Date Filed:
Friday, September 29, 2006
Settlement Amount:
$30,000,000
A settlement has been reached in a whistleblower class action lawsuit brought against Blackstone Medical Inc, a subsidiary of Orthofix International NV, who is accused of paying illegal kickbacks to physicians in order to induce use of the company’s products.
The whistleblower will receive an $8 million share of the government's recovery.
The initial whistleblower lawsuit was filed September 2006. The government's complaint alleged that Blackstone paid kickbacks to spinal surgeons. These alleged kickbacks took a number of forms, including sham consulting agreements, sham royalty arrangements, sham research grants, travel and entertainment.
