Zimmer Announces Settlement of Federal Inv...( WARSAW Ind. Sept. 27 /- Zimmer Ho...)

WARSAW, Ind., Sept. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ZMH; SWX: ZMH) today announced that it has settled with the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey an ongoing federal investigation into its financial relationships with consulting orthopaedic surgeons. Under the terms of the settlement, Zimmer entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement, will pay a civil settlement amount of $169.5 million and will be subject to oversight by a federal monitor appointed by the U.S. Department of Justice for 18 months. Zimmer did not admit any wrongdoing, plead guilty to any criminal charges or pay any criminal fines as part of the settlement. Also, the government has agreed not to pursue any criminal charges against the Company if it complies with the Deferred Prosecution Agreement. As part of the federal settlement, the Company is also entering into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General. It is Zimmer's understanding that the four other orthopaedic companies involved in this matter have also entered into resolution agreements. The Company expects to record an expense of $169.5 million in the third quarter in connection with the settlement.

According to Zimmer President and CEO David Dvorak, "We believe this resolution is in the best interest of our stockholders and we are pleased that the settlement preserves our ability to collaborate with physicians to enhance patient quality of life. Importantly, the resolution agreements clearly define how we and our key competitors will interact with physician collaborators, thereby establishing a standard of conduct across the industry. We believe that Zimmer is well positioned t
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