MedQuist class-action suit is settled

MedQuist Inc., a Mount Laurel company that supplies medical transcription services, announced this week that a U.S. District Court in New Jersey has approved a settlement in a case involving alleged underpayment of transcriptionists and tossed out the class-action suit.

Under the settlement, MedQuist will pay $1.1 million to the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity to fund programs that benefit transcriptionists and the transcription industry. And $400,000 more will cover settlement administrative costs and plaintiff's counsel's out-of pocket expenses.

In his opinion, Judge Jerome Simandle said the settlement "represents a fair and innovative approach to the settlement of a weak case." The company maintains "the allegations in the suit were completely meritless," Mark Sullivan, MedQuist's general counsel, said. MedQuist said it settled to avoid "additional expense and continuing distraction."   - Stacey Burling