UnitedHealth units hit with $500 million verdict in hepatitis case

(Reuters) – A Nevada jury awarded $500 million in punitive damages in a closely watched case against two affiliates of UnitedHealth Group stemming from a hepatitis C outbreak in the state, according to a spokeswoman for a law firm in the case. The case involves two patients who claimed they became infected with hepatitis C, a disease that attacks the liver, because their gastroenterologist used allegedly unsafe injection practices for an endoscopy. …