Personal Injury Newsletter – August 2011

Orange County Personal Injury Attorney- Newsletter Update

The California Supreme Court has just ruled on a case that will have adverse consequences to all plaintiffs who have personal injury claims.  In Howell vs. Hamilton Meats, the Supreme Court held that an injured party could not recover the amount of the medical bills that were billed, only the amount that was paid.
As most of you may know, when you are seen and treated by your doctor, or at a hospital, your health insurance company receives the bill from the medical provider.  The Health insurer has a contract with that medical provider, and under that contract, has agreed to pay only that amount that has been contracted.
For example, the hospital may submit a bill for $50,000 for medical treatment, and then the insurance company only pays the hospital $10,000, because of the contract between the insurance company and the hospital. The balance is then written off. If you have no insurance, the bill is still $50,000.
In the past, the courts have permitted the plaintiff to recover the entire amount of the bill, under what is called the “collateral source rule”, and because the full amount of the bill is suggestive of the seriousness of the medical treatment.  This rule has been in existence in California for decades.  It basically says that because the plaintiff has paid the premiums on the health insurance, therefore the defendant should not be able to take advantage, and gain a benefit, for what the plaintiff has been doing (paying the premiums) for years.
Now, the plaintiff in the personal injury case will only be able to recover, in our example, $10,000, and not the $50,000. The plaintiff, of course, will also be able to recover for general damages, on top of this. The plaintiff with no insurance will recover the full $50,000.
What remains to be determined is whether the trial court will allow for the introduction of evidence at trial (for the jury) of the full bill of $50,000, or only the $10,000 payment.  If the jury only hears of the $10,000 payment, the jury will not award as much as they would if they knew the bill was $50,000.
In no event, is the jury permitted to learn that the plaintiff did have insurance, or that insurance paid the bill.
And in a hypothetical case where the plaintiff does not have insurance, then the full amount of the bill is introduced into evidence, and the jury will award the full amount of the bill.  For example, if there were two identical cases, with the same injury, and the same treatment, and one plaintiff has medical insurance, and the other does not, the person without insurance will recover more then the person with insurance.  This does not seem fair, where the plaintiff who has paid for medical insurance is in a sense punished for his foresight in maintaining health insurance.
One way around this is to have the medical treatment provided on a lien.  This means the medical provider gets paid out of the settlement.  However, you do not have as many choices for your medical care, as not all doctors, or hospitals will see and/or treat you on a lien.

If you or a friend, or family member, have been injured because of any event, and would like to discuss your rights to recover from the party that caused the injury, please feel free to contact our office.  There is no charge for the call or consultation.

Please visit our new website for more information on our firm.

Law Firm of Rivers J. Morrell III
27201 Puerta Real
Suite 470
Mission Viejo, CA 92691
Phone:949-305-1400
Fax  :949-305-1414
Email:RJM@RJMLawFirm.com
www.RJMLawFirm.com

Mr. Morrell was recently named “Super Lawyer” for 2011, for the fifth year in a row. This selection represents the top 5% of the attorneys in Southern California. He is also a lifetime member of the “Multi Million Dollar Advocates Forum.” He is also a life “silver” member of the “Elite Lawyers of America.” He also is now available on KFI 640 AM’s Bill Handel’s “HandelontheLaw.com”. He was also selected by Law Dragon as one of the top 3000 plaintiffs attorneys in the United States.