Healthcare Staffing Report: May 12, 2016

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Jury awards $940 million to medical software company in Tata trade secret case

A jury in Wisconsin awarded medical software company Epic Systems Corp. $940 million in damages in a trade secret lawsuit against Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., an India-based IT services provider.

Reuters reports it is believed to one of the largest trade-secrets verdicts on record.

Epic alleged Tata illicitly downloaded documentation for software it had been hired to help install at Kaiser Foundation Hospitals to help its own hospital management system which was implemented for a large hospital chain in India in 2009. Tata claimed it did not misuse or benefit from any of the said information.

“While TCS respects the legal process, the jury’s verdict on liability and damages was unexpected as the company believes they are unsupported by the evidence presented during the trial, Tata wrote in a press release issued Saturday. “The company did not misuse or derive any benefit from downloaded documents from Epic System’s user-web portal. TCS plans to defend its position vigorously in appeals to higher courts. TCS appreciates the trial judge’s announcement from the bench that he is almost certain he will reduce the damages award.”

The Jury verdict did not impact Tata’s fourth-quarter and full-year financial results. Bloomberg reported Tata’s profit for the fourth quarter beat analyst estimates as the company won new contracts from banks and healthcare providers.