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A woman who had surgery at the Cleveland Clinic’s Medina Hospital to treat her thyroid cancer was awake for a portion of the procedure because doctors failed to properly administer her anesthesia, according to a lawsuit filed last week. Paige Horton was in tears as she told doctors after the procedure that she heard and felt surgeons operating on her throat, the lawsuit said. Staff members discovered that tubing on her IV had come loose, leaking fluid that should have flowed into her veins, according to the filing. (Shaffer, 6/3)

Johnson & Johnson must pay $260 million to an Oregon woman who said she got mesothelioma, a deadly cancer linked to asbestos exposure, from inhaling the company's talc powder, a jury found on Monday. The verdict in the 4th Judicial District Circuit Court in Portland comes as the company continues to pursue a proposed $6.48 billion settlement of most talc-related lawsuits against it through a prepackaged bankruptcy. The jury's award includes $60 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages, and includes damages for both the plaintiff and her husband. (Pierson, 6/3)

The pharmaceutical industry has filed at least four lawsuits this year challenging state laws requiring drugmakers to offer discounts on drugs dispensed by third-party pharmacies that contract with hospitals and clinics serving low-income populations. The most recent lawsuits were filed Friday by Novartis and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the largest U.S. drug industry group, in West Virginia federal court, over a law enacted in that state in March. (Pierson, 6/3)

A Florida appeals panel has ruled that the Delaware attorney general can resume a decades-old claim that her state was shortchanged the cash promised in the will of wealthy industrialist Alfred I. duPont. When industrialist Alfred I. duPont died in 1935, his will directed setting aside money to provide medical care to children and seniors, resulting in Nemours pediatric hospitals and facilities in Florida and other states. (Saunders, 6/3)

Michelle Bean is drowning in batteries she doesn’t need. For two years, the batteries and electrode pads arrived each month at her home in West Boylston, Mass. In theory, they’re supposed to power a basic pain management device she ordered from a company called Zynex Medical in 2020. In reality, they sit in her closet, taking up an annoying amount of space. (Lawrence, 6/4)