Healthcare - Litigation & Product Liability

Overview

“This group maintains an active litigation practice and makes an impression in several important fields including products liability…”

 Chambers USA

As a healthcare provider or manufacturer of life-saving technology, you may face high-profile, high-stakes cases can earn loud media attention. But no matter the size of the case, the size of the company, or the nature of the alleged injuries, a lawsuit can turn your world upside down. Reputations are at stake as much as the future of the products themselves. Blank Rome’s litigation and product liability attorneys understand the complex challenges you face in your commitment to advance healthcare and medical science. 

Our litigation services for healthcare clients extend far beyond product liability. We represent hospitals, healthcare systems, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, skilled nursing homes, and other healthcare providers in just about every form of litigation imaginable, including contract disputes, patent enforcement and infringement, and government investigations and enforcement. 

With one of the country’s leading litigation practices, we are committed to finding the right resolution for your matter. While we always prepare each case with an eye towards trial, we work with you to find more efficient resolutions that achieve your goals whenever possible. 

How We Can Help

  • Antitrust
  • Breach of contract 
  • Class actions
  • Deceptive trade practices
  • ERISA
  • False Claims Act/Qui Tam claims
  • Fraud and abuse
  • Government investigations
  • Product liability
  • Professional liability

We also devote significant time to preventive counseling on behalf of our clients, from routine advice to custom training programs. Blank Rome represents health providers before federal and state regulatory agencies and audit contractors, including, among others, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Public Health Service, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

What Sets Us Apart

  • Our team includes a Vice Chair for the Toxics & Hazardous Substances Committee of the International Association of Defense Counsel (“IADC”), and a current chair of the American Bar Association’s Product Liability Subcommittee.
  • 2023 U.S. News World ReportBest Lawyers® (Woodward/White, Inc.) ranks the firm Tier 1 for Commercial Litigation: National, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia.
  • Chambers USA has ranked the firm for commercial litigation in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Texas. Chambers editors write:
    • “Established group of highly skilled litigators noted for its capabilities in major general commercial disputes. Recognized for its strengths in product liability and environmental litigation, and also regularly sought after for its adept counsel in high-stakes IP cases. A go-to practice for class action defense work and also renowned for its expertise in appellate matters.”

Experience

  • Counseling and litigation concerning drug pricing issues related to Medicaid Best Price, Medicare Part D, nominal pricing, and off-label marketing.
  • Advise on numerous matters involving the negotiation, auditing, internal investigations, compliance, and litigation related to pharmacy benefit management (PBM) contracts.
  • Counseling and litigation on behalf of a mid-sized PBM related to issues of best practices, transparency, rebate contracting, and alleged receipt of kickbacks.
  • Negotiation and litigation regarding pharmaceutical rebate contracts, educational grants, data sales contracts, and service agreements between drug manufacturers and MCOs.
  • Numerous fraud investigations into renal dialysis centers, psychiatric hospitals, clinical laboratories, therapy, home healthcare companies, and for-profit hospital chains—including forensic data analysis, interviewing hundreds of witnesses, and leading negotiation on behalf of consortia of healthcare payers.
  • Representation of a large Medicare fiscal intermediary in response to a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) False Claims Act action, including issues related to cooperation with the government, document preservation and retention, management and scope of the investigation, notification, and voluntary disclosure issues.
  • Representation of a large health management organization (HMO) in the first DOJ False Claims Act investigation into allegations of violations of Medicaid Best Price Statute, including charges of criminal collusion with drug manufacturers.
  • Antitrust counseling and litigation concerning marketing activities of drug manufacturers, settlements between brand and generic drug manufacturers, and sham litigation claims related to patent evergreening, including representation before the FTC.
  • Counseling and litigation for numerous clients related to the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Act, including analysis of relevant safe harbors.
  • Numerous cases involving defense of class actions, multidistrict litigation, and coordination and management of complex multiparty litigation.
  • Counseling and litigation concerning numerous ERISA preemption, HIPAA privacy, Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP), and Social Security issues. Lead counsel for COBRA administrator on behalf of numerous employer plans covering over three million covered lives.