Abbott Must Face Whistleblower’s Cardiac Procedure Kickback Suit

A former Abbott Laboratories Inc. employee adequately alleged that the company violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims for a heart procedure to the federal government that were tainted by a physician kickback scheme, according to a federal district court.

Everest Principals LLC may proceed with claims that Abbott caused thousands of false claims to be submitted Medicare and other federal healthcare programs by giving physicians cash and meals to induce them to perform procedures on patients using an Abbott medical device, Judge Thomas J. Whelan of the US District Court for the Southern District of California said in ...