Layoffs from Big-Pharma: Do Your Part to Help Fight Pharmaceutical Fraud
Unfortunately, many pharmaceutical companies place the pursuit of profits above compliance with the law and the well-being of innocent patients, who place their trust in their products. In order to bolster their bottom line, some Pharma companies engage in fraudulent sales and marketing schemes at the expense of taxpayers through artificially inflated payments made by government healthcare programs. Fortunately, you can help to fight back.
Have you witnessed or heard of questionable behavior on the job? Have you been instructed to engage in conduct you know to be improper, or to ignore the improper conduct of others? Big Pharma has paid out over $30 Billion in recent years in qui tam/False Claims Act settlements resulting from illegal sales and marketing practices. These include, marketing drugs for off-label uses, paying kick-backs and bribes to health-care providers, manipulating and misrepresenting data related to the efficacy of products and potential adverse effects, and a host of similar improper activity.
For instance, in 2012, facing allegations of off-label marketing and kick-backs for the sale of Paxil, Wellbutrin, Advair, Lamictal, Zofran, Imitrex, Lotronex, Flovent, Valtrex, and Avandia, Pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline agreed to a massive $3 Billion settlement with the U.S. government, as well as, several states and cities. The multi-billion dollar settlement was the largest in U.S. history for Pharma fraud. Similarly, in September 2009, Pfizer agreed to pay over $2 Billion to settle multiple whistleblower lawsuits claiming the company illegally marketed four of its drugs. Federal and State governments are serious about combating healthcare fraud. The False Claims Act is a valuable tool, which allows whistleblowers to assist in holding fraudsters accountable, by filing qui tam lawsuits on behalf of the government. Recognizing the immeasurable benefit of whistleblowers in the fight against fraud, the False Claims Act incentivizes knowledgeable individuals to come forward.
Nonetheless, deciding to become a whistleblower is not easy. In our experience, many times it takes an adverse employment situation such as a layoff to prompt a whistleblower to take action. If you find yourself in that situation and believe that you have information that the government may be interested in, you should contact an experienced whistleblower attorney immediately to protect your legal rights.
Young Law Group is a nationwide leader in whistleblower representation and has successfully represented individuals in countless qui tam cases for over a decade. Young Law Group attorneys represented whistleblowers in two of the largest False Claims Act settlements in history. Our firm takes every inquiry seriously and considers confidentiality a top priority. For a free confidential consultation, please call Eric L. Young, Esquire at (215) 367-5151 or fill out a form.