“A second doctor was accused of fraud [earlier this month] in a federal lawsuit filed by the AHP Settlement Trust, the entity created to process claims related to the $3.75 billion fen-phen settlement.” (see Sept. 21, Sept. 25). The new suit alleges that a New York City cardiologist conspired with an unnamed law firm to submit medically unreasonable claims of heart valve injury, resulting in the payment of millions of dollars in claims. “Compensation was a motivating factor in the fraud, the suit alleges, noting that for each VHD [valvular heart disease] certification, Mueller allegedly received an immediate payment of $500 over and above the $900 he received for interpreting the echocardiogram. The suit alleges that Mueller received another payment of $1,500 following compensation to the claimant, earning more than $1 million.” Contingency fees for expert witnesses are not necessarily prohibited as such in American courtrooms, though they have been widely viewed with distaste by ethics authorities. (Shannon P. Duffy, “Fen-Phen Settlement Trust Sues Second Doctor for Fraud”, Legal Intelligencer, Nov. 17).

Filed under: contingent fee, ethics, expert witnesses, fen-phen, medical, product liability