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The following represents a sampling of our attorneys' experience:
In September 1998, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Highmark (a successor to Pennsylvania Blue Shield) had agreed to pay a fine of $38.5 million to settle allegations that Blue Shield had engaged in Medicare Fraud.
Mr. Salmanson represented Lynn Bultena, one of three whistle blowers who brought the allegations to the governments attention through a lawsuit brought under the False Claims Act. Of the $38.5 million recovered, Mr. Bultena was credited with $16 million. Pursuant to the terms of the False Claims Act, Mr. Bultena was entitled to a minimum of 15 percent of the amount. In fact, Mr Salmanson took the lead in negotiating an 18 percent recovery for the whistle blowers, resulting in an award to Mr. Bultena of $2.88 million.
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In June, 1998 Mr. Salmanson served as lead counsel in winning a defense verdict in a hotly contested sexual harassment case. Plaintiff claimed that, from her first day of employment, her supervisor subjected her to a barrage of lewd comments. When plaintiff continued to rebuff his advances, she claimed, he had her fired.
After a five day trial, the Camden County, New Jersey, jury spent less than 45 minutes deliberating (over a lunch break) before returning a complete defense verdict for both our clients, a well-known restaurant and its general manager, rejecting both hostile environment and quid pro quo sexual harassment claims brought against our clients. Plaintiff’s appeal was subsequently rejected by the Appellate Division.
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On January 8, 2001, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania upheld an award of wages, liquidated damages and attorneys’ fees under Pennsylvania’s Wage Payment & Collection Law. Our client, a physician, had sued her former employer, Thomas Jefferson University, for an unpaid bonus. The Superior Court rejected all of the University’s arguments, and upheld the verdict obtained after a bench trial.
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On June 20, 2001, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia entered judgment in favor or our clients and against Fortis Insurance Company, holding that Fortis wrongfully refused to pay for chemotherapy and related treatments for the insureds’ child. The Court entered an award of more than $700,000.00, plus interest. Fortis appealed the judgment to the 3d Circuit Court of Appeals, which, in a precedent-setting opinion which was widely reported, affirmed the award in full on August 22, 2002.
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We also handle claims for long-term disability, both through the appeals process and in litigation. In one instance, an insurer restored in full our client’s claim for benefits arising from her fibromayalgia prior to litigation. In early 2004, we successfully negotiated the full restoration of disability benefits totaling more than $100,000 without resorting to litigation.
Our pro bono efforts have included the full payment of medical benefits to a severely brain damaged individual after his request for benefits to learn basic communication skills — in the hope that he could respond to his infant daughter — were denied for lack of medical necessity, and the reinstatement of disability benefits to an employee who was told he was capable of returning to work despite suffering severe symptoms of AIDS.
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