ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Government Announces $48 Million Settlement In Healthcare Fraud Case
Former Employees Blew The Whistle On The Fraud
Whistleblowers Rewarded $12.4 Million
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reported earlier this month that Encompass Health Corporation, formerly known as HealthSouth Corporation, has agreed to pay $48 million to resolve allegations in three whistleblower cases[1] that it was enrolling patients in a rehabilitation program and charging Medicare whether the enrolled patients would benefit from rehab or not. The DOJ referred to the company as the nation’s largest operator of inpatient rehabilitation facilities. The qui tam cases were brought under the False Claims Act (FCA) by a former company physician in Florida, the head of therapy at a Texas facility and the medical director at a Virginia hospital. The whistleblowers’ collective share of the settlement will be $12.4 million. Encompass Health did not admit to any wrongdoing, maintains it fully cooperated with the DOJ’s investigation, and blames independent physicians for the false diagnoses.
Under the FCA, the federal government rewards whistleblowers who present credible, original information of false claims made to government agencies for payments and reimbursements. The California whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent whistleblowers/relators in FCA cases against healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, government contractors, product manufacturers, research institutions, and others who may commit fraud against the government by overcharging, billing for services or equipment that is never provided, false diagnoses, paying illegal kickbacks, and/or falsifying data in order to receive government payments or grants. Our litigators are currently representing a whistleblower in a large FCA case against one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. If you have credible information for a false claims whistleblower case or any other whistleblower case in California, call us today at (415)441-8669 and we can help.
Protection for Whistleblowers
Federal law protects you against retaliation from your employer for blowing the whistle on fraud. If you are fired because you brought any fraud to light, you can fight back. You may be entitled to sue your employer in federal court and seek double back pay (with interest), reinstatement, reasonable attorneys’ fees, and reimbursement for certain costs in connection with the litigation. Our California whistleblower attorneys can represent you in any action for retaliation as well as represent you in your underlying whistleblower application.
Contact Us
Our whistleblower attorneys handle all types of whistleblower cases in addition to false claims cases, including cases for bank fraud under FIRREA/FIAFEA, commodity trading and securities fraud under the Commodities Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Program and the Securities and Exchange Commission Whistleblower Program, and tax fraud under the Internal Revenue Service Whistleblower Program. If you or a loved one has information regarding false claims, offshore tax avoidance schemes against the IRS, or securities and commodity trading fraud in violation of SEC and CFTC regulations, contact Ingrid M. Evans and the other California whistleblower and false claims attorneys at Evans Law Firm at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Our attorneys have experience with complex financial contracts and large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We also handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
[1] The three cases are captioned United States ex rel. Simon, et al. v. HealthSouth Corp., et al.; Case No. 08-CV-236 (M.D. Fla.); United States ex rel. Higgins v. HealthSouth Corp.; Case No. 3:12 CV 2496 (N.D. Tex.); and United States ex rel. Clarke et al. v. HealthSouth Corp.; Case No. 1:12 CV 853 (E.D. Va.). The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in any of the cases in any way.
