Read more: State, Local, Federal Judge, Ordered New Trial, Allegations, South Carolina Hospital, Boosted Profits, Fraudulent Medicare Claims
A federal jury in March ruled the hospital did not violate the federal False Claims Act, allowing Tuomey to avoid more than $227 million in fines and penalties.
/ WACH FOX
(AP) -- A federal judge has ordered a new trial on allegations a South Carolina hospital boosted profits by submitting hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent Medicare claims.
The Item of Sumter reported that U.S. District Judge Matthew Perry ruled Thursday that he was wrong to have excluded some testimony in an earlier trial involving the allegations against Tuomey Hospital in Sumter.
A federal jury in March ruled the hospital did not violate the federal False Claims Act, allowing Tuomey to avoid more than $227 million in fines and penalties.
The jury did convict the hospital of having an improper relationship with some of its doctors and the hospital was ordered to pay nearly $45 million.
A lawyer for the hospital says it's considering appealing the order for a new trial.
Information from: The Item, http://www.theitem.com
(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
