Introduction of Medical Bill Payments

Posted Mon 21st May, 2012 | by Jennifer Crichton | on Cases | insurance, medical, State Farm, Wal Mart Stores

In a recent series of Colorado Supreme Court Cases, the Court held that evidence of amounts paid by health insurance companies, Medicare, etc. (otherwise known as “collateral sources”) to cover an injured Plaintiff’s medical expenses are not admissible into evidence.  As a result, this means the jury will only hear evidence of the amount of medical expenses actually billed to the Plaintiff versus the reduced amount that was paid by a collateral source.  This is a great victory for Plaintiffs since juries will now be less likely to unfairly reduce their award to the Plaintiff by the difference between the amount billed and the amount paid.  The citations to these cases are as follows:

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Crossgrove: Supreme Court Case No. 10SC516

Smith v. Jeppsen, et al.: Supreme Court Case No. 11SA51

Sunahara v. State Farm: Supreme Court Case No. 10SC409