What You Need to Know About the False Claims Act

A whistleblower attorney can help determine if you have a viable lawsuit. Here are a few questions that a whistleblower attorney can help you determine whether the information you have can be used to institute a whistleblower lawsuit. What type of wrong has been committed? The first question to ask when seeking to determine the validity of your information is, “what type of wrong has been committed?” Whistleblowers can report numerous wrongs under various statutes. Consult a whistleblower lawyer to determine whether the information you have attracts any penalties under law. What benefit can be received? Institution of whistleblower lawsuits requires an investment of time, effort, and money, amongst other resources. It is pertinent that you weigh how worthwhile a lawsuit would be before you proceed with it. Under certain statutes, whistleblowers are entitled to a percentage of the money recovered through the lawsuit under certain statutes, and whistleblower attorneys can help...

If you are considering instituting a lawsuit as a whistleblower, the 3 fundamental questions that would come up in your head are – “What should be proved?”, “What’s the potential recovery?” and “How should it be filed?” Let us look at how False Claims Act attorneys can help you answer these questions. What should be proved? The first question to be answered is “what should be proved?” Unless you know exactly what should be proved in a Court of law, there is no point in filing a lawsuit. A False Claims Act attorney can help you understand what should be proved in court to make your case. What’s the potential recovery? There is never a guarantee that you will receive the entire reward promised by statute. A False Claims lawyer will be able to correctly evaluate the seriousness of the false claim alleged and based on experience, can make an educated guess as to the potential recovery. This will help you decide whether to go ahead with the filing of a lawsuit or not. How should i...

Medicare fraud is an umbrella that encompasses scams related to documentation, billing, medical prescriptions, etc. The laws surrounding medicare fraud impose heavy penalties on doctors found guilty of defrauding the government. Additionally, it also rewards the whistle-blower who initiates medicare fraud prosecutions. The enticement of this reward has caused many doctors to be falsely accused of various frauds, as mentioned below. Only a medical staff lawyer can help a doctor falsely accused to prove their innocence in court. Defend yourself against allegations of billing fraud Some of the most common billing frauds alleged against doctors include upcoding, unbundling, and double billing. Upcoding refers to including a more expensive bill code for the service provided, unbundling refers to assigning various bill codes for services with one common code, and double-billing refers to billing for the same service twice. Only an experienced lawyer for doctors can help you clear yourself o...

If found guilty of healthcare fraud, healthcare professionals could have their medical license revoked, be imposed with monetary penalties, or worse still, be incarcerated. Therefore, it is important to have good defense strategies against such allegations. Do not speak unless your healthcare attorney is present Do not speak during interrogations unless your healthcare attorney   is present or you have the express permission of your attorney to speak. If you do not have an attorney, remember you have the right to legal counsel and need not speak until you hire one. Your words must be guarded as they can be used against you in court. Hire a healthcare fraud attorney, pronto! Only a  healthcare defense attorney   can provide the right counsel and prepare a solid defense against medicare fraud allegations. The prosecution does not need to prove knowledge of fraud to hold you liable for healthcare fraud. Do not underestimate the relevancy of paperwork Only a healthcare attorn...

The False Claims Act was initially enacted to deter fraudsters in the defense industry. It was assented to by President Abraham Lincoln, which is why it is often referred to as Lincoln's Law. The Act allows individuals to initiate legal action against individuals and entities that defraud the government.    Complaints must be filed by a lawyer   The False Claims Act prescribes that a complaint can be filed only by a  False Claims Act attorney . This is because, in a false claim suit, the complainant represents the government of the USA. If anyone files a suit under this Act but a lawyer, it is liable to be dismissed.   To help act at the earliest instance   The False Claims Act rewards whistleblowers with 15% to 30% of the amount recovered. However, you will lose the benefit of this reward if your information is brought to the Courts' notice even a day late. This means that if somebody else initiates legal proceeds against the fraudsters even one day before...

 The general understanding is that healthcare attorneys are meant for those who have been defrauded by a medical institution. This statement couldn’t be farther from the truth. Attorneys for doctors provide legal advice regarding various issues and help doctors and medical institutions stay compliant with all the rules and regulations in place. From drafting contracts in tune with the various laws to protecting doctors who are whistleblowers to legal advice, lawyers for doctors offer varied services. Lawyers For Doctors Help Draft Contract s The medical profession involves a lot of contracts, irrespective of whether one is an employee or an employer. Contracts are entered into to procure medical supplies and pharmaceuticals. It is essential that these contracts do not contain any unlawful terms and that the terms do not cause any legal tussle in the future. Lawyers for doctors help with this drafting, ensuring that the terms are within the permissible limits of the law. Lawyers Fo...

 The medical field has reported an increasing number of false billing cases, kickbacks, illegal prescriptions, up coding, tampering with documents, etc. The victims have been patients and the loved ones of these patients. Several legislations were enacted to counter the rise in frauds and illegal activities in the medical field, prescribing severe punishments to those found guilty of the charges laid out in the legislation. The rise in fraud reports also led to an increase in the number of false allegations arising against medical practitioners and institutions.  Legislations And Punishments Prescribed The various legislations enacted to combat the rise in Medicare frauds include the False Claims Act, the Anti-kickback Statute, the Criminal Healthcare Fraud law, the Stark law, or more commonly known as the Self-referral law. It prevents practices where doctors refer patients to their family members or close associates with an intent to make a profit from the patient's conditio...