Medtronic to Pay $23.5 Million in False Claims Act Case

Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff, LLP represents whistleblowers who have provided information to the government about fraudulent practices in the marketing of pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs).

December 15, 2011

Working together with Catherine Swann, the Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of California, the Department of Justice, Attorneys General from several states, and co-counsel Mychal Wilson of Los Angeles, Sacramento qui tam lawyer Brooks Cutter pushed for the successful resolution of certain government fraud claims brought against Medtronic, Inc, one of the world’s largest medical device manufacturers, for $23.5 million. Mr. Cutter represented one of four whistleblowers, or "relators,” who provided key information in the False Claims Act lawsuits at issue, which were filed in the U.S. District Courts for the District of Minnesota and for the Eastern District of California.

Both lawsuits claimed that Medtronic violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks, in the form of post-market clinical studies and device registries, which induced excessive implantation of Medtronic devices in Medicare and Medicaid patients.

Each of the relators will receive a share of the money recovered by state and federal governments, under "qui tam” provisions of the state and federal False Claims Acts that permit private citizens who come forward with key information to file lawsuits on behalf of the government, and to share in a portion of the proceeds of a successful case.

Qui Tam lawyer Brooks Cutter said of the victory, "This is an important step towards cleaning up the medical device industry and their marketing practices, but there is still much work to be done in this area."