DAVITA INC
DVA
Health Care
4
exclusion reasons
2 themes
This page is part of our public exclusion list — a transparency tool that shows which companies we screen out and why. It is not investment advice, and it is not an accusation. But it is subject to change as our understanding of the facts evolves.
The EEOC sued DaVita Inc. in 2020 for allegedly refusing to hire a qualified applicant because of her disability, violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. A separate federal court ruling found DaVita discriminated against a patient care technician, Sharon Duncan, who developed sensitivity to a glycol acetic acid mixture used in kidney dialysis — the court held that mixing the acid was a marginal task the company could have excused, not an essential function of her role. DaVita's legal exposure extends well beyond disability discrimination: the company has accumulated over $104 million in penalties across 18 enforcement records documented by ViolationTracker, including a $389 million False Claims Act whistleblower settlement for alleged kickback schemes paying doctors for patient referrals, and a criminal conspiracy indictment of its former CEO Kent Thiry for no-poach hiring agreements with competitors.
DaVita operates for-profit dialysis centers where a $383.5 million jury verdict found the company liable for three patient deaths caused by GranuFlo, a dialysis chemical that caused cardiac arrests due to elevated bicarbonate levels. For-profit dialysis centers, including DaVita's, show approximately 8% higher patient mortality rates than non-profit clinics, with an estimated 2,500 excess deaths annually attributed to the for-profit dialysis model. The company's cost-optimization practices in staffing, treatment time, and supply management have been linked to compromised patient safety outcomes.
DOJ: DaVita agreed to pay $34.48M (July 2024) to settle False Claims Act allegations of paying kickbacks to induce referrals to DaVita Rx pharmacy subsidiary. Prior $350M settlement (2014) for paying doctors kickbacks to refer dialysis patients via manipulated joint venture returns (100%+ annual returns to physician partners).
The U.S. Department of Justice sued DaVita Inc. in 2021 to block its proposed $4.3 billion acquisition of dialysis clinics from University of Utah Health, alleging the deal would reduce competition and lead to higher prices for dialysis services.
Research Sources
4 organizations
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