Berg & Androphy: Whistleblower Complaint Leads to $2.3 Million Settlement

HOUSTON, March 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly four years after whistleblower Diana Kulwicki alleged health care fraud in a qui tam action filed in federal court in Houston, a $2.3 million settlement was announced by government officials, the Berg & Androphy law firm said today.

According to government sources, Children's Physician Services of South Texas, Driscoll Genetic Services, Center for Genetic Services, and Radiology Associates agreed to pay $2.3 million to settle civil allegations that they engaged in false or fraudulent conduct by double-billing the Texas Medicaid program, TRICARE, and the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program for the professional reading and interpretation of genetic ultrasounds. Radiology Associates agreed to pay $800,000 to resolve the allegations, while the remaining defendants paid $1.5 million.

The legal team for Ms. Kulwicki, the relator in the settlement, included Joel Androphy, Sarah Frazier and Rachel Grier of the Houston office of Berg & Androphy, and Gay E. Gilson of Corpus Christi, Texas.

After a contested hearing, the attorneys were awarded a 21 percent share of the recovery. The legal team had also agreed to take a leading role in litigating the case if the matter could not be resolved at the time of government intervention.

Joel Androphy, who authored the book "Federal False Claims Act and Qui Tam Litigation" (Law Journal Press), said, "Ms. Kulwicki and our legal team were instrumental in the settlement of the case. As with all of our False Claims Act cases, we actively participated with the government.  But we also were prepared to pursue this qui tam case, like others before it, even if the government had declined to intervene."

Ms. Kulwicki's case is "United States ex rel. Diana Kulwicki v. Radiology Associates et al," No. 08-485, in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas.

About Berg & Androphy

Based in Houston, and with offices by appointment in New York, Washington, D.C., and Denver, Berg & Androphy has represented individuals in national qui tam cases against companies that have defrauded federal and state governments. The firm is included among U.S. News & World Report's 2013 Best Lawyers in several practice areas. For more information, please go to www.bafirm.com or contact Joel Androphy or Sarah Frazier at 713.529.5622.

SOURCE Berg & Androphy