Whistleblower Lawsuits

Buffalo, NY: A whistleblower lawsuit settlement not only cost the defendants involved significant coin, it saved the struggling US health care industry millions—and all thanks to two men who engaged in some conscience-clearing whistleblowing with backing from the Whistleblower Act. [ Read More ]

Washington, DC: A commercial contract sets out definitive parameters governing the relationship and actions of two parties. An agreement. And commercial contracts are designed to be observed and followed, not cast aside. When one of the parties decides not to play by the rules, commercial contract law comes into play to fix it. [ Read More ]

Norwalk, CT: While the whistleblower has often been romanticized in the movies as swashbuckling characters driven by testosterone and appearing larger than life, actual whistleblowing is more often than not carried out by ordinary people who are often scared, but speak up anyway out of a sense of duty. You will be glad to know that the Whistleblower Act and other statutes serve to protect you. [ Read More ]

Whistleblowing cases can involve stock/securities fraud, money laundering, health threats, safety violations, tax evasion, malpractice, corporate corruption, and more.

Each year, hundreds of whistleblower cases are filed and many are settled for millions of dollars.

Whistleblower cases are designed to hold public entities accountable while protecting and compensating the victim(s) and/or the whistleblower.

Typically, the whistleblower receives a percentage of the lawsuit settlement funds.

Laws and statue of limitations for whistleblowing cases vary. For instance:

• Employees or former employees may have up to 300 days to file a discrimination case against their company.
  
  
• Environmental whistleblowers have only 30 days to make a written complaint to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
  
  
• Federal employees complaining of violation of civil rights laws have only 45 days to make a written complaint to their equal employment opportunity (EEO) officer.
  
  
• Those reporting false claims against the federal government may have up to 6 years to file a civil lawsuit and may redeem 15-30% of the recovered funds under the U.S. False Claims Act.

The most noteworthy whistleblower case involved a former FBI official who leaked information about President Richard Nixon's association with Watergate. The informant's identity was kept secret for 30 years until he identified himself in 2005.

In 2001, Vice President of Enron, Sherron Watkins blew the whistle on Enron's major accounting cover-up. The company and its auditors, Arthur Andersen, hid billions of dollars in debt, lied to their shareholders, and avoided paying federal income tax for years.

Depicted in a Hollywood film, The Insider shows the real-life story of how CBS reporters uncovered the malpractice and corruption of the tobacco industry and attempted to push past the corporate politics to have it aired on 60 Minutes.

Other whistleblower cases have involved misconduct in the FBI, the failure of government officials to protect the environment, illegal storage of hazardous waste, dumping of raw sewage and wastewater violations, nuclear accidents, corporate cover-ups, and more.