Erin Brockovich, the legal assistant who inspired an Oscar-winning movie starring Julia Roberts, filed seven lawsuits against healthcare companies on Friday, accusing them of defrauding Medicare. The suits allege that the providers involved are cheating the government by forcing taxpayers to pay for illness caused by their own medical mistakes and incompetence. The other six defendants include Adventist Health, Country Villa Service, Catholic Healthcare West, Kindred Healthcare, Longwood and Mariner Health Care.
A spokesperson for Tenet Health downplayed the importance of the suits, calling them "a publicity stunt by a celebrity plaintiff." Given the way things work at many law firms and--perhaps more importantly--the way they work in Los Angeles, that's certainly a possibility. But expect coverage of preventable medical errors and Medicare billing, two subjects the media generally doesn't dare examine too closely, to rise exponentially. The odds that Brockovich will be able to use her celebrity to attract supporters for her legal campaign and potential witnesses seem good.
- read this article from the Los Angeles Times