It takes enormous courage to be a whistleblower and the vast majority of individuals willing to stake their careers and reputations on suing their employers don’t do it for the money. But having said … [Read more...]
Labs In Court
Georgia Lab Shells Out $200K to Settle Genetic Testing Kickback Claims
October 31, 2021
Case: A psychiatrist brought a qui tam whistleblower lawsuit claiming that the consulting firm he worked for was taking kickbacks from Georgia genetic testing lab Alpha Genomix Laboratories in … [Read more...]
Labs In Court
A roundup of recent cases and enforcement actions involving the diagnostics industry
October 30, 2021
Failure to Reimburse Government for Overpayments Is a Reverse False Claim Case: A dermapathology lab sent a pair of retraction letters notifying TRICARE about overpayments of nearly $4.2 million in … [Read more...]
Labs In Court
Fort Worth Hospital Settles Upcoding Charges for $3.3 Million
October 12, 2021
Case: A compliance officer morphed into a whistleblower when hospital leaders ignored her warnings about widespread billing and coding abuses. Specifically, she sounded the alarm that the hospital was … [Read more...]
Enforcement Trends
Federal Courts Split on Government Dismissals of Qui Tam Claims
July 29, 2021
In 2018, the Justice Department (DOJ) ordered US Attorneys to aggressively seek dismissal of False Claims Act (FCA) whistleblower qui tam lawsuits that lack merit or don’t serve the government’s … [Read more...]
Labs in Court
DME Company Must Pay $762K for Retaliating against Whistleblower
February 4, 2021
Case: A key account manager (KAM) filed a qui tam lawsuit against the medical device company that employer her for allegedly accepting kickbacks from a leading client. When the client found out that … [Read more...]
False Claims
Courts to Whistleblowers: No Lawyer, No Qui Tam Lawsuit
January 29, 2021
It takes a lot of gumption to sue your own employer for the good of the federal government. But while the False Claims Act (FCA) authorizes whistleblowers to file qui tam lawsuits on the government’s … [Read more...]
Enforcement Trends
Whistleblowing Activity Continues to Grow Despite the Pandemic
October 22, 2020
Even during a pandemic, False Claims Act whistleblower litigation against labs and other health providers continues to be a highly profitable business for both whistleblowers and the federal … [Read more...]
Whistleblowers
Relying on the First-to-File Rule to Protect You from Copycat Qui Tam Lawsuits
October 13, 2020
As you know, the private individuals, known as relators, the right to bring qui tam lawsuits on the government’s behalf against labs and other contractors that submit false claims to the federal … [Read more...]
Whistleblowers
California Case Shows Why Paying Specimen Collection Fees of Any Amount Are a Liability Risk
September 17, 2020
Paying physicians fees to collect and process patient samples for testing is a dicey proposition because it exposes labs to suspicion under the Stark and Anti-Kickback Statute laws. Such arrangements … [Read more...]
