The settlement stems from a 2008 lawsuit filed by a former UC-Irvine anesthesiologist. His complaint triggered a “multi-year” investigation by the Department of Justice, according to the release.
The complaint alleged that certified registered nurse anesthetists or residents at UC-Irvine administered anesthesia in many instances when the supervisory anesthesiologist was in another facility, which violates federal regulations.
The complaint also alleged that postoperative evaluations would routinely be provided by unsupervised or unlicensed residents, which is also a violation of federal regulations.
A comment from UC-Irvine was not provided in the release.
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