July 19, 2006
The U.S. Dept. of Justice announced that Medtronic’s Sofamor Danek Division will pay $40 million to settle allegations that it violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act.
The suit, which began as a qui tam action filed by a whistleblower, alleged that Medtronic paid kickbacks to physicians in a number of forms to induce them to use the company’s spinal implant devices.
The Jutsice Department’s press release is available at their website. The New York Times (subscription required) carried a story in their July 19, 2006 issue.
For additional background on the suit, see the January 31, 2006 entry at www.quitam.blogspot.com.