A nurse-turned-sales representative says her former employer defrauded the government, endangered children and fired her when she raised questions about its products and sales tactics.
The company, Austin-based International Biomedical Ltd., produces a variety of neonatal medical devices including transport incubators it sells to hospitals globally.
Michelle Smith filed suit under seal last year in U.S. District Court in Austin, alleging that in 18 months working for the company, she saw company sales representatives misrepresent the abilities of its neonatal transport incubators to Texas hospitals and Defense Department medical institutions including Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio and Fort Cavazos, the base in Killeen now known as Fort Hood.
The former transport neonatal intensive care nurse alleges her boss was telling hospitals the incubators they sold contained servo-control units that would automatically adjust temperature and humidity for fragile neonatal patients. She said they didn't.
The units cost between $350,000 and $500,000, according to the suit.
In its response, International Biomedical said Smith was confusing two product models and denies making any false claims. Attorneys for the company did not respond to requests for comment.
In her complaint, Smith said that children were having bad outcomes because of the company's claims. In one instance, she said she was confronted at a conference by a nurse about the alleged failure of a transport...
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