In 2017, a Los Angeles jury socked Cardiovascular Systems with $25.1 million in damages in a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit. The company was acquired by Abbott in 2023.
Steven Babyak worked for Cardiovascular Systems starting in 2012. In the complaint, filed in 2015 in California Superior Court in Los Angeles, Babyak alleged that a supervisor engaged in an illegal marketing program called the Triangle Offense that paid doctors kickbacks for using the company’s products. If the physician refused to use the products, the sales rep funneled patient referrals to other doctors, the complaint said.
Babyak also told management about alleged off-label promotion of a company product, retaliation, and a hostile work environment for women, who made up most of his team that covered Southern California, Hawaii, Colorado, Las Vegas, and Utah, according to court filings. Subsequently, the company shrank Babyak's sales area and fired him in June 2015.
In the trial, the jury awarded Babyak $22.4 million in punitive damages and $2.7 million in compensatory damages with respect to his claims for whistleblower retaliation and wrongful termination in violation of public policy.
Cardiovascular Solutions was primarily known for developing diamond-coated devices (the Diamondback 360 and the Stealth 360) to remove calcified plaque from arterial vessels.
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