When a whistleblower files a qui tam lawsuit under the False Claims Act alleging fraud perpetrated against the government, the government can either take the lead in litigating the case or decline to intervene, leaving the whistleblower to decide whether to litigate in the place of the government. This decision is made by the Department of Justice and state Attorneys General if there are both federal and state fraud claims. Depending on the expertise of your whistleblower attorneys and the strength of the whistleblower allegations, the government’s decision to decline intervention in a False Claims Act case is not a fatal blow. In fact, whistleblowers who individually proceed without the government’s intervention stand to receive a larger award percentage should their case succeed – and it means the whistleblower’s attorneys are entitled to directly litigate the case as they would any other complex litigation.

In fact, for a variety of reasons, the government roughly 90% of the time refuses to pursue whistleblower cases by declining to intervene. When this happens, it is not a final determination that the whistleblower lacks valid claims; that is for a Court or a jury to ultimately decide if the case proceeds to litigate and trial. The important thing to remember is that the False Claims Act allows whistleblowers to continue litigating cases on their own with the help of their legal team whether or not the government wants to pursue the case. This, of course, makes it all the important to choose the right law firm.

WHY THE GOVERNMENT MIGHT PASS ON A WHISTLEBLOWER CASE

Again, a determination by the Department of Justice and state Attorneys General not to intervene and take over a False Claims Act lawsuit is not a determination on the merits of the case. Often the government is simply forced to decline some cases it might wish to pursue because a U.S. Attorney’s Office is stretched too thin, either in terms of workload or personnel. A whistleblower’s case could also be too complex and burdensome for government attorneys to litigate at a given point in time, or the government may feel that the odds of collecting a worthwhile penalty from a particular defendant are too long to justify taking a case on.

But unlike smaller whistleblower law firms, if Hagens Berman believes that a whistleblower’s case is strong and has the potential to right a wrong, the firm will continue with the litigation, even without government intervention. The firm’s whistleblower attorneys have a track record of having done so to great achievement.

WHISTLEBLOWERS CAN MAKE MORE MONEY WHEN THE GOVERNMENT DECLINES TO INTERVENE

When the government chooses to intervene and take control of litigating a whistleblower’s False Claims Act case, the whistleblower is entitled to between 15% and 25% of the government’s total monetary recovery. When the federal government elects not to get involved in a whistleblower’s lawsuit, the whistleblower stands to collect up to 30% of the monetary recovery. In those cases in which the government does intervene, whistleblowers are also generally more likely to receive a lower percentage reward for their efforts by virtue of the additional work the government does in those cases.

Furthermore, most states have their own version of the False Claims Act, with whistleblowers in California and Tennessee, for example, eligible to receive up to 50% of the monetary recovery if the state government declines to participate in the action and the whistleblower successfully litigates.

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BRINGING A WHISTLEBLOWER CASE WITHOUT THE HELP OF THE GOVERNMENT

Proceeding under the False Claims Act with a whistleblower case once the government has opted not to intervene can be challenging. Most such cases are unsuccessful following a decline by the government. However, the potential for a successful resolution is greatly enhanced by retaining whistleblower counsel at a large whistleblower law firm with considerable resources and a winning track record – a firm like Hagens Berman. With more than 80 attorneys worldwide, when Hagens Berman determines that the government’s failure to intervene creates an opportunity to advance a whistleblower’s case through direct litigation, the firm will not hesitate to prosecute a whistleblower’s case without the government’s help. Most whistleblower law firms have more limited resources and are unable to rise to the challenge of directing complex litigation often for several years, but Hagens Berman’s legal team is highly skilled in handling complex cases and seeing lawsuits through years of work through to success.

HAGENS BERMAN WINS WHISTLEBLOWER CASES WITHOUT GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT

The amount of money a whistleblower collects in a successful legal action can be substantial, with or without government intervention. In fact, billions of dollars have been recovered and hundreds of millions of dollars have been paid to whistleblowers in cases declined by the government and litigated instead by the whistleblower and private counsel.

Hagens Berman’s has a lengthy track record of securing lucrative rewards for its whistleblower clients. For instance, when the government declined to pursue a complex Medicare Fraud case exposed by health care finance expert Anthony Kite, Hagens Berman litigated the action privately, securing a multimillion-dollar award for Kite against several hospitals. And when the government opted not to pursue a complicated anti-kickback case against the Center for Diagnostic Imaging, Hagens Berman successfully pursued the case on behalf of two whistleblowers, a physician and a health care executive, who were rewarded for their courageous decision to shed light on medical billing fraud. Hagens Berman has also litigated important declined False Claims Act cases against Pfizer, Medtronic and other industry giants.

Learn more about Hagens Berman’s success in litigating whistleblower cases »

HAGENS BERMAN REPRESENTS WHISTLEBLOWERS

Hagens Berman’s team of whistleblower attorneys, led by Managing Partner Steve Berman and Head of Whistleblower Practice Shayne Stevenson, has successfully represented whistleblowers under the federal False Claims Act and similar state laws. Unlike smaller whistleblower practices, which often lack the resources to litigate whistleblower claims against some of America's biggest corporations, Hagens Berman has a record of success that includes some of the largest settlements in legal history.

HOW TO BECOME A FALSE CLAIMS ACT WHISTLEBLOWER

If you have knowledge of a False Claims Act violation or would like to discuss becoming a whistleblower and find out more about your legal rights and protections, contact our whistleblower team at [email protected] or by filling out the secure form on this page.