Arthrocare Unit Keeps Troubling Company

Editor's note: This article was corrected after its original publication on May 21. Please see Corrections and Clarifications.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Arthrocare (ARTC Quote) might want to examine its business partners a little more carefully.

Steven Woods, a South Florida attorney who handles cases on behalf of car insurance companies, has linked Arthrocare to several suspected con artists. Going forward, Woods hopes to question company executives under oath about these potentially troubling relationships.

Woods has been trying for months to arrange depositions of key Arthrocare leaders -- including CEO Michael Baker -- as he challenges payment for surgeries involving the company's SpineWand devices. Woods has expressed particular interest in SpineWands sold by DiscoCare, ArthroCare's South Florida billing division that's suspected of supplying the devices for questionable surgeries performed on car-wreck victims covered by pending insurance settlements. (Click here for more on the increasing scrutiny facing DiscoCare.) ...