Whistleblower Claims

Have you or someone you know reported fraudulent actions occurring at your work?

Tennessee workers witness practices and policies at their work that may be unlawful. When situations like this occur, many workers worry about harassment or termination. However, people who report these actions, also known as whistleblowers, are protected by the law and can recover compensation because of the False Claims Act or the Medicaid False Claims Act. If you have reported actions that may be fraudulent, then you should talk to a Tennessee whistleblower or qui tam lawyer about your case.

What exactly do Whistleblowers do and what does Qui Tam Mean?

Whistleblowers help the government to get back billions of dollars each year with the help of the False Claims Act. In Tennessee, fraudulent Medicaid claims are also caught by whistleblowers under the Medicaid False Claims Act. If you report a false claim or fraudulent action to the government, then the government will give a whistleblower a part of the recovered money because of qui tam requirements. Qui Tam is an abbreviation of a Latin phrase meaning that a person files a lawsuit for the king and also for him or herself. If a whistleblower works with a lawyer then it may be possible to get three times the amount the government would get in damages as well as additional compensation for general fines.

What are some Frequent Whistleblower Cases?

Fraudulent actions may include but are not limited to:

• Billing someone twice or not billing them at all
• False contracts
• Misuse of government funding for educational or medical purposes

The most frequent types of cases reported are those occurring in the medical and insurance fields involving Medicare, Medicaid, or specific Tennessee health care programs. These fraudulent actions may include but are not limited to:

• Sending a bill to Medicare or Medicaid for resources never utilized
• Billing for people who never used the services
• Not requiring people to pay their portion of a bill
• Dividing resources into parts to make them cost more
• Any other misuse of medical resources or money provided by the government

Am I Eligible to file a False Claim?

In order to receive compensation for filing a false claim, the whistleblower, is required to meet specific criteria. These criteria include the following:

• Person is required to work with or have a personal involvement with accused person
• Person must report their claim before another person does
• Person should not have been involved in the fraudulent actions leading to the claim

How can a Whistleblower Attorney help me?

In these cases, the person filing the claim will remain unknown to the person or company accused of the fraudulent action. This is to prevent that worker from being harassed or terminated from their position because of the claim. However, once that person is known to the accused, the whistleblower will be eligible for compensation and the recovery of their position at work if harassment or termination occurs during or after the case and is a direct result of the claim. A whistleblower may only be eligible for these security measures if they contact an experienced and caring Tennessee whistleblower attorney to help them with their case, like those at The Higgins Firm. If you or someone you care about has witnessed fraudulent action against the government and would like to report it, we encourage you to speak with one of our whistleblower attorneys. We will hear your case and make sure you get the compensation and treatment that you deserve.

Feel free to contact us online or call 800.705.2121 to discuss your legal options.