Johns Hopkins Settles Government Lawsuit

Johns Hopkins Medicine
Office of Communications and Public Affairs
Media Contacts:
Joann Rodgers  410-955-8659 
[email protected]
Gary Stephenson 410-955-5384  [email protected]
February 26, 2004

JOHNS HOPKINS SETTLES GOVERNMENT LAWSUIT

Johns Hopkins announced today [Feb. 26, 2004] that it has settled civil claims by the U.S. Department of Justice related to the administration of NIH clinical research and other services grants at its Bayview Medical Center from January 1994 through December of 2001.

The matters at issue arose from allegations that there were erroneous charges to certain grants performed at Bayview with respect to the allocation of personnel time and the calculation of fringe benefits.  During the years in question, certain researchers with faculty appointments were employed by a separate entity, Bayview Physicians, whose accounts were not part of the central Hopkins payroll system.  The organizational structure at Bayview has been revised through the merger of Bayview Physicians with the University and the institution of centralized payroll accounting for all researchers at that site.

There were no issues about the quality of the research, which continues to receive federal funding.  None of the researchers were the subject of any individual sanction or administrative action.

In connection with the settlement, which does not include any admission of liability, Hopkins has agreed to pay $2,076,882 in addition to $587,273 already paid.

Hopkins is pleased that this settlement will avoid the cost and distractions of continued litigation and will allow its researchers to focus their efforts on the continued expansion of medical knowledge and its application to the benefit of the community.

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