Is SpineFrontier’s Legal Saga Settled?

According to court documents, a settlement has been reached between the United States government and the parties involved in a case alleging the payment of kickbacks to spine surgeons.

The settlement includes those civil claims filed by the relators in the matter as well as by the United States government. In a False Claims Act case the relator is a private party who files the action on behalf of the United States and can receive a portion of the recovery.

Here, the claims alleging illegal kickbacks included the following parties listed as defendants: SpineFrontier, Inc.; KIC Ventures, LLC; KIC Management Group, Inc.; Impartial Medical Experts, LLC; AxioMed, LLC; Kingsley R. Chin, M.D.; Aditya Humad; and Vanessa Dudley.

Earlier this year, the United States and relators entered into a stipulation to partial dismissal with all of the parties. The relators dismissed their claims with prejudice (permanently) and the United States dismissed its claims without prejudice.

The relators reserved a number of claims including their claims for reasonable expenses, attorneys’ fees, and costs and relief from retaliatory actions. In a successful action, a relator may be entitled to a portion of the recovery. Here, the relators, per court documents, did not “waive any claim to a share of the settlements that the United States entered into with certain physicians and surgeons, nor does the United States waive any of its defenses thereto.”

It also appears from court documents that the relators are entitled to an award from the government’s recoveries from six of the surgeons settling allegations related to the kickbacks. This was ordered by the court in June after the United States opposed the relators’ claims for recovery.

The settlements resolved all of the claims except a retaliation claim brought by one of the relators and fee and payment amounts. The discovery proceedings in the retaliation proceedings were stayed pending the criminal proceedings in the matter. The criminal proceedings have a jury trial date set for October 7, 2024 and include Dr. Chin, Humad, and SpineFrontier.

For OTW’s previous coverage of the ongoing litigation, see “Indictment Charges SpineFrontier Owner in Alleged Kickback Scheme,” “Missouri Surgeon and Kansas Distributor Plead Guilty To Kickbacks,” “Surgeon Pays $1.75 Million To Settle Kickback Allegations,” and “U.S. Attorney Sues SpineFrontier Over Alleged Kickback Scheme.”