Phillips & Cohen partner Erika Kelton is representing Maria Guzman in a recently unsealed whistleblower lawsuit against Insys Therapeutics Inc. The information Guzman provided convinced the US Department of Justice and 6 states to join the lawsuit. Bloomberg Law asked Kelton to comment on the unsealing of the case:
“Erika Kelton, Guzman’s attorney who works at Phillips & Cohen in Washington, was encouraged by the government’s decision to intervene in her client’s case. ‘It has been a tough road for her as it is for many whistleblowers. It has been impossible for her to get a job in her chosen career,’ Kelton told Bloomberg Law. ‘It feels very good for her to know the government is standing behind her publicly.’ Kelton specializes in whistleblower cases and has recovered billions of dollars in such cases.”
Bloomberg Law also quotes Kelton regarding the nature of the case, which alleges that Insys was operating a massive kickback scheme to push doctors to over-prescribe Subsys, a highly addictive and dangerous synthetic opioid:
“Kelton described the allegations as among the most egregious she had encountered in her time practicing law. ‘They’re egregious not just in the practices, but in the consequences,’ Kelton said, referring to the harm caused by prescribing opioids. ‘It makes it really extreme and heartbreaking.'”
Read the full story on Bloomberg Law’s website (subscription required).