Glaxo and Celebrity Endorsers

Dr. Drew Pinsky, celebrity physician, has received six figures to talk up Wellbutrin, an anti-depressant drug, as a libido booster, something the FDA says is an off-label use of the drug. Source: www.imdb.comWhile the government has found no wrongdoing with him, notable plaintiff attorney Jan Schlichtmann says it is time for the country to start dealing with the corrupt process in which drug companies market their products from a policy standpoint.

The $3 billion fraud settlement case against Glaxo Smith Klein, makers of Wellbutrin, brings out the same repeated conduct by drug companies. Glaxo had manipulated test data to hide the truth that there is a tendency of these anti-depressant drugs to induce suicidal ideations to its users.   

When companies pay doctors and scientists to market their drugs, it becomes a corrupt process, according to Jan Schlichtmann .  In turn, the medical professionals see their income as dependent upon the money they receive from the drug company.  "This type of corrupt behavior needs to be stopped, " says Jan.

Jan Schlichtmann is one of the nation's most well-known civil action attorneys, most notably with his work on the Woburn City water supply case.  Visit www.SpeakingOfJustice.com for more information on Jan Schlichtmann and legalbroadcastnetwork.com, where he is a featured legal commentator.

For more information on the Glaxo settlement case, you can read the New York Times article here.

Massachusetts Turnpike Lawsuit Thrown Out

The highest court in Massachusetts has dismissed the class action lawsuit filed by commuters who had objected to polls collected on the Massachusetts Turnpike to pay for the Big Dig Highway Project. 

Jan Schlichtmann, one of the nation's most notable civil action attorney's and featured legal commentator on The Legal Broadcast Network, represents the commuters. 

This ruling has removed hard-earned constitutional protections that prevented cash-strapped government entities from imposing taxes masquerading as fees but really is just another attempt to take money from people.

The taxpayers of Massachusetts were being charged for the expense and debt incurred for building the road but 58 cents from each dollar was being used to pay for the Big Dig Project. As Massachusetts was one of the first states to have paid turnpike systems, they had a surplus in the late 1990's whicwww.businessweek.comh helped for the upkeep and improvements. However, it had run into cash overruns on the Big Dig Project, which escalated to $24 billion. The Massachusetts legislature took the turnpike and combined it with the Big Dig Project and called it one system, which gave them the excuse to collect money for a toll road and Big Dig expense.

Jan Schlichtmann plans on an appeal, as he believes the government cannot make charges on people without the people's consent.  He says that if the government is going to provide a service, the money charged for that service cannot be used for something else.

Visit Jan Schlichtmann's website for more information on him at www.SpeakingOfJustice.com.

For a related story in the Boston Globe, click here.

Supreme Court asks Obama administration to weigh in on Johnson & Johnson kickback scheme

Early today the US Supreme Court requested that the Solicitor General file a brief in the case of ORTHO BIOTECH PRODUCTS, L.P. V. UNITED STATES, EX REL. DUXBURY.

A copy of the order is available here.

This case, as outlined in todays Wall Street Journal law column, and also discussed on The SCOTUS Blog, is about the desire by Johnson & Johnson to get clarity on some technical questions related to the False Claims Act, or Qui Tam law, and hopefully spike one of the largest whistleblower cases in US history if it proceeds ahead to trial.

(Full disclosure, two of the principals of The Legal Broadcast Network, Attorney Jan Schlichtmann and Mark Wahlstrom are involved in this case as lead counsel and consultant to the litigation group.)

This case, which has been previously covered by The Wall Street Journal, and was thought to be dead thanks to a lower court ruling, was brought back to life by the US Court of Appeal in August and is now being aggressively argued on both sides as the relators in the case continue to press for trial so the full extent of the alleged scheme of rebates, kickbacks and illegal payments can be exposed, accounted for and the taxpayers reimbursed for the billions in alleged over charges.

On today's Speaking of Justice, lead attorney Jan Schlichtmann joins Scott Drake to discuss today's ruling by the Supreme Court, the implications on the case and the next steps for the whistleblowers as they continue to press the US government to join this case. Estimates of the over charges are between $3 billion and $10 billion and you would think with healthcare and government control of expenses being a hot political item, that the Obama Justice Department will be carefully watched as to how they approach this potentially huge case.

Jan Schlichtmann Discusses Widespread Medicare Fraud & Whistleblower cases

Of all the problems facing the United States right now, none are more important than health care.

President Obama says rising costs are driving huge federal budget deficits that imperil our future, and that there is enough waste and fraud in the system to pay for health care reform if it was eliminated. Jan Schlichtmann

At the center of both issues is Medicare, the government insurance program that provides health care to 46 million elderly and disabled Americans. But it also provides a rich and steady income stream for criminals who are constantly finding new ways to steal a sizable chunk of the half trillion dollars that are paid out each year in Medicare benefits.

In fact, Medicare fraud - estimated now to total about $60 billion a year - has become one of, if not the most profitable, crimes in America.

This story may raise your blood pressure, along with some troubling questions about our government's ability to manage a medical bureaucracy.

For a review of Medicare whistleblower cases and how Qui Tam laws work, this is an excellent video summary from one of the leading whistleblower attorneys in the nation.

(Source: CBS News)

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