IPMG Files Contempt Motion Calling For Chino Valley Medical Center's Chief Medical Officer To Be Jailed For Willfully Flaunting Judge's Order

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., May 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. James M. Lally, the Chief Medical Officer of Chino Valley Medical Center, should be jailed for contempt of court after intentionally violating a court's preliminary injunction more than 300 times, according to a plaintiffs' motion filed in San Bernardino Superior Court.

Click for Doll Amir Contempt Motion - http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/ENR/Doll-Amir-Contempt-Motion.pdf

Judge Janet M. Frangie issued a preliminary injunction in October 2013 requiring Dr. Lally and Chino Valley to notify doctors at Inland Pulmonary Medical Group (IPMG) when any of their patients are admitted to the hospital. IPMG had filed suit in March 2013 alleging that Chino Valley was preventing the doctors from treating their patients in order to increase billing by the hospital's resident doctors.

Chino Valley is part of the Prime Healthcare Services chain of 25 acute care hospitals, 15 of which are in California, which has been accused of Medicare fraud in a separate federal whistleblower lawsuit. And Kaiser Permanente has sued Prime in state court claiming the hospital chain refused to transfer Kaiser members to Kaiser facilities so they can continue care with physicians at their chosen plan.

In the Chino Valley Medical Center case, after three days of testimony from doctors, patients and hospital staff, Judge Frangie issued the preliminary injunction requiring Chino Valley to notify patients' doctors when they are admitted to the hospital and allow the doctors to have access to their patients. Hospitals are not permitted to employ tactics such as "unilaterally refraining from notifying the physician when his patients appear at the hospital," the Court ruled.

Defendants' failure to comply with the preliminary injunction is clearly willful; defendants have never complied with any of the Court's orders, states the contempt motion filed Friday by IPMG attorney Michael M. Amir, of Doll Amir & Eley, LLP.

"The Court's preliminary injunction made it clear that Defendants could no longer continue their illegal conduct," said Mr. Amir. "Unfortunately defendants have no regard whatsoever for this court order, not to mention concern for the well-being of the patients."

Because Chino Valley and specifically Dr. Lally have flouted the preliminary injunction at least 309 times, they should be required to pay $309,000, and Dr. Lally should be imprisoned for a period of five days.

The federal whistleblower suit http://media.utsandiego.com/news/documents/2014/01/17/Prime_lawsuit.pdf accuses Prime and CEO Dr. Prem Reddy of falsifying diagnoses, falsifying information concerning the conditions and comorbidities associated with patients' diagnoses, improper inpatient admissions and fraudulently obtaining incentive payments from Medicare.

Kaiser Permanente lawsuit https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/102262-kaiser-cross.html also charges Prime with admitting patients into the hospitals unnecessarily and prematurely in order to bill Kaiser for inpatient stays, falsifying bills by overstating or "upcoding" the patients' conditions, and billing for services and supplies that are unnecessary, falsely described or not provided at all.

SOURCE Doll Amir & Eley, LLP