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Visiting Nurse Service of New York Settles Whistleblower Case Brought by Constantine Cannon Client for $57 Million

Posted  June 26, 2020

Constantine Cannon is pleased to announce a $57 million settlement of the False Claims Act lawsuit its whistleblower client brought against the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY).  VNSNY is the largest not-for-profit home health care agency in the country, serving roughly 150,000 patients a year in New York, most of whom are elderly and/or disabled.

The whistleblower, Edward Lacey, was an executive at VNSNY for 16 years.  Mr. Lacey alleged that VNSNY failed to provide its patients all the critical visits and services their doctors prescribed them.  He contended that by failing to provide this care, VNSNY endangered the welfare of tens of thousands of its patients while maximizing the company’s revenues. Mr. Lacey’s claims concerning alleged Plan of Care failures impact the entire home health care industry.

This is the first reported False Claims Act settlement involving allegations of a home health agency failing to follow patient Plans of Care.  It also is the largest non-kickback False Claims Act settlement ever against a home health care company and the second largest settlement of any home health care case.

The False Claims Act entitles whistleblowers like Mr. Lacey to receive a whistleblower reward of up to 30% of the government’s recovery.  Because of the valuable contribution Mr. Lacey provided, the government has decided to make Mr. Lacey an award at the high end of the allowable range.

The settlement agreement can be accessed here, Mr. Lacey’s complaint can be found here, and Constantine Cannon’s press release can be found here.

Mr. Lacey was represented by Gordon Schnell, Marlene Koury, Daniel Vitelli, Hamsa Mahendranathan, Max Voldman, Leah Judge, Gary Reilly and Ginger Buck, all of Constantine Cannon.

Constantine Cannon has the world’s largest international whistleblower practice, with offices in New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and London. The firm’s team of dedicated whistleblower lawyers represent whistleblowers under federal and state False Claims Acts as well as the whistleblower programs of the IRS, SEC, CFTC, DOT, and others.

Constantine Cannon’s experience spans across multiple practice areas that include antitrust and complex commercial litigation, whistleblower representation, government relations, securities, and e-discovery. The firm’s antitrust practice is among the largest and most well recognized in the nation.

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Tagged in: CC Lawyers, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Home Health and Hospice, Lack of Medical Necessity, Whistleblower Case,