Famous Whistleblowers: Whistleblower Against Quest Diagnostics
The history of whistle blowing in the United States is fraught with corporate intrigue and suspicious behavior on behalf of large companies and “higher-ups” within those companies. It can be very difficult for longtime employees to come out as whistleblowers — they fear that they will be fired and ostracized from the community in which they have spent their entire lives. The Florida whistleblower claims lawyers at Wagner, McLaughlin & Whittemore work diligently to ensure that whistleblowers are protected under the relevant federal statutes and shielded from professional and legal consequences.
The Quest Diagnostics whistleblower case is one of the most famous such cases in recent memory. In 2004, Quest Diagnostics and its subsidiary company, Nichols Institute Diagnostics, were sued for Medicare fraud by a medical supplies purchaser and his team of lawyers. This former business partner, biochemist Thomas Cantor, accused Quest Diagnostics of ignoring the fact that its Advantage Intact PTH Assay medical testing device was producing inaccurate readings. This inaccuracy resulted in thousands of improper diagnoses and excessive Medicare billing by the company and its subsidiary.
The courts took over five years to reach a proper verdict, but in the end, Quest Diagnostics was forced to pay major penalties to several different actors. The company had to pay over $60 million to the federal government to settle the criminal case; this was followed by payments of over $250 million to the government as the result of the civil claims brought against Quest, and other payments to state Medicare funds totaling several million dollars.
As the whistleblower who started it all, Cantor received $45 million personally, largely thanks to a government reward-sharing initiative meant to encourage more whistleblowers to come forward. He utilized the vast majority of his winnings to fund medical research on HIV and hepatitis, among other diseases resistant to antibiotics.
Although the federal government has made it easier for whistleblowers to step up and speak out, all winning participants still need assurance and protection from an experienced law firm. Wagner, McLaughlin & Whittemore is among the state’s most experienced and trusted whistleblower claims attorneys. Our Tampa firm has had the pleasure and privilege of representing for decades brave people who take courageous actions. Call today to set up an appointment and discuss how Wagner, McLaughlin & Whittemore can help you.
The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has had more than its share of whistleblower cases field against it. Most recently, in April of this year, Pfizer agreed to a $784.6 million settlement for defrauding Medicaid in the sales of its proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drug Protonix, while giving discounts to private companies who purchased the same drug.
Protonix
The drug company Wyeth, acquired by Pfizer in 2009, gave bundled discounts for its PPI drugs Protonix Oral and Protonix IV to thousands of hospitals, which Wyeth failed to disclose to Medicaid while avoiding payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars in rebates to Medicaid. Medicaid requires that drug companies report any discounts that they give to private companies and then provide the same discounts to Medicaid in the form of rebates. The lawsuit was filed by two whistleblowers who will receive a shared total of $98,058,198 for bringing the case.
Neurontin
In 2004, Pfizer agreed to pay approximately $430 million in criminal and civil fines for fraudulent marketing of the drug Neurontin. The fraudulent marketing was apparently committed by Parke-Davis, which was owned by Warner-Lambert Co. and acquired by Pfizer in 2000. The case was brought by a whistleblower who was a former medical liaison for Parke-Davis and who received a multi-million dollar pay-out as part of the settlement.
Bextra
In 2009, Pfizer was the subject of another whistleblower lawsuit, this time for its fraudulent marketing of the pain drug Bextra. This time the company was required to pay $2.3 billion in criminal and civil fines. The whistleblower, a former Pfizer sales representative, received more than $51.5 million from the settlement.
Florida Whistleblower Claims Lawyer
Whistleblower claims can result in a significant recovery for the plaintiff, but they are also complex cases that can be difficult to pursue. If you have knowledge of Medicaid fraud by your current or former employer, it is important that you contact an experienced whistleblower claims attorney without delay. Call Wagner, McLaughlin & Whittemore now for a free consultation to see how we can help
Affected by big companies and their mistakes, Wagner, McLaughlin & Whittemore will fight for the underdog.
In its time as one of the world’s leading oil and natural gas companies, Exxon Mobil has undertaken a number of corporate actions that have been the subject of several class action lawsuits. Perhaps the most famous of these class action suits arose out of an oil spill in the Prince William Sound in 1989. The Exxon Valdez supertanker ran aground, triggering an environmental catastrophe that many experts consider the worst to ever occur in the United States.
Although Exxon Mobil offered to pay damages to surrounding communities and people directly affected by the spill, those people indirectly affected by the tanker’s accident felt that the compensation offered was not sufficient. They joined together in a massive class action lawsuit, alleging that the spill endangered the lives and livelihoods of several thousand fishermen, hunters and members of native communities in the Alaska region. A verdict was reached in 1994 that recommended a lump sum payment of $5 billion to all impacted parties by Exxon Mobil. This figure included restitution charges, damages, environmental penalties and community stimulus.
After over 15 years of legal challenges and appeals by Exxon Mobil’s powerful legal team, the total damages payment was reduced to just over $1 billion. The Supreme Court even weighed in on the case in 2008, opening that the amount of damages sought was too large and should be reduced to between $500 and $600 million. Despite the final figure being far lower than the original settlement amount, the Exxon Valdez case demonstrates the power of collective action — the case would never have gotten off the ground if each plaintiff had pursued an individual case.
Wagner, McLaughlin & Whittemore is a Florida class action lawsuit lawyer that can help you achieve victory in an underdog case against a seemingly invincible corporate foe. In their search for a class action lawyer Tampa residents can do no better than the law firm of Wagner, McLaughlin & Whittemore — the firm is a trusted pillar of the community that hires only the best and brightest legal minds. Contact the firm today for a brief consultation on the merits and procedure involved in class action lawsuits.
Wagner, McLaughlin & Whittemore Law Firm – Put Their Toxic Chemical Case Experience to Work for YOU
Certainly by now, there is most likely not a person in the world who isn’t at least somewhat aware of the real life story of Erinc Brocovich and her epic, relentless battle with California electric utility company giant, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (also commonly referred to as PG&E). This incident came to light in 1993, but the struggle, unfortunately, still apparently continues to this day–not only in California, but also in our home state of Florida.
Florida is host to a number of businesses and industries that are widely known for their tendency to produce potentially excessive amounts of toxic waste through their production of materials or resources such as paper, fertilizer and energy. These environmental poisons are well-known causes of a number of diseases and conditions including:
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- Cancer (many forms)
- Reproductive Problems
- Child Development Problems
- Nosebleeds
Because of the many dangers these toxic chemicals pose to both us and our environment, it is imperative that we remain pro-active and vigilant in order to ensure that we do not go down the same road and experience the same suffering as the misfortunate residents of Hinkley, California.
Don’t let these companies get away with ‘playing loose’ with or flat out ignoring Federal and state regulations specifically put into place in order to protect you! If you should ever find yourself in need of the services of a Florida class action lawsuit lawyer , especially one with extensive toxic tort experience, the firm to contact is the highly-rated law firm of Wagner, McLaughlin & Whittemore in Tampa.
One shining example of the quality team of lawyers at Wagner, McLaughlin & Whittemore is the firm’s current President, Alan Wagner. Regarded as the finest class action lawyer Tampa has to offer, Mr. Wagner has over 30 years of trial experience and has achieved the prestigious ‘AV’ rating from his legal peers according to Martindale-Hubbell. In addition to his toxic tort experience, Mr. Wagner also practices in the fields of medical malpractice, bad-faith litigation, product liability and more.
Injured while trying to loose weight? Wagner, McLaughlin & Whittemore in there for you.
In 1999, the American Home Products Corporation agreed to a $3.75 billion settlement of a class-action lawsuit engineered by patients who experienced heart defects after taking the company’s Fen-Phen diet pill combination. The class-action settlement still represents one of the largest monetary rewards for a product liability case in history — over 11,000 plaintiffs filed 6,500 separate lawsuits, but the settlement involved all of the six million users of the Fen-Phen combination.
Fen-Phen was considered a miracle diet pill, and many users took it to lose weight without dieting or exercising unnecessarily. The medication combined Pondimin and Redux, both of which suppressed patients’ appetites, with phentermine, which has been found to increase the rate at which the body burns calories. Prescriptions numbered in the millions in the mid-1990s, but by 1997, the Food and Drug Administration removed the drug from the market after finding that it caused heart defects and, in some cases, rare lung diseases.
Lawyers on both sides were generally pleased with the settlement agreement — lawyers for the plaintiffs were able to force the company to pay each user of the drug some prescription costs, whereas lawyers for the defendant were able to avoid the massive $10 billion settlement that some legal analysts had predicted. People who were exposed to heart defects received up to $1.5 million from American Home Products, an amount targeted to pay medical bills and attorney fees. The case is considered a benchmark in collaborative efforts by plaintiffs and an excellent example of how to conduct a consumer and medical products class action lawsuit.
Wagner, McLaughlin & Whittemore, Florida class action lawsuit attorneys, recognizes the importance of an individual’s right to health and the value of truth in advertising. The firm specializes in class action lawsuits of all different varieties and has won settlements in various cases. Any client looking for a Tampa class action lawyer is invited to seriously consider meeting with the knowledgeable and passionate team at Wagner, McLaughlin & Whittemore. Call today to set up a free consultation with a practiced firm with a history of important class action victories.
