Georgia Nursing Home Attorney

Atlanta doctor guilty of health-care fraud

An Atlanta doctor pleaded guilty on Monday to two counts of health-care fraud for a scheme where he collected $2 million in phony health treatments.

Robert Williams , 72, of Atlanta, pleaded guilty to two counts of health-care fraud as part of a scheme to bill for group psychological therapy that he never provided.

According to U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates , the charges and other information presented in court: Williams was a licensed physician, practicing in the Atlanta area. From July 2007 through October 2009, he contracted with a medical services company to provide group psychological therapy to nursing home patients in a variety of nursing homes. Under his signature, thousands of claims were submitted to Medicare and Georgia Medicaid seeking reimbursement for group psychological therapy that Williams purportedly provided to beneficiaries at several nursing homes. In many instances, however, Williams did not actually provide the therapy.

Specifically, from July 2007 through October 2009, Medicare claims data indicated more than 55,000 claims were submitted using Williams’ provider number for group psychological therapy. Those claims sought reimbursement for more than $2 million, and ultimately caused Medicare to reimburse Williams over $750,000. For the same time period, more than 40,000 Medicaid claims were submitted by Williams for group psychological therapy, causing Georgia Medicaid to pay out more than $225,000.

An investigation of Williams’ claims showed, in many cases, he sought payment for services provided to beneficiaries who were deceased at the time he purportedly rendered the care.

In two cases, the patient died more than a year before he was allegedly seen by Williams in the nursing home.

Nursing Home Neglect Leads to $2 million Verdict Award in Georgia

A jury in Georgia recently awarded $2million to Elizabeth Costlow for the wrongful death of her 82 year old mother, Ruby Mae Tyle . Tyler was a patient at the Rockmart Nursing and Rehabilitation Center for a little over 3 months when she passed away. Costlow contended that her mother died due to nursing home neglect . The jury found that the Subacute Services, Inc. , based in Florida, was liable and awarded the large verdict in the 2008 death of Tyler. In the short time Tyler was a patient at the nursing home, the neglect in her care lead to the development of bed sores (pressure ulcers). The lawsuit claimed that the nursing home’s negligence led to these bed sores which, in turn, contributed to Tyler’s death.

The Defense made a depraved argument that Tyler was sick with numerous illnesses and that she was going to die anyway . The plaintiff’s attorney argued that it wasn’t about whether Tyler was sick or going to die at some point, but that it was about being allowed to “die with dignity.” He argued that the pressure ulcers or bed sores were rooted in and that these directly caused the patient’s death. Just because someone is at their last stages of their life doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be able to die with dignity!

If you believe your loved one has been abused or neglected in a nursing home, get in touch with our professional nursing home neglect attorneys. We are dedicated to ensuring that all people have the right to live and die with dignity. Contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation .

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