On January 23rd, it was reported that Thomas Guerrieri, the former VP of Sales at Orthofix was sentenced to eight months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $20,000 and forfeit $30,000. In April Mssr. Guerrieri pled guilty to paying kickbacks to two separate healthcare professionals in violation of the Medicare AntiKickback Laws. In October of 2012 Brian Racy pled guilty to filing $250,000 in false Medicare Claims and is due to be sentence this coming month potentially spending a minimum of 8 years in prison if he gets the book thrown at him. For those of our readers that lack knowledge of jurisprudence, a federal sentence results in at least 80% time served. In July of last year, "the Fixx" as they are better known in the industry incurred $7.4 million in disgorged profits and fines relating to another bribery charge related to business in Mexico. As recent as two weeks ago Derrick Field, an Orthofix Manager from 2005 thru 2011 received a sentence of five months of home confinement as part of his 2 year probationary sentence, a gift from U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Tauro.
TSB must ask our readers, "is there something in the water in McKinney, Texas?" Could Orthofix be spell bound by the Blackstone Curse? Why is it that people in this industry are so greedy? There's plenty of gold in 'em hills for everyone to make a respectable living, yet, it is our avarice that makes our humanity so frail. And then you wonder why Big Brother comes knocking on your door? But the bigger question that must be posed to our readers is, how did the DOJ drop the ball on the Senior Executives that were responsible for running this company during the aforementioned culprits tenure at The Fixx? Is anyone going to honestly say that the executives in charge had no inkling that the Slim Shady was in? For those in sales management, it would be safe to assume that the red lights or better yet, neon lights go off when sales no longer grow exponentially to market conditions and start to blow out the roof. Does anyone believe that those in charge did not know anything that was going on? But maybe there is a lesson to be learned from this experience. The only people that get screwed are the little guys, because eventually the paper trail leads to you, while the big boys cover their asses. And in the end the government never prosecutes CEO's who place their hand on the bible and swear to God, by using the Sargent Schultz defense, "I know nothing!"
The impression that you sell, passes in and out like a scent
But the long face that you see comes from living close to your fears
If this is up, then I'm up, but you are running out of sight
You've seen your name on the walls, And when one little bump leads to shock miss a beat
You run for cover and there's heat, why don't they do what they say, say what they do
.................................
Número UNO
ReplyDeleteStryker strikes again only it's worse this time! Their latest batch of victims, the Cervicore victims, were injured even more grievously than the hip implant victims and there was even more criminality involved. CerviCore is an artificial disk implant meant for implantation into the cervical spine. Not only is it a metal shedding Frankenstein design like the Stryker hip implants, the Cervicore disk never received FDA approval for use in patients. It gets worse, the Cervicore disk never even received FDA approval to be used in clinical trials or IDE (Investigational Device Exemption). The Cervicore disk is such a piece of shit that it could not even get and IDE from the FDA but that didn't stop Stryker's doctors from implanting them in the spine of patients.
DeleteCurrently the is a class action lawsuit being filed against Stryker Medical.
file:///C:/Users/Chris/Downloads/File%20Stamped%20Copy%20of%20Complaint.pdf
On Friday April 11, 2014 the law firm of Zoll, Kranz & Borgess, LLC filed a lawsuit behalf of a group of fourteen plaintiffs against Howmedica Osteonics Corp. (which does business as Stryker Spine) alleging Howmedica’s trial device called called CerviCore injured them.
Stryker Howmedica Facing Class Action Law Suit
the good news is that those people are gone, and while it takes time to clean up the mess they left behind, the new regime is taking on the challenge and making an ethical run at things.
ReplyDelete(not an Orthofix employee, manager, or distributor)
I know a distro in the NE that's dirtier than Lindsay Lohan's cooter.
DeleteThe real issue is the stinking quacks with their grubby hands out. As long as there are docs who feel they are entitled to payments, there will always be some desperate soul willing to grease the palms.
DeleteWhere is the outrage about that? These are the folks with so-called ethics who should be controlling the behavior, but it is always the industry stiffs getting sent up the river. The scumbag docs just find the next sucker to hand the bag.
I know that same distributor in the NE. I don't understand how surgeons fall for the "come be our consultant" BS. The money can't be that good. Especially having to go to McKinney, TX.
DeleteYAWN. Is this the best that spine haqs to offer us as we kick off 2013? Regards, Sad & Pathetic.
ReplyDeleteZimmer Spine is leaving Austin...when will Zimmer leave Spine industry?
ReplyDeleteIf you look at their sales numbers, it looks like they already did.
DeleteZimmer has a spine division?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteOrthofix should start a work release program for all their employees that are in jail.
ReplyDeleteThere's a new sheriff in town. :=) This is just the tip of the iceberg.
ReplyDeleteThis is like the "sheriff" arresting the "Johns" while the hookers rome with immunity...
ReplyDeleteThese guys are like drug dealers, they see prison time and fines as the cost of doing business.
ReplyDeleteThis is systemic in the entire medical industry. When you monetize human health only really slimy people will become part of the industry.
Drug dealers have more ethics and kill a lot less people.
ReplyDeleteThe life sentence of pain and suffering and eventual death incurred by the feckless patient lured into consenting to be implanted with a defective or contaminated device acquired from a FIXX agreement is beyond unconscionable. All (CEO, Sales Rep & Surgeon/Hospital purchaing agents) should be equally prosecuted and sentenced to life for felony murder 3.
ReplyDeleteThis Spine Game has gone off the rails. Stryker Spine's CerviCore Disc was being implanted into unsuspecting recruits for five years after the trial was covertly registered in the FDA Black Box for trials of devices not approved or cleared by US FDA. The CerviCore was never granted a valid IDE - only a Conditional Approval, which had expired. Yet, this did not stop Stryker's CEO from allowing the device to be implanted into the spines of unsuspecting persons. My theory is that Stryker never cared a wit as to whether the CerviCorebwas approved by FDA in the US. The surgeons were cooking clinical trial data for the CE Mark approval in Europe, Australia and countries not under FDA jurisdiction.
How could this scam happen right under the nose of the FDA? It is called Trade Secret Confidentiality. Any kind of FDA approval, whether it is later disapproved is covered by this law. This give device companies all the criminal latitude it needs to make billions before their maiming, permanently injuring and eventually killing us with untreated Metallosis comes to the attention of the authorities.
Nothing will change until a CEO sees the inside of a prison for a very very long time. This goes for the complicit Nazi surgeons, too.
^^Genious, the case is about external bone growth stimulators, not implanted medical devices.
DeleteUhhh..., never mind.
DeleteMom!!! ("Bally")
ReplyDeleteYou promised to stop posting these anonymous postings/ rantings.
I'm so embarrassed!
Can you, like, take your meds like you promised me?
Your TB-
PS- Are you going to at least warm up some pop tarts this morning?
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ReplyDeletehere your company stands with the click of a button.Industrial leads.
Never thought that they are also using these for their own benefits and I wonder how much money did they actually rake in? Very thought-provoking. - Jennifer
ReplyDeleteI have an implant but I'm so covered I don't know where to turn for help
ReplyDeletehow can I remove this disk on my neck I'm followed constantly hospitals are out -same with dr.'s I'm told that 500 people are involved. I can't tell family or fiends for fear for them
ReplyDeletemv
ReplyDeleteI'm constantly followed my phone is tapped and every conceivable gadget is being used I need help is there any? I use this library computer and a librarian is hear to keep tabs how can I put my name to this already this will be looked at how do I hang in it's been years
ReplyDeleteI can't continue time is an element is there a way out/
ReplyDeleteAmazing blog. Dr. Andrew Parkinson is the best orthopedic surgeon, specializes in diagnosing and treating disorders of the spine.
ReplyDeleteNice piece of information. Orthopedic spine associates has the best surgeons for lumbar disc herniation, herniated disc in neck, spinal disc replacement,. Call today for free consultation!!
ReplyDelete