Key Elements of a Successful Whistleblower Case

What are the key elements of any successful whistleblower case?  What cases is the Department of Justice willing to pursue?  The two key elements of a Qui Tam whistleblower lawsuit is: 1) what harm has been done to the United States Government, and 2) what evidence does the whistleblower have to support their claims.

The amount of money the United States Government can recover in the whistleblower lawsuit is one of the critical factors of a successful whistleblower case.  For example, the Department of Justice intervened on the Qui Tam lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and recovered $149 million to settle kickback allegations. 

The second critical factor is the evidence the whistleblower can provide the United States Government to support their allegations.  For example, in a health care fraud case, the whistleblower provided first-hand knowledge of various ways the company deliberately sought to increase billings by submitting claims in violation of federal guidelines.  The best documents that a whistleblower can provide are ones that show that fraud was committed, that the fraud was intentional, and that the fraud was also widespread throughout the company.  In addition, the whistleblower should provide witnesses that support their allegations, specifically, names, titles and address of the witnesses.