Expert Witness Blog
St. Luke’s Magic Valley Regional Medical Center has sued a Washington attorney who represented the hospital between 2003 and 2006 saying that Tom Luciani did not adequately defend against claims of Medicare fraud and other record-keeping practices. When the hospital discovered Luciani had no plan to produce a medical billing expert witness to counter testimony from a plaintiff’s witness, it hired its own counsel in 2006. Times-News Magic Valley.com also writes:
The complaint, filed Jan. 17 in U.S. District Court in Boise, claims that Tom Luciani intentionally breached his fiduciary duty and committed professional malpractice while representing the hospital and Farmers Insurance between July 2003 and early 2006. Luciani was brought on by the insurance company to represent the hospital during litigation that started in 2001 with a tort claim against the hospital by two former employees….
According to the hospital’s most recent court filing, Luciani had a longstanding relationship with Farmers, which brought him in to replace another lawyer when the case moved to federal court. Following the desires of the insurance company, the complaint states, Luciani’s strategy focused on protecting Farmers from any damages while leaving the hospital open to a possible $22 million judgment.