Sumter, S.C.-based Tuomey Hospital has filed a petition for an appellate court's review of a district court ruling that calls for the retrial of a false claims lawsuit against the hospital that was originally cleared by a federal jury earlier this year, according to a news report by The Item.
The hospital was accused and found guilty of contracting with 18 physicians to exclusively perform outpatient surgery at the hospital's Outpatient Surgery Center earlier this year. The hospital was ordered to pay $45 million as a result of the Stark violations. In that same case, jurors cleared the hospital of allegations it had violated the False Claims Act. However, the judge presiding over the case later called for a retrial of the false claims charges, stating he had mistakenly excluded some testimony from the trial.
Tuomey has already attempted to appeal the retrial to a lower circuit court, but it shut down its appeal last month. Its petition to the higher appellate court means the entire bench of 14 judges serving in the appellate court will have to hear the case.
Read The Item's news report about Tuomey Hospital's appeal.
Read other coverage about Tuomey Hospital:
- Federal Court Denies South Carolina's Tuomey Hospital's Appeal in Medicare Fraud Case
- Judge Orders South Carolina's Tuomey Hospital to Pay $49.4M for Stark Act Violations
The hospital was accused and found guilty of contracting with 18 physicians to exclusively perform outpatient surgery at the hospital's Outpatient Surgery Center earlier this year. The hospital was ordered to pay $45 million as a result of the Stark violations. In that same case, jurors cleared the hospital of allegations it had violated the False Claims Act. However, the judge presiding over the case later called for a retrial of the false claims charges, stating he had mistakenly excluded some testimony from the trial.
Tuomey has already attempted to appeal the retrial to a lower circuit court, but it shut down its appeal last month. Its petition to the higher appellate court means the entire bench of 14 judges serving in the appellate court will have to hear the case.
Read The Item's news report about Tuomey Hospital's appeal.
Read other coverage about Tuomey Hospital:
- Federal Court Denies South Carolina's Tuomey Hospital's Appeal in Medicare Fraud Case
- Judge Orders South Carolina's Tuomey Hospital to Pay $49.4M for Stark Act Violations