University of California officials agreed to pay approximately $8.5 million to settle two lawsuits alleging a UCLA Health spine surgeon failed to disclose his conflicts of interest with a devicemaker before using its products in two surgeries, according to Kaiser Health News.
The lawsuits allege Jeffrey Wang, MD, failed to disclose the thousands of dollars he received in monetary support from Oak Brook, Ill.-based Medtronic. The federal government has required all drug and device companies to publicly disclose payments, though the rules vary by institution.
The lawsuits also allege Dr. Wang used the products in a manner not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and he allegedly failed to obtain the patients' consent for the off-label use.
The UC system, Dr. Wang and Medtronic denied any wrongdoing, according to court documents.
Dr. Wang was formerly executive director of UCLA Health's spine center. He is now co-director of the USCSpineCenter in Los Angeles.