Medtronic Lawsuit Says Doctors Given Perks
September 25th, 2008 laurie
A Medtronic lawsuit brought by a former lawyer of the medical device maker alleges that Medtronic gave surgeons a variety of perks to use its devices. According to the Wall Street Journal, these perks included regular entertainment at a Memphis strip club, trips to Alaska and patent royalties on inventions they played no part in.
The allegations are brought against the device maker’s spinal unit, which is being investigated by Congress. There have been other lawsuits by other former Medtronic employees also claiming fishy relationships with surgeons over spinal-repair implants involving non-FDA approved uses. Sen. Grassley has been looking into whether inducements for doctors, like those alleged in the lawyer’s suit, have led to what surgeons say is widespread off-label use of Medtronic spine products.
The WSJ reports that former Medtronic lawyer’s allegations are contained in a 2002 suit filed in U.S. District Court in Memphis against Minneapolis-based Medtronic and 10 doctors. The lawsuit and other filings in the case remain sealed, except for a heavily redacted copy of the complaint, which contains none of the doctors’ names nor specifics of the allegations. Even the identity of the plaintiff has been withheld. But, according to an unredacted copy of the lawsuit reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, she is Ami P. Kelley, a former senior legal counsel for the spine unit.
The Journal reports that Ms. Kelley’s lawsuit says kickbacks were “pervasive” and “the culture and way of doing business” at Medtronic. Sales staff, she said, “routinely took physicians” visiting the spine unit’s Memphis headquarters to the Platinum Plus strip club, and picked up the tab for the dancers’ services during “VIP visits.” In 2007, Platinum Plus’s owner pleaded guilty to charges related to dancers engaging in acts of prostitution, and the club has closed. Ms. Kelley’s lawsuit sought to recoup damages for the federal government, which prohibits companies from giving doctors inducements to use products covered by Medicare or Medicaid. Her lawsuit and a separate one that also accused the spine unit of paying illegal kickbacks to doctors were the basis for a $40 million settlement deal between Medtronic and the government in 2006, according to the settlement document.
