Punitive damages are hard to get and harder to keep. Defendants have been pushing the evils of punitive damages for over two decades now, and the United States Supreme Court has placed certain limitations on the award of such damages. So, the reasonably prudent plaintiff’s lawyer must give careful consideration…
The Florida Supreme Court has held that a plaintiff in a personal injury case cannot recover the gross amount of his medical bills when the plaintiff’s HMO has negotiated a lower rate of reimbursement with the health care providers. The decision is based in part on a Florida statute codifying…
Plaintiff’s vehicle was rear-ended by a vehicle driven by Defendant and Plaintiff was injured. Defendant successfully moved in limine for an order prohibiting Plaintiff from introducing evidence or arguing that he had paid his medical bills out of his own pocket. Defendant hired a doctor to evaluate the plaintiff; that…
The defendant law firm was found to have negligently prepared a commercial litigation matter for trial. The plaintiff argued that it would have been able to recover punitive damages in the underlying case had it not been dismissed because of the law firm’s negligence and therefore should be able to…
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has limited Medicaid’s subrogation interest in a tort recovery. Plaintiff received substantial injuries in an auto wreck. She applied for Medicaid coverage and agreed to assign to the state her “right to any settlement, judgment or award” she might receive from any third parties.…
I came across an interesting website from the National Safety Council the other day. The NSC does lots of stuff; one thing it does it estimate the cost of injuries and death in the USA. For example, look at this table: Average Comprehensive Cost by Injury Severity, 2003 Death $3,610,000…
State Farm v. Campbell was feared to be a dramatic change in the law of punitive damages, but some courts have not taken the bait. In Willow Inn, Inc. v. Public Service Mutual Ins. Co. the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed a punitive damage award…
Medicare reimburses hospitals and other health care providers at a rate less than “charges,” i.e. the amount stated on the bill. The amount of the discount is often seventy percent or more. Should the medical expense recovery by a sucessful personal injury or wrongful death plaintiff be the amount of…
Tennessee’s wrongful death law is a little unusual. The claim is the claim that the decedent would have been able to bring if the decedent were still alive. Tennessee law spells out who has the right to bring an action of behalf of the decedent. The person who has the…