Medtronic settles retaliation suit brought by ex-rep

A federal judge in Texas yesterday tossed a lawsuit alleging that Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) fired an ex-sales rep for reporting False Claims Act, after the company inked a settlement agreement with the plaintiff.

Judge Amos Mazzant of the U.S. District Court for Eastern Texas dismissed the case with prejudice after Medtronic and plaintiff Susan White said they settled the case on undisclosed terms, according to court documents. White had accused Medtronic of firing her for reporting violations both of its own policies and state and federal anti-fraud laws.

White was hired for a 2nd stint at Fridley, Minn.-based Medtronic in December 2011, according to the lawsuit, and did well enough in her initial training to win an award from the company. But during her training, White claimed in the suit, she saw Medtronic employees program neurostimulation devices, touch and bandage patients and promote off-label uses for the devices – all activities that violate Medtronic’s rules, the False Claims Act and the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act, the lawsuit claimed.

During repeated attempts to report the violations through the chain of command, White alleged, her supervisors retaliated with verbal harassment and physical intimidation, setting her up to fail before ultimately engineering her firing on a pretext in April 2012.

White had sought reinstatement “to the position and seniority that she would have held but for retaliation,” or front pay if reinstatement isn’t feasible, and twice the amount of back pay plus interest. White also wants compensation “for any special damages due to the retaliation, including nonpecuniary harm, litigation costs and expenses, and reasonable attorney’s fees” and pre- and post-judgment interest.

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