The False Claims Act is a piece of legislation from the U.S. Congress that allows any individual with knowledge of a fraud being perfected against any agency of the U.S. Government to file a claim on behalf of the Government against the individual or business that has or is committing such fraud. The individual filing such claim on behalf of the United States Government is identified as the qui tam plaintiff and, if the action is successful, such person is entitled to share in a percentage of the recovery against the fraudulent person or business. This is supported by the reading, “The federal government’s main weapon in the so-called war on fraud and abuse is the False Claims Act (FCA)” (Showalter, 2017, pg.553). The
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The case in question was Universal Health Services v. United States ex rel. Escobar. The case involved a teenage female whose name was Yarushka Rivera. Ms. Rivera, who resided in Massachusetts, was a recipient of Medicaid and died as a result of an adverse reaction to medication she had been given to treat bipolar disorder. The facility treating Ms. Rivera is at the center of the family’s litigation. The parents of Ms. Rivera uncovered shortly after her death that Arbour Counseling Services turned out to be very unscrupulous when it came to misleading the public concerning their …show more content…
The FCA should be carefully considered by potential whistleblowers as the statute of limitations could be as little as six years. The statute of limitations is critical in all cases and can have a severe impact on whether or not a claim can be sought under the FCA. In most cases is best done with an experienced qui tam counsel to give advice how to calculate the statute of limitations as they can oftentimes be complex. There are very little if any, frivolous lawsuits involving the FCA. The reason for this is quite simple. The mechanics surrounding this act tend to weed out frivolous lawsuits as well as meritless claims. When deciding to come forward and discuss the fraud their perspective companies are indulging in, many whistleblowers understand the risk involved, including loss of employment and will often tread lightly when going down this
The case in question was Universal Health Services v. United States ex rel. Escobar. The case involved a teenage female whose name was Yarushka Rivera. Ms. Rivera, who resided in Massachusetts, was a recipient of Medicaid and died as a result of an adverse reaction to medication she had been given to treat bipolar disorder. The facility treating Ms. Rivera is at the center of the family’s litigation. The parents of Ms. Rivera uncovered shortly after her death that Arbour Counseling Services turned out to be very unscrupulous when it came to misleading the public concerning their …show more content…
The FCA should be carefully considered by potential whistleblowers as the statute of limitations could be as little as six years. The statute of limitations is critical in all cases and can have a severe impact on whether or not a claim can be sought under the FCA. In most cases is best done with an experienced qui tam counsel to give advice how to calculate the statute of limitations as they can oftentimes be complex. There are very little if any, frivolous lawsuits involving the FCA. The reason for this is quite simple. The mechanics surrounding this act tend to weed out frivolous lawsuits as well as meritless claims. When deciding to come forward and discuss the fraud their perspective companies are indulging in, many whistleblowers understand the risk involved, including loss of employment and will often tread lightly when going down this