UPMC, Maxim Healthcare Providers spar about millions in hepatitis C settlements

UPMC and the staffing company that placed with them a radiology technician who infected dozens of patients with hepatitis C go on to battle above who should bear the price of millions of pounds in court settlements.

Court docket paperwork display UPMC has paid out a lot more than $4 million to settle litigation around the actions of David Kwiatkowski, who labored for the overall health care giant for just more than two months in 2008. He was terminated after clinic officials learned he was thieving patients’ fentanyl to use on himself and replacing their syringes with saline.

Kwiatkowski went on to function at 9 other hospitals in many states above the up coming 4 years and in the end infected 45 individuals with hepatitis C, which includes one particular who died.

He pleaded guilty to felony costs in 2013 and is serving 39 several years in prison.

UPMC was the matter of several lawsuits that have due to the fact been settled. Now the well being process is trying to recoup that dollars from Maxim Health care Companies, the Maryland-based mostly company that positioned Kwiatkowski with UPMC.

“Maxim and its staff solely triggered all of UPMC’s damages,” UPMC’s legal professional wrote in an arbitration demand from customers on Nov. 9.

But Maxim, in a petition to keep arbitration filed Tuesday in Allegheny County Widespread Pleas Court docket, alleges that UPMC is not entitled to any income from Maxim. The staffing agency said it has been the subject matter of threatened lawsuits and strong-arm strategies by UPMC for much more than a calendar year.

Maxim lawyers wrote that Tuesday’s petition “arises from UPMC’s makes an attempt to extort monies from Maxim for liabilities and affiliated 10 years-aged statements that — as among Maxim and UPMC — are only and solely the accountability of UPMC” dependent on a 2018 Pennsylvania Supreme Court docket decision.

The practices utilized by UPMC, Maxim stated, include things like several phony threats to file a lawsuit and “demands that Maxim shell out exorbitant and unsubstantiated quantities in buy to keep away from the submitting of UPMC’s draft criticism.”

Maxim also alleged that UPMC has done intense discovery in the course of the approach and deposed five latest or former Maxim staff and subpoenaed thousands of internet pages of documents from the business.

Kwiatkowski was placed at UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside as a radiology technician from March 17 to Could 7, 2008, and was fired when it was uncovered that he was diverting medication from patients.

Maxim claims in its petition that UPMC performed a drug examination of Kwiatkowski when he was terminated but under no circumstances shared the outcomes of that test, and a examination Maxim executed was unfavorable.

Maxim stated without the need of being aware of the final results of UPMC’s drug take a look at, the agency placed him with another healthcare facility.

“It was only a long time later on that Maxim initial realized that UPMC’s drug examination experienced come back positive, and — additional — that UPMC unsuccessful to suggest the relevant regulatory authorities of that optimistic drug take a look at as it was required to do by regulation.”

After Kwiatkowski’s actions were being uncovered, many lawsuits were being filed, which include a class-motion in Pittsburgh. That fit named equally UPMC and Maxim as defendants.

The two defendants settled the class action in 2016, with every entity sharing the money value.

4 other person lawsuits against UPMC and Maxim have been submitted on behalf of previous patients of Kwiatkowski in Kansas. Those people were being consolidated in Allegheny County Popular Pleas Court docket, and the demo court docket ruled in favor of the defendants, indicating that they owed no duty of care to the plaintiffs considering the fact that they were infected many years soon after Kwiatkowski had been terminated.

Though the point out Supreme Courtroom upheld that conclusion with regard to Maxim — and dismissed the business from the situation — it ruled towards UPMC.

The court located that UPMC did owe a obligation of treatment to the patients dependent on federal and point out drug reporting statutes. It remanded the consolidated conditions for trial. They have given that settled, according to paperwork hooked up to Maxim’s petition.

But in Oct 2020, lawyers for UPMC despatched draft issues to Maxim, threatening to sue the agency if it “did not capitulate to UPMC’s unsubstantiated and ever-expanding monetary requires.”

UPMC threatened to file a go well with on Nov. 25, 2020, but did not.

In December, the petition explained, Maxim’s counsel recommended the functions attempt to take care of the situation via mediation or a discussion amongst significant-degree executives, but UPMC refused. UPMC despatched another revised complaint on April 22, and said it would be filed 8 times later if the situation wasn’t resolved.

“UPMC then nearly doubled its financial desire to settle its claims against Maxim,” Maxim’s petition said.

The lawsuit was by no means filed.

Then, in June, UPMC despatched Maxim’s attorney a letter indicating it was eager to test mediation.

“That newfound willingness shown that UPMC’s abusive and terrible religion strategies were being a great waste of time, funds and energy, and that UPMC’s ‘capitulate or litigate’ mantra was no much more than a basic bullying tactic.”

A mediation session held on Oct. 5 was unsuccessful, and just more than a month later, UPMC despatched the arbitration desire. In the document, UPMC said it has been compelled to settle many lawsuits costing the healthcare facility method much more than $4 million.

In UPMC’s description of the dispute, it explained that following Kwiatkowski was terminated, the clinic system instantly documented his actions to Maxim and the state Legal professional General’s Business office.

In its viewpoint, although, the state Supreme Court identified that UPMC failed to report the drug diversion to the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration inside of 1 company day, as was necessary under the Controlled Substances Act.

UPMC reported that via latest deposition testimony of Maxim staff members, it was revealed that Maxim and its staff “intentionally, recklessly and/or negligently produced wrong and incomplete records” regarding Kwiatkowski’s qualifications screening, placement, investigation and reporting.

UPMC alleged that Maxim falsely certified that Kwiatkowski passed a track record verify even nevertheless he had a DUI in his prison record. UPMC also alleges Maxim falsely certified that Kwiatkowski handed his demanded competency take a look at and that Maxim fabricated his references.

“Had Maxim basically checked (Kwiatkowski’s) references … it would have realized and informed UPMC of (his) background of suspected fentanyl theft from numerous hospitals,” UPMC wrote.

Kwiatkowski had been suspended from two hospitals in Michigan in 2006 and 2007.

“If not for Maxim’s fraud and other tortious conduct, UPMC never ever would have allowed Maxim to spot (Kwiatkowski) at UPMC,” the demand explained.

UPMC alleges that Maxim’s conduct was portion of a “broader plan of systemic fraud.”

In accordance to the Department of Justice, Maxim entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Lawyer in New Jersey in September 2011 in which the company admitted to defrauding federal Medicaid and Veterans Affairs plans of about $61 million from 2003 to 2009. As part of the arrangement, Maxim agreed to fork out $20 million as a legal penalty and an further $130 million in civil settlements.

As part of Maxim’s admissions, UPMC wrote, it incorporated that the company falsified documentation about caregivers’ qualifications.

“This is precisely what Maxim did about (Kwiatkowski’s) placement at UPMC, then somewhere else, immediately after UPMC terminated him,” UPMC lawyers wrote.

UPMC mentioned that Maxim admitted that its regional director of scientific companies in 2012 had fabricated an electronic mail to make it seem she experienced described Kwiatkowski in 2009, even even though she did not.

Messages remaining with UPMC and Maxim’s attorney had been not instantly returned.

Financial data produced Tuesday confirmed that UPMC, headquartered in Downtown Pittsburgh’s U.S. Steel Tower, is on rate for one more document yr of billion-dollar earnings development. UPMC employs additional than 92,000 folks, building it Pennsylvania’s largest non-federal government employer.