43 Patients Given Needless Chemotherapy Settle for $8 Million Against Oncologist Farid Fata

Between 2009 and 2013, Dr. Farid Fata operated an oncology practice at multiple hospitals and clinics across the metro Detroit area. He told patients who did not have cancer that they did. He prescribed aggressive chemotherapy regimens to patients whose actual conditions required no such treatment. Federal prosecutors later proved the conduct was deliberate: Fata billed insurers for procedures his patients never needed, collecting millions over four years. In total, more than 553 patients received medically unnecessary treatment at his hands.

Federal authorities arrested Fata in 2013 after a whistleblower complaint led investigators to his records. He pleaded guilty in 2014 to 13 counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, and two counts of money laundering. In July 2015, a federal judge sentenced him to 45 years in prison. The government also secured forfeiture of approximately $12 million in assets seized from him.

Civil litigation followed in Oakland County Circuit Court. Forty-three claimants sued Fata and three Michigan hospitals where he had held privileges, alleging the institutions failed to detect or stop his conduct. Brian McKeen of McKeen & Associates served as one of the co-lead plaintiff counsel who negotiated the global resolution, working alongside Jules Olsman and Donna MacKenzie of Olsman, MacKenzie & Wallace, the firm that represented 21 of the 43 claimants. McKeen & Associates was among several plaintiff firms representing the remaining claimants. The civil cases documented a specific physical burden: unnecessary chemotherapy depletes healthy tissue, suppresses the immune system, and causes lasting organ damage in patients who had no malignancy to treat.

Settlement proved difficult to achieve at a figure that reflected the harm. Fata carried only modest per-claim insurance limits, and McKeen acknowledged early in the litigation that his clients "were never going to receive fair levels of compensation" through any available verdict. After roughly 10 months of negotiations, the 43 claimants settled for $8 million, paid into a common fund by Fata's oncology practice and the three hospitals where he had held privileges. Oakland County Circuit Court approved the settlement on July 20, 2016.

Rather than dividing the funds equally, the court assigned arbitrator Rick Boothman to allocate the money based on the specific facts and injuries of each individual case. Distributions were scheduled for fall 2016. The 43 claimants who settled represent a fraction of the more than 553 patients identified as victims in Fata's federal criminal proceedings.