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| | State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Company Files Law Suit Against Doctor, Pain Clinic, And Clinic Owners In Federal Court In Texas By Lonce Lamonte - April 29, 2019
State Farm Mutual filed a law suit last week in the U.S. District Court for Southern Texas against Dr. Nooruddin S. Punjwani, the clinic where he practiced: Pain Alleviation & Interventional Needs (PAIN), and the owners of the clinic: Barketali M, Anil B. and Sohail B. Roopani.
The Roopanis are a father, Barketali, and his two sons, Anil B. and Sohail B., who are non-medical professionals who shared in the proceeds from the alleged fraudulent scheme.
State Farm alleges that unnecessary medical procedures were performed on auto-accident victims consisting of epidural steroid injections for nearly all patients seen at the practice in Baytown, Texas. Dr. Punjwani is accused of documenting conditions that did not exist and exaggerating the severity of conditions.
State Farm is seeking three million dollars in damages.
Allegations in the suit assert that Pain Alleviation & Interventional Needs (PAIN) charges $1,500 for the use of fluoroscopic guidance with the steroid injections. However, PAIN could not produce the fluoroscopic images upon request.
Dr. Punjwani charged $8,000 for each epidural steroid injection with $500 for the examination in addition to the fluoroscopic charge, it is further alleged.
Also according to the law suit, PAIN billed State Farm for 810 epidural steroid injections out of 821 patients examined. All were diagnosed with spondylosis and stenosis.
Lonce Lamonte, journalist, lonce@adjustercom.com; copyright Lonce Lamonte and adjustercom, all rights reserved
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