When most people think of filing a lawsuit, they think of them suing another person or entity. For instance, if XYZ company is negligent and serves food that is tainted with salmonella, the customers could file a lawsuit and collect compensation to cover their medical bills. However, there is a different kind of lawsuit that you can file where you don’t have to be the victim. It is called a qui tam lawsuit. Qui Tam Lawsuit This type of lawsuit is when you see a company that is taking advantage of the federal government. So you file a lawsuit on behalf of the government to stop the party that is defrauding the taxpayers from their money. The term “qui tam” actually stems from a longer Latin phrase that means “to sue on behalf of the king.” Essentially it means that you act as the king’s (or in modern sense, the government’s) representative for the lawsuit. How a Qui Tam Lawsuit Works Let’s suppose you work for a nursing home. You notice that Patient A is has their bills paid for with the help of Medicaid. This particular patient goes to physical therapy on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but you notice that their chart and billing says that they go Monday through Friday. Upon closer investigation you notice that many of the patients are having their charts, and subsequently the bill sent to Medicaid, inflated in this manner. You can file a lawsuit against your employer because they are defrauding the government. Your first step is to contact a Qui Tam attorney and discuss the case with him or her. They will help you build a case against the perpetrator. Once your attorney has began the case, he or she will turn it over to the government for their official investigation. Your attorney will work closely with the government in order to build a strong case. The best part about these cases is that you can earn up to 25% of the settlement as your reward for blowing the whistle on those defrauding the government. So if it turns out that your employer has been inflating these bills for many years, that settlement could be into the millions of dollars. Doing your duty and helping stop someone who is wasting taxpayer money could earn you many thousands of dollars. Qui tam is not a get rich quick scheme. It is a reward program to help encourage every day citizens to help the government (and ultimately the taxpayers) save money.
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qui tam, whistleblower, federal false claims, fraud,
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