Erin Brockovich Reads the Newspaper

Celebrity crusader (and Lawrence, Kansas, native) Erin Brockovich's recent whistleblower litigation against several California hospitals and nursing homes was dismissed by California District Court Judge David O. Carter, as reported here and here. Brockovich filed several lawsuits on behalf of the federal Medicare program alleging that the facilities improperly billed Medicare for treatment involving medical errors and follow-up treatment required to correct the errors. For reasons similar to those described in my recent post on the Supreme Court's grant of review of the "original source" requirement for False Claims Act whistleblower standing, Judge Carter dismissed Brockovich's complaints. The lawsuits did not allege specific instances of wrongdoing but rather were based on federal reports estimating that medical errors cost Medicare more than $9 billion per year. Brockovich and her lawyers hoped to find evidence of specific wrongdoing during discovery.

Hat tip to Ben Eggleston.