A U.S. District Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Stryker alleging that the company provided kickback to a physician to induce his use of Stryker products, according to a report by MassDevice.
The qui tam suit was originally filed by a Zimmer sales representative, and the U.S. government later intervened. The suit alleged that Stryker provided kickbacks to Hari Parvataneni, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
According to court documents, the Zimmer sales rep sold approximately $100,000 worth of Zimmer products to Dr. Parvataneni, which went unused. When the sales rep inquired why they had not been used Dr. Parvataneni allegedly told the rep that Stryker had offer to fund his research and the training of his residents in return for his use of their products.
The judge ruled that the plaintiffs failed to prove that Stryker initiated a kickback scheme because it did not include enough specific information about the place and time the scheme occurred. Additionally, the judge ruled that the suit did not allege any injury from the alleged fraud, according to the report.
The plaintiffs have 21 days to amend their complaint.
Read MassDevice's report on the Stryker kickback suit.
The qui tam suit was originally filed by a Zimmer sales representative, and the U.S. government later intervened. The suit alleged that Stryker provided kickbacks to Hari Parvataneni, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
According to court documents, the Zimmer sales rep sold approximately $100,000 worth of Zimmer products to Dr. Parvataneni, which went unused. When the sales rep inquired why they had not been used Dr. Parvataneni allegedly told the rep that Stryker had offer to fund his research and the training of his residents in return for his use of their products.
The judge ruled that the plaintiffs failed to prove that Stryker initiated a kickback scheme because it did not include enough specific information about the place and time the scheme occurred. Additionally, the judge ruled that the suit did not allege any injury from the alleged fraud, according to the report.
The plaintiffs have 21 days to amend their complaint.
Read MassDevice's report on the Stryker kickback suit.