"Medtronic settles whistleblower lawsuit for $9.9M" AP May 30, 2014
FRIDLEY, Minn. — Medical device maker Medtronic Inc. will pay the Department of Justice $9.9 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the company of giving doctors gifts in return for using its defibrillators and pacemakers.
Medtronic has not admitted any wrongdoing as a result of the settlement. The lawsuit unsealed this week accused Medtronic of funneling ‘‘millions of dollars in unrestricted grant money to physicians’’ to get them to encourage the use of Medtronic defibrillators and pacemakers.
Medtronic said the settlement brings to a close a long-running review dating back to 2001 and that it has taken steps to prevent inappropriate sales practices, including voluntarily disclosing payments to health care professionals on its website.
The settlement is the result of a whistleblower complaint filed by a former Medtronic employee, Adolfo Schroeder. Schroeder will receive about $1.7 million for his role in bringing the matter to light, the Justice Department said.
The lawsuit also alleged Medtronic paid thousands of dollars in speaking fees to doctors for attending dinners at which they spoke for only a few minutes, if at all. In other cases, Medtronic allegedly prepared entire presentations for the physicians.
Justice had accused Medtronic of violating the federal False Claims Act by providing speaking fees, developing free marketing plans and providing tickets to sports events to doctors who used its defibrillators and pacemakers in Medicare and Medicaid patients and who recommended their use to others.
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