The Mystery of the Northwestern Settlement

Watson, quick, the game's afoot.  We have discussed a large number of legal settlements by large health care organizations that serve as markers of misbehavior and often lack of leaderships' responsibility for same.  These settlements often follow a common pattern.  Yet this week a settlement appeared that was quite different, and hence raised some important questions.The Basics of the SettlementI will summarize the settlement as described by the Wall Street Journal.  The basic points were:Northwestern University agreed to pay nearly $3 million to settle claims that a former cancer researcher fraudulently used federal grant money for personal expenses, including food, hotels and airfare for family trips between 2003 and 2010.The settlement in the civil suit was unsealed Tuesday by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, which investigated claims brought by a whistle blower under the False Claims Act.The settlement seemed to be more about the researcher, Dr Charles L Bennett, than Northwestern,At the time of the alleged fraud, Dr. Bennett was the principal investigator on research funded by the National Institutes of Health, studying adverse drug events, multiple myeloma, a blood disorder known as thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, and quality of care for cancer patients.According to the settlement agreement, he allegedly billed federal grants for family trips, meals and hotels for himself and friends, and for 'consulting fees'...

Source: Health Care Renewal - August 5, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Tags: whistle-blowers Northwestern University legal settlements conflicts of interest Source Type: blogs