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Whistleblower lawsuit against Medtronic spine surgeons dismissed
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Last month a federal judge dismissed a highly publicized lawsuit that two ex-Medtronic employees filed in 2008 accusing more than 100 spine care surgeons, medical device distributors and others of taking kickbacks from Medtronic and violating the False Claims Act from as early as 2002.
Medtronic was not named directly in the lawsuit.
The same plaintiffs made many of these same allegations of violation of federal law in a prior lawsuit, which was dismissed because it was a copycat version of another case, according to a 2008 statement from Medtronic officials.
Concerning this latest case, dismissal related to the suit being sufficiently aired in the court and in the media, according to media reports. In his order issued March 20, Judge Richard Stearns of the U.S. District Court in Boston reportedly blocked the plaintiffs’ motion to file an amended version of their complaint.
In a Feb. 24 press release, Medtronic announced that it will begin capturing payment data for all of its businesses on Jan. 1, 2010, and will publicly report this information annually. The first disclosure will occur in March 2011 and will address payments made to physicians during 2010.
The company will also commission an annual third-party audit to demonstrate its commitment to the accuracy of these postings, according to the release.
Medtronic will report the amount paid in consulting fees, royalties or honoraria for physicians who receive payments of $5,000 or more per year from the company. Medtronic plans to report these data and the summary of the third-party audit on its company Web site, according to the press release.
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