Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff Announced Today That Medtronic, Inc. Will Pay $9.98 Million to Settle Whistleblower Lawsuit Alleging Illegal Payments to Doctors
Sacramento, CA (PRWEB) May 27, 2014 -- C. Brooks Cutter of Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff announced today that Medtronic, Inc. has agreed to pay $9.98 million to the United States to resolve allegations by the firm’s whistleblower client that Medtronic violated the False Claims Act by illegally providing monetary and other incentives to physicians who were willing to implant Medtronic devices.
“In this case our relator came forward with important information about business practices at Medtronic that needed to change. Our office worked closely with Assistant United States Attorney Catherine Swann and co-counsel Mychal Wilson in developing the case and we are pleased to have this resolution,” said Brooks Cutter.
Medtronic’s Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management (CRDM) business produces and markets pacemakers to treat patients with bradycardia (too-slow heartbeat), implantable defibrillators to help patients with tachyarrhythmia (too-fast heartbeat), and diagnostic and monitoring devices that diagnose heart-related syncope (unexplained fainting), among other products. Medtronic also makes leads that connect these devices to the heart.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the United States District Court, Eastern District of California (Case No. 2:09-CV-0279), alleges that Medtronic illegally provided monetary and other incentives for doctors willing to implant their devices, as an effort to increase sales of their CRDM products. Medtronic instructed and trained their sales representatives, business and marketing managers, and other Medtronic employees to provide physicians with cash payments, consulting jobs for family members, automobiles, expensive trips and meals, entertainment, and tickets to sporting events in exchange for the physicians’ agreement to implant their devices.
The settlement was achieved through the coordinated efforts of Brooks Cutter and the Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff team, Assistant United States Attorney Catherine Swann, and co-counsel Mychal Wilson.
Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff is a Sacramento-based civil justice law firm that has successfully represented individuals nationwide in multiple lawsuits involving the False Claims Act. We offer free, confidential case reviews. For more information, please visit our website http://www.kcrlegal.com or give us a call Toll Free (888) 285-3333.
C. Brooks Cutter, Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff, http://www.kcrlegal.com, +1 (916) 448-9800, [email protected]
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