Whistleblower Rewards

Watts Law Firm PC recently settled a federal and state whistleblower case that required the defendant, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital (“BMH”), to pay $1.7 million to resolve the civil claim that BMH violated the federal and state False Claims Acts. Our suit alleged that BMH knowingly presented or caused to be presented false claims for payments to Medicare and Medicaid.

BMH is a Vermont-incorporated hospital engaged in providing medical services, procedures, treatments and prescriptions to the public and submitting claims for such services, procedures, treatments and prescriptions to Medicare, Medicaid and third-parties for reimbursement.

We brought the suit on behalf of Amy Beth Mean who had been BMH’s administrative employee with responsibilities for its financial services. Ms. Mean is an experienced hospital administrator with a Masters of Business Administration in Healthcare Management, a Bachelor of Arts with concentration in Health Systems Management.

Money damages for “whistleblowers” have become more common in recent years, in part because the Obama administration has emphasized prosecution of company and hospital officials who benefitted from their false claims for federal payments or reimbursements.

Private whistleblowers have also received monetary awards for exposing wrongful or illegal activities of their corporate employers. In the federal realm, the “False Claims Act” prohibits contractors from seeking payments or reimbursements for goods or services delivered to the government. The law was enacted during the Lincoln administration in order to penalize companies seeking reimbursement or payments for military goods for the U. S. effort in the Civil War. Continue Reading ›

Articles Posted in Whistleblower Rewards

BRATTLEBORO HOSPITAL PAYS $1.7 MILLION FOR FALSE CLAIMS VIOLATIONS

Whistleblowers: Rewards For Employees Who Report Bad Employer Conduct