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A $1.79 million settlement was reached in a Quest Diagnostic whistleblower lawsuit.
Quest Diagnostics inc. and Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories agreed to pay the U.S. to settle claims of violations of the False Claims Act.
Quest stood accused of submitting duplicative claims to Medicare for a variety of tests. The double billing was due to IT issues that affected some test codes in its system. Quest denied any wrongdoing and said the problem will not happen again now that their billing systems have been updated.
Laboratory billing abuse and fraud has become a focus for U.S. attorneys. Medically unnecessary lab work has been deemed “ridiculous” in some cases. One such instance was the testing for PCP, also known as Angel Dust, completed on urine samples from patients more than 70 years old.
Quest Diagnostic Whistleblower Lawsuit Settlement Gives $358,000 to Whistleblower
Former Quest employee Eliza Martinez will receive $358,000 as her reward for blowing the whistle on these allegedly fraudulent billing practices.
Martinez alleged that she observed Quest perform duplicate tests on the same patients on the same day, which resulted in Medicare being billed twice for the identical tests.
“We are committed to fighting fraud and abuse to help preserve scarce Medicare funds for those who need it the most, the sick and the elderly,” said U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner in a press release.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California investigated after the complaint was filed. The settled claims are allegations only, and no determination of liability was established.
Quest operates more than 2,200 patient service centers that conduct lab tests. The company generated approximately $7.5 billion in revenue in 2016. According to Quest’s website, the company “serves about half of the physicians and hospitals in the U.S.”
Who Is a Whistleblower?
A whistleblower is any person who offers information regarding wrongdoing to the authorities. The questionable acts are illegal and can be hidden under layers of minutia.
More than 55 federal laws protect or reward whistleblowers, and 44 states plus Washington D.C. provide varying degrees of legal protection.
The oldest whistleblower law is the False Claims Act that dates back to the Civil War when it was designed to protect whistleblowers from defense contractors’ overpriced goods. This law made the news in the 1980s when defense department purchases of $400 screwdrivers and $600 toilet seats were brought to light by whistleblowers.
This act encompasses any person or entity that defrauds the government, which is why it applied in the Quest Diagnostic whistleblower lawsuit. In fact, 80 percent of the cases heard involve health care.
Cases in which the U.S. Department of Justice intervenes generally have better odds of success. Most cases take just over three years to resolve, and half settle for $2 million or less. The average whistleblower reward is around $320,000.
If you believe you have a case such as the Quest Diagnostic whistleblower lawsuit, contact a lawyer immediately to learn your rights and protections.
In general, whistleblower and qui tam lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions. Whistleblowers can only join this investigation if they are reporting fraud against the government, meaning that the government must be the victim, and that the alleged fraud should be a substantial loss of money.
Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual qui tam lawsuit or whistleblower class action lawsuit is best for you. Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.
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Join a Free Whistleblower, Qui Tam Lawsuit Investigation
If you believe that you have witnessed fraud committed against the government, you may have a legal claim. Whistleblowers can only join this investigation if they are reporting fraud against the government, meaning that the government must be the victim, and that the alleged fraud should be a substantial loss of money.
See if you qualify to pursue compensation and join a whistleblower lawsuit investigation by submitting your information for a free case evaluation.
An attorney will contact you if you qualify to discuss the details of your potential case.
Please Note: If you want to participate in this investigation, it is imperative that you reply to the law firm if they call or email you. Failing to do so may result in you not getting signed up as a client, if you qualify, or getting you dropped as a client.
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