Whistleblower and Qui Tam Attorneys in San Francisco
We are your Bay Area employment law attorneys specializing in Whistleblower, or Qui Tam, litigation. A whistleblower, or Qui Tam relator, maybe a private citizen, competitor, or internal company worker who reports illegal activity by a company. He or she may be an employee, worker, contractor, vendor, competitor, or any other private citizen with knowledge of such illegal conduct.
Essentially, the citizen files the claim on behalf of the federal and/or California government. The most common type of whistleblower that we represent is an individual within the health care industry who witnessed fraud, false billing, and insufficient staffing at facilities, pharmaceutical irregularities, or up-coding of claims. Most often, the case settles and the only difference in compensation to the whistleblower is whether the government chooses to join the litigation or “intervene” or decline to intervene. Either way, the relator is entitled to a percent of the recovery ranging from 15% to 30 % of the reward recovered from the wrongdoer – which can pile into the millions due to the $11,000 per violation and triple damages awarded.
In California, whistleblower and Qui Tam litigation is highly technical and necessitates lawyers with expertise in working these complex cases from inception to a conclusion which often involves settlement. Our attorneys have over four decades of experience to ensure that you get the award that you’re entitled to for reporting illegal, fraudulent activity. To avoid pitfalls and obstacles, and navigate the False Claims Act’s many particularities, you must trust attorneys with a track record tied to millions of dollars in recovery for hundreds of California whistleblowers.
In fact, we’ve handled many government workers and health care practitioners, physicians, nurses, consultants, contractors, and other employees who came forward to report claims such as Medicare and Medicaid fraud – which affects every tax-paying citizen.
False Claims Act fraud also occurs when the company knows that it was overpaid by the government but chooses to retain the overpayment beyond the 60-day timeframe. As soon as our San Francisco based attorneys are retained, we ensure that records are not destroyed by litigation hold letters, subpoenas, and other methods to protect relevant data. San Francisco has some of America’s finest medical centers such as UCSF Medical Center, John Muir Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center, California Pacific Medical Center, Mills-Peninsula Health Services, and Washington Hospital in Fremont.
Stephen Danz and Associates Ardently Defends Whistleblowers against Retaliation
We also ensure that our clients are not retaliated against for their courageous reporting of illegalities and the brave exposing of unlawful practices. There are many laws that we’ve utilized to protect whistleblowers that refuse to commit and permit, fraudulent company practices. These include Federal FCA, California’s FCA, Federal Whistleblower Protection Act and California’s Whistleblower Protection Act, the ACA, California Labor Code 1102.5 and other sections, Health and Safety Code, OSHA and many others.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Adds Layer of Protection for Whistleblowers
The recently implemented “PPACA” or “ACA” added whistleblower protections where adverse action is taken against employees who:
(1) provide information to the employer or the government regarding a violation, act, or omission that the employee reasonably believes to be a violation relating to Title I of PPACA;
(2) testifies in a proceeding concerning such violation;
(3) assists or participates in such a proceeding; or
(4) objects to, or refuses to perform, any activity or assigned task the employee reasonably believes to be such a violation.
Examples of Local Area Cases from Our San Francisco Based Qui Tam Attorneys
Citizens of Bhopal, India vs Union Carbide. $500 Million Settlement. Senior SD&A Partner acted as counsel to lead attorneys when the case was filed. (California Appeals Court.)
Sicidicane vs. Sisters of Sacret Heart. Multi-Million Dollar Settlement. A complex wrongful termination/failure to promote/retaliation and federal false claim act case for coding violations and duplicate billing. (Eastern District of California.)
BEI Electronics. Federal false claims act claim based on allegations of falsified testing of accelerometers. Settled in San Francisco. (Northern District of California.)
San Francisco-based Dignity Health settled with the U.S. Justice Department for $5.9 million to avoid litigating a lawsuit alleging Medicare overbilling at its 18 affiliated hospitals. The claims were brought by a cardiac nurse and reimbursement consultant who alleged that the hospitals improperly billed Medicare when recipients received implantable cardiac devices without the hospitals complying with the required waiting period. The recipients’ Medicare coverage required that certain devices not be implanted before the requisite time following a heart attack or if the patient recently had heart bypass surgery or angioplasty. Dignity’s settlement was only a portion of more than 50 hospitals involved that settled for more than $23 million.
To review your case, speak to our San Francisco whistleblower and qui tam attorneys for a free consultation. Call us at 877-789-9707 today.
Whistleblower Attorney San Francisco
94104, 94119, 94114
Phone: 877-789-9707
“Mr. Danz and Ms. Porter, Thank you very much for your legal assistance a few weeks back. The problems I was encountering at work were having an extremely adverse effect on every aspect of my daily life. Relationships with my fiancé, friends, and family were growing increasingly tense, and my overall daily outlook was grim as a consequence of not being able to see any viable options to remedy the situation. Your willingness to write, speak over the phone, and meet with me was extremely generous. Furthermore, the way in which you treated my family and I was overwhelming. In a calm, compassionate, and sincere fashion, you were able to explain to us very clearly several meaningful options in which to resolve the conflict I had with my employer. On the drive home from meeting with both of you, I felt for the first time in a long time, a sense of relief and renewed the ability to enjoy the moment.
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San Francisco Whistleblower Attorney