A New York doctor has filed a lawsuit against Montefiore Health System and a number of doctors for allegedly retaliating after he witnessed and reported patient neglect. Whistleblower protection laws are in place to prevent this kind of retaliation.

The plaintiff, Dr. Dan G., alleged that Montefiore, along with several of its doctors, violated the Federal and State False Claims Act. Not only did this result in the defrauding of Medicaid and Medicare, but worse, to patient harm and abuse, the lawsuit claims.

In his position at Montefiore, the plaintiff witnessed patients being neglected, such as being left unattended for 14 hours. He also alleges he witnessed doctors upcoding claims in order to falsely maximize reimbursement, and committing malpractice.

The plaintiff began to bring his concerns to light in March 2014 regarding both patient abuse and billing fraud.

However, his lawsuit alleges, a group of three doctors high up in the company engaged in a “coordinated campaign of intimidating, coercion, and retaliation intended to silence [the plaintiff], ultimately ending with black-listing and termination of privileges after [he] was compelled to resign.”

These actions lasted for a period of several months, and became progressively worse. “The escalation of retaliation against [the plaintiff] made clear that there was a retaliatory consequence to speaking out about patient mistreatment, treatment deficiencies, upcoding, and complaining about his own retaliatory treatment.”

The plaintiff filed his lawsuit under the whistleblower protection laws of the False Claims Act on Dec. 10, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit was filed on multiple counts, including retaliation, defamation, intentional inflection of emotional distress and several others.

Whistleblower Protection Laws

Have you witnessed healthcare fraud or other fraud against the government by an employer? You may be able to file a whistleblower lawsuit. Whistleblowers are those who alert the government to illegal actions when they see something they don’t feel right about.

Those who choose to act as whistleblowers on behalf of the government may be worried about retaliation for blowing the whistle, but there are whistleblower protection laws in place to protect those in these situations.

Whistleblower protection laws can also work retroactively, reinstating a whistleblower to their rightful position and compensating them as well.

According to whistleblower protection laws at the federal and state levels, those who find themselves retaliated against after blowing the whistle can get relief from the retaliation—that is, reinstated to the same position they would have held, two times the amount of back pay (plus interest), and compensation for special damages associated with the retaliation (including litigation costs and attorney’s fees).

Filing a Whistleblower Lawsuit

In return for bringing fraud to the attention of the government, whistleblowers involved in these lawsuits are typically awarded a substantial chunk of money from the lawsuit, usually between 15 and 30 percent.

If you have witnessed healthcare fraud or other fraud against the government committed by a current or former employer, you may be able to file a whistleblower lawsuit.

The Whistleblower False Claims Act Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-11505, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.