A Rideout Memorial Hospital whistle-blower who tipped off the state about nurse-patient staffing violations is suing for wrongful termination and alleging she was battered by her boss. Rachel Mendoza alleged in her suit "she was not a helpless nurse under the control of heartless administrators, managers and supervisors because the state of California took violations of safety and health care seriously and would stand up for her rights to demand safe working conditions and proper care and treatment of patients under her care."

When a parcel tax meant to fund Doctors Medical Center failed earlier this month, it was clear something drastic would be needed to save the hospital from closure. Contra Costa County officials say they don't have the millions it would take. Now two unions representing nurses and other health care workers are arguing that shutting down the hospital amounts to discrimination. Saying African-American and senior citizens would disproportionately suffer, they've filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Doctors at a Northern California hospital, concerned that a 40-year-old woman with sky-high blood pressure and confusion might have a blood clot, order a CT scan of her lungs. To their surprise, the scan reveals not a clot but large cancers in both breasts that have spread throughout her body. Had they done a simple physical exam of the woman's chest, they would have been able to feel the tumors. So would the doctors who saw her during several hospitalizations over the previous two years, when the cancer might have been more easily treated. A middle-aged man admitted to a Seattle emergency room for the third time in six weeks displays the classic signs of liver cirrhosis for which he has been repeatedly treated, including swollen legs and a distended abdomen.

The judge told hospital officials that they need to resolve union-busting claims by hospital employees rather than have her do it.