The University of California Board of Regents agreed to pay the former chair of UCLA’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery $10 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit.
Dr. Robert Pedowitz, 54, sued UC regents and numerous UCLA doctors in 2012, claiming he suffered retaliation after making serious allegations about undisclosed money doctors were allegedly receiving from the medical industry.
The case was about to go into closing arguments at the trial when suddenly, a settlement was reached, KCAL9′s Randy Paige reported.
Consumer Watchdog’s Jamie Court said patients have a right to know when their doctors are making money from the products they prescribe for their patients, and taxpayers have a right to a portion of the money that was going directly into the doctor’s pockets.
“We can’t afford that lost tax revenue, and patients really can’t afford not to have the knowledge,” he said.
