Center for Diagnostic Imaging Settles Whistleblower Suit

Center for Diagnostic Imaging, Inc. (“CDI”) has resolved a whistleblower suit brought by two whistleblowers under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act for a total of $2.8 million. CDI, one of the country’s first freestanding diagnostic imaging centers, is based in Minnesota with locations in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Washington state, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.

The whistleblowers, Patricia West, former Vice-President of Operations and Business Development for CDI in Washington state, and Dr. Alexander Serra, a radiologist and founding partner of Sound Medical Imaging, a servicer of CDI outpatient centers in the Puget Sound area, filed their qui tam suit in 2005 in Washington state.

The complaint alleged that CDI violated the False Claims Act by submitting bills to federal health care programs reflecting higher procedure codes than the procedures that were actually performed, an improper practice known as upcoding; billing for services without a written order from the treating physician, as required by federal law; and paying illegal kickbacks to treating physicians.

In 2011, the federal government intervened in the portion of the whistleblowers’ complaint relating to upcoding, but declined to intervene in the remaining claims. The upcoding claims were settled in 2011 for $1.3 million, with the whistleblowers receiving 22 percent as their reward. The whistleblowers recently settled the remaining claims for an additional $1.5 million payment by CDI. The whistleblowers will receive 30% of the supplemental settlement amount as their reward.

If you have any firsthand knowledge, information, or evidence related to any federal, state, county or city government fraud, you should speak with an experienced qui tam lawyer who can help you understand your legal rights and help you obtain the compensation you deserve.

If you have a claim, contact the Florida whistleblower attorneys at Rabin Kammerer Johnson for a free and confidential consultation by calling toll free at 877.915.4040.