The example of a whistleblower that I found through research was Stefan P. Kruszewski, he was involved in multiple suits involving inadequate care, retaliation, and fraud. Kruszewski was a psychiatric medical consultant for the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW), one of his duties was to “root out fraud, waste, and abuse so that neither the federal dollars… nor the state funding… would be forced to pay for unnecessary, inferior, or substandard care” (Kenney, P. 7). After reporting his findings on a being fired for not keeping silent he proceeded to file a First Amendment case against the state and multiple suits against Southwood Psychiatric Hospital, Pfizer Inc., and AstraZeneca. In all cases he was successful with the help of
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In his case against the state of Pennsylvania for retaliation the state paid, “Kruszewski $374,000 to settle a civil rights whistleblower suit that charged he was fired for speaking about his findings “(Erdley). The case against the Southwood Psychiatric Hospital settled in 2009 after years of litigation for $150,000 dollars that would reimburse Medicaid and a promise for improvements of service would be made at the program’s facilities (Erdley). In the case against AstraZeneca, the company agreed to pay $520 million to settle allegations that the company committed fraud with its off-label marketing and promotional practices for its atypical antipsychotic drug, Seroquel (Page). Meaning the company marketing the drug for other uses than approved and recommend by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The largest case though that Kruszewski filed was against pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, Inc. in which it agreed to plead guilty to criminal conduct and to pay $2.3 billion to settle allegations made in multiple whistleblower lawsuits that the pharmaceutical giant defrauded government-funded health care programs in connection with its market practices for four of its drugs …show more content…
While reviewing Bowie’s five-prong test for a moral decision I find that Stefan P. Kruszewski went about his actions morally. In further researching his background he seems to have a moral motive of improving lives of patients that are taking these medications. He also had presented his findings to “internal channels” before going public after being fired for speaking out about the problems he found. Being a medical doctor allowed him to be able to communicate his evidence and facts that were found in company materials he was given. Lastly, he was able to consult with lawyers to carefully analyze the dangers and his chances of success before moving forward with the cases.
Erdley, Debra. "Psychiatric Hospital in Washington County Pays $150,000 to Settle Suit Alleging Abuse, Fraud." TribLIVE.com. Trib Total Media, LLC, 15 June 2012. Web. 27 Nov.
In his case against the state of Pennsylvania for retaliation the state paid, “Kruszewski $374,000 to settle a civil rights whistleblower suit that charged he was fired for speaking about his findings “(Erdley). The case against the Southwood Psychiatric Hospital settled in 2009 after years of litigation for $150,000 dollars that would reimburse Medicaid and a promise for improvements of service would be made at the program’s facilities (Erdley). In the case against AstraZeneca, the company agreed to pay $520 million to settle allegations that the company committed fraud with its off-label marketing and promotional practices for its atypical antipsychotic drug, Seroquel (Page). Meaning the company marketing the drug for other uses than approved and recommend by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The largest case though that Kruszewski filed was against pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, Inc. in which it agreed to plead guilty to criminal conduct and to pay $2.3 billion to settle allegations made in multiple whistleblower lawsuits that the pharmaceutical giant defrauded government-funded health care programs in connection with its market practices for four of its drugs …show more content…
While reviewing Bowie’s five-prong test for a moral decision I find that Stefan P. Kruszewski went about his actions morally. In further researching his background he seems to have a moral motive of improving lives of patients that are taking these medications. He also had presented his findings to “internal channels” before going public after being fired for speaking out about the problems he found. Being a medical doctor allowed him to be able to communicate his evidence and facts that were found in company materials he was given. Lastly, he was able to consult with lawyers to carefully analyze the dangers and his chances of success before moving forward with the cases.
Erdley, Debra. "Psychiatric Hospital in Washington County Pays $150,000 to Settle Suit Alleging Abuse, Fraud." TribLIVE.com. Trib Total Media, LLC, 15 June 2012. Web. 27 Nov.