BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Dec. 5, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Burke, Harvey & Frankowski, LLC ("BHF") announces the commencement of an investigation into Vascular Solutions Inc., ("Vascular Solutions" or the "Company") to determine whether the Company's officers and directors have breached their fiduciary duties owed to Vascular Solutions and its shareholders by causing the Company to illegally market certain of its medical devices for unapproved, or "off-label," uses.
Founded in 1996 and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Vascular Solutions is a biopharmaceutical company that markets and sells the products for interventional cardiologists and interventional radiologists. Vascular Solutions offers products and services in three categories: catheter products, hemostat products and vein products and services. Catheter products consist of catheters used in minimally invasive medical procedures for the diagnosis or treatment of vascular conditions. Hemostat products consist of products used to control surface bleeding. The Company's vein products consist of Vari-Lase endovenous devices.
On November 19, 2010, a former Vascular Solutions employee filed under seal a qui tam action against the Company alleging Vascular Solutions illegally marketed its Vari-Lase endovenous laser product to treat conditions other than those approved by the Food and Drug Administration and engaged in an illegal kickback scheme with doctors who prescribed the device for off-label use, in violation of federal law. The complaint also alleges that Vascular Solution's off-marketing scheme resulted in over $20 million in improper Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.
Soon thereafter, on June 28, 2011, Vascular Solutions announced that it had received a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas under the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 requesting the production of documents related to the Company's Vari-Lase products. The government later elected to intervene in the qui tam action.
What You Can Do
If you are a long term Vascular Solutions shareholder, you may have legal claims against Vascular Solutions' officers and directors. If you wish to discuss this investigation, or have questions about this notice or your legal rights, please contact attorney Richard Frankowski via email at rfrankowski@bhlegal.com or via toll-free telephone at (888) 930-9091. There is no cost to you.
About Burke, Harvey & Frankowski LLC
Burke Harvey & Frankowski, LLC, is a Birmingham, Alabama law firm that among other things dedicates its practice to the representation of shareholders and investors in litigation, including shareholder class actions, derivative litigation and FINRA arbitrations. More information about the firm is available through its websites, www.bhflegal.com or www.bhfsecuritieslaw.com, and upon request from the firm. Burke Harvey & Frankowski, LLC has paid for the dissemination of this promotional communication and is responsible for its content.
No representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services to be performed by other lawyers.