Practices: Litigation (Healthcare)

Healthcare providers and suppliers are the targets of a dramatic escalation in lawsuits and regulatory disputes. You and your organization can at any time face civil or criminal prosecution, government regulatory actions, reimbursement or self-referral compliance disputes, contract disputes, medical staff controversies, malpractice allegations, antitrust problems – and more. You need counsel that is experienced in defending you at any level – whether in civil litigation or in prosecutions and civil enforcement actions before the U.S. Attorney and state Attorneys General, proceedings of such industry regulators as the Office of Inspector General or appeals to state regulatory authorities.

Aggressive Defense

With our strong focus on representing hospitals and other health care providers, Ungaretti & Harris knows how to identify and resolve the problems that can result in lawsuits or regulatory actions. If you are faced with a controversy, we’ll work to resolve it – and are committed to giving you an aggressive but cost-effective defense against claims before regulators and in court. We undertake much of our healthcare litigation defense in our role as general counsel to hospitals, clinical laboratories, senior care centers, and other provider organizations. You get knowledgeable counsel that reflects both a thorough understanding of industry issues, and an in-depth familiarity with your operations and strategic objectives. You’ll see in the following description the primary areas in which healthcare clients rely on us for help.

Fraud and Abuse

Any healthcare provider could face allegations of fraud and abuse under federal and state laws regulating kickbacks and physician self-referral, as well as Medicare and Medicaid billing and reimbursement rules. Increasingly, such allegations expose providers and provider organizations to the possibility monetary penalties and even criminal prosecution. Because members of our firm have been senior enforcement officials in both the United States Attorney’s and Illinois Attorney General’s offices, we know how to structure internal investigations and litigation defenses that meet the government’s enforcement tactics head-on. If you face a False Claims Act investigation by the HHS Office of the Inspector General, you can confidently turn to us knowing that we have represented providers like you in investigations, administrative proceedings, and civil and criminal trials involving fraud and abuse allegations.

Should you face government allegations of misconduct, we will conduct witness interviews and review all documentation, evaluate the results, and help you form an appropriate response – whether to formal or informal government inquiries, or to search warrants and subpoenas. You get effective representation in all phases of administrative, civil and criminal litigation involving allegations of false claims act violations, including qui tam whistle-blower cases, as well as federal and state anti-kickback statute cases. Often we are able to negotiate settlement agreements and corporate integrity agreements with the Department of Justice and the Office of Inspector General, and will help you implement their terms.

Employment Controversies

Healthcare providers have labor and employment concerns are as wide-ranging as the many federal and state laws and regulations that you operate under. We can advise you on any of them, in any area of employment law. In unionized workplaces, you get a highly skilled and responsive partner that works alongside your human and labor relations personnel to respond to grievance and arbitration actions, and represent you in NLRB proceedings. If you are faced with litigation by employees claiming violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) – and suing for both back overtime pay and damages – we will mount a vigorous defense, seeking to deny class certification and working to secure an efficient and effective settlement that dismisses unfounded claims and protects your interests. Any protected class of your employees – by age, race, gender, disability, religion – could bring suit under the discrimination statues, and we have successfully litigated and resolved all types of discrimination matters. We have a special focus in sexual harassment controversies, and will defend you in state and federal court, in administrative actions before the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and in actions before the Illinois Department of Human Rights and state regulators across the country.

Medical Staff Disputes

Medical staff disputes sometimes become court cases. Your provider organization could face discrimination claims, retaliatory discharge suits, breach of contract actions and wage and hour cases from disciplined medical staff members. If that happens, our lawyers work with you to carefully analyze the case to determine whether trial, settlement or arbitration is the best option. If a problem physician has been suspended and seeks to be reinstated, the right solution may be a settlement that preserves the hospital’s professional reputation and financial assets. We work with your board’s Medical Executive Committee members to ensure that proper and fair determinations are made.

Antitrust

Hospitals, physicians, ambulatory care providers, and a wide range of other healthcare providers trust Ungaretti & Harris if the creation of managed care organizations, provider networks and other “virtual mergers” raises questions involving antitrust enforcement and regulation. That includes counseling provider organizations and insurers regarding Department of Justice or Federal Trade Commission investigations of alleged price-fixing and anticompetitive practices.

Commercial Matters

Healthcare providers could face controversies involving any aspect of their business operations, and need counsel that they can turn to for the full spectrum of commercial litigation matters. Ungaretti & Harris has the experience to give you the most responsive representation possible, with senior partners representing you, efficient staffing of every matter, and a focus that puts your needs at the heart of litigation strategy. Our successful resolution of these matters typifies the range of disputes that we handle, and the successful track record that you can rely on:

• Arbitration of an earnout provision dispute that arose in the purchase of a medical kit manufacturing and distribution business unit.
• Defense of more than 800 defective design and failure to warn claims involving latex gloves made by a leading global health products and services provider.
• Dismissal of claims in the courts of three states where a national consortium of plaintiff attorneys tried to push the boundaries of ERISA case law in their suit against a leading pharmacy benefit management company.

Best Result

For any healthcare provider operation that faces litigation or regulatory enforcement actions, the stakes can be huge – including financial or criminal penalties that could jeopardize your operation’s future. You want to work with a lawyer who understands your goals, concerns and resources, and who defines winning as achieving the best result for you. Ungaretti & Harris healthcare litigators know what you have at stake, at stake, and give you counsel that combines practical business understanding, in-depth knowledge of healthcare-related laws and regulations, trial skill, and dispute resolution success.