The outcome of a physician whistleblower’s retaliation claim against his former medical group turns on the question whether whistleblowing was a reason or the reason he was fired. If it was a reason, he loses. If it was the reason, he wins. Dr. Donald Helfer was an anesthesiologist and shareholder with …
Triple Damages Sufficiently Punitive to Bar Punitive Damages
January 5, 2016 Leave a Comment
Jennifer Gierer says she was fired because she expressed concerns about her employer’s submission of false durable medical equipment claims to Medicare. So she sued her employer and her boss, alleging (a) retaliation under the False Claims Act, (b) unpaid wages and commissions under Missouri law, (c) unjust …
7th Cir. Won’t Let EEOC Skip Pre-Suit Conciliation
December 18, 2015 Leave a Comment
When CVS fired store manager Tonia Ramos in 2011, it offered her its standard severance agreement that included a broad release of waivable claims, including claims under Title VII, but explicitly preserving the right to participate in any proceeding enforcing discrimination laws. Tonia signed. A month later …
Health Facilities May Be Insuring Doctors without Knowing It
October 7, 2015 Leave a Comment
A September 29 ruling by the New Jersey Supreme Court effectively makes a health facility liable for the professional negligence of a medical staff member who doesn’t have malpractice insurance or who has insurance that doesn’t cover the acts in question. Dr. Kaul performed a spinal fusion on Jim Jarrell at …
Suing the Hand that Feeds You
October 6, 2015 Leave a Comment
Jeffrey Jacobs alleges that Idaho’s Pocatello Hospital violated the False Claims Act because of physician recruitment contracts that were overly generous to his practice group. Jeff should know because he was recruited under one of the contracts and worked for the group for three years. According to the …
Even Brain Surgeons Make Dumb Decisions
September 28, 2015 Leave a Comment
Jay Schindler may be a neurosurgeon, but that didn’t stop him from making a bonehead move in his relations with his employer, Regional Health Physicians (RHP), in South Dakota. RHP hired Schindler to practice neurosurgery. Two years later, he developed various back-related physical issues that interfered …