1. Home
  2. |Insights
  3. |Fifth Circuit Breaks New Ground on Vicarious Liability Under the Anti-Kickback Act

Fifth Circuit Breaks New Ground on Vicarious Liability Under the Anti-Kickback Act

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 07.25.13

In U.S. ex rel. Vavra v. Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc. (July 19, 2013), the Fifth Circuit addressed, as a matter of first impression, whether the double damages provision of the Anti-Kickback Act (AKA) can be applied to a corporate entity under a vicarious liability theory or whether doing so would render the single damages provision that applies to corporate entities whose "employees" violate the AKA superfluous. The Fifth Circuit held that the AKA does allow for vicarious liability when an employee is acting either within her scope of employment or under "apparent authority," as defined by the common law of agency.


Insights

Client Alert | 7 min read | 08.17.26

Delayed Notification of Cyberattacks May Trigger HIPAA Breach Notification Rule

After identifying a ransomware attack in 2021, OSF Healthcare System waited until its forensic investigation had concluded before notifying the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) — and the affected individuals — of the breach. The 110-day delay (nearly double the 60-calendar-day notification deadline mandated by the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule) triggered an investigation from HHS’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The health system’s investigation determined that protected health information (PHI) had been stolen....