Plaintiffs’ Firm Pays $91,406.98 to Resolve Conditional Payment Claims

The United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, Robert Hur, recently announced that Saiontz & Kirk, P.A., a plaintiffs’ firm in Baltimore, has paid $91,406.98 to resolve allegations that the firm failed to ensure that conditional payment claims were repaid in six prior cases. In four of the six cases, the firm had referred plaintiffs to co-counsel or entered into joint representation agreements.

Although the firm did not primarily handle all of the cases involved, the government’s position reflects that the obligation of plaintiffs’ attorneys to ensure that Medicare is reimbursed “is no less true for plaintiffs’ attorneys who refer cases to co-counsel or jointly represent plaintiffs.” U.S. Attorney Robert Hur stated: “Plaintiffs’ attorneys cannot refer a case to or enter into a joint representation agreement with co-counsel and simply wash their hands clean of their obligations to reimburse Medicare for its conditional payments. We intend to hold attorneys accountable for failing to make good on their obligations to repay Medicare for its conditional payments, regardless of whether they were the ones primarily handling the litigation for the plaintiff.”

The announcement is available at https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/baltimore-plaintiffs-law-firm-saiontz-kirk-pa-pays-united-states-over-90000-settle.