superseding indictment filed Dec. 12, 2005, prosecutors added charges of conspiracy and mail fraud. Scrushy has denied all charges.

Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/01/02/bibf0102.htm.

Back to top


ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISE HERE


Featured
Read story

Confronting bias against obese patients

Medical educators are starting to raise awareness about how weight-related stigma can impair patient-physician communication and the treatment of obesity. Read story


Read story

Goodbye

American Medical News is ceasing publication after 55 years of serving physicians by keeping them informed of their rapidly changing profession. Read story


Read story

Policing medical practice employees after work

Doctors can try to regulate staff actions outside the office, but they must watch what they try to stamp out and how they do it. Read story


Read story

Diabetes prevention: Set on a course for lifestyle change

The YMCA's evidence-based program is helping prediabetic patients eat right, get active and lose weight. Read story


Read story

Medicaid's muddled preventive care picture

The health system reform law promises no-cost coverage of a lengthy list of screenings and other prevention services, but some beneficiaries still might miss out. Read story


Read story

How to get tax breaks for your medical practice

Federal, state and local governments offer doctors incentives because practices are recognized as economic engines. But physicians must know how and where to find them. Read story


Read story

Advance pay ACOs: A down payment on Medicare's future

Accountable care organizations that pay doctors up-front bring practice improvements, but it's unclear yet if program actuaries will see a return on investment. Read story


Read story

Physician liability: Your team, your legal risk

When health care team members drop the ball, it's often doctors who end up in court. How can physicians improve such care and avoid risks? Read story

  • Stay informed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • LinkedIn