Toumey Stark Law Case – Verdict In Second Toumey Trial
Toumey Stark Law Case – Second Trial Finds Stark Law Violation
Virtually every lawyer in the country who is involved with physician compensation and Stark Law issues were waiting anxiously over the past couple of weeks for a jury verdict in the second Stark Law trial involving Toumey Healthcare System. On May 8, 2013, we all got what we had been waiting for; a jury verdict in the much heralded case alleging Stark Law violations that were brought by a physician whistleblower. Once the case went to jury, a verdict was reached in less than five hours.
The case alleged that Toumey had paid 19 part-time surgeons on its staff based on the business that the surgeons generated for the hospital. The first trial in the case found that Toumey had violated the Stark Law and assessed $45 million in damages under the Federal False Claims Act. An appellate court set the first judgment aside which lead to the necessity for a second trial.
A bulletin posted on the website of the firm that handled the case for the physician whistleblower states that Toumey could now be liable for up to $357 million under the False Claims Act. The actual damages from the second verdict have not yet been determined.
We will be providing further analysis of this decision and possible implications for physician compensation arrangements with hospitals in future blog posts. In the meantime, feel free to contact John Fisher at Ruder Ware Health Care.
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Tags: Compensation Arrangments, physician compensation, Physician Stark Law, Stark Law, Toumey Case