Howell v. Hamilton Meats (2011) Case Summary PDF
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2011
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Summary
This document summarizes the 2011 Howell v. Hamilton Meats case, which significantly impacted personal injury litigation in California. The case focused on the issue of medical billing and insurance payments, limiting plaintiff recovery amounts to the discounted prices paid by insurance policies rather than the original billed amounts. The details of how the total billed and total paid medical costs were calculated for different situations were presented.
Full Transcript
HOWELL V. HAMILTON MEATS PROVISIONS INC (2011) In 2011, Howell v. Hamilton Meats was tried and argued before the California Supreme Court. This case is one of the most significant tort cases in the last 40 years and reshaped personal injury litigation across the state. Case: https://casetext.com/cas...
HOWELL V. HAMILTON MEATS PROVISIONS INC (2011) In 2011, Howell v. Hamilton Meats was tried and argued before the California Supreme Court. This case is one of the most significant tort cases in the last 40 years and reshaped personal injury litigation across the state. Case: https://casetext.com/case/howell-v-hamilton-meats-provisions-inc-2 https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/ca-supreme-court/1607169.html Question presented: Under economic damages, should a plaintiff be allowed to recover the medical amounts billed versus the medical amounts paid by the health insurance (much smaller amount). The defense argument: ○ If the health insurance pays the medical bills, then all those medical accounts are satisfied and should be presented as such. Conclusion: An injured plaintiff is limited to recovering the discounted amount that was paid by the health insurance on the plaintiffs behalf as past medical damages, not the inflated amount medical providers bill for their services. Prior to Howell v. Hamilton Meats, Plaintiff law firms were able to settle claims based off the total billed medical specials. Example: 1. Torrance Memorial Medical Center 2. Torrance Memorial Emergency Physician 3. Sue Lim, D.C. 4. Precise Imaging 5. Biohealth Pain Management $50,000 $2,000 $5,000 $2,400 $15,000 Total billed medical specials: $74,400 The claim was evaluated regardless if the health insurance made any price adjustments. After Howell v. Hamilton Meats, Plaintiff law firms have to settle claims based off the total paid medical specials. Example: 1. Torrance Memorial Medical Center a. Hospital adjustment b. Client paid out-out-pocket c. Medi-cal payment Howell Meds: 2. Torrance Memorial Emergency Physician a. Hospital adjustment b. Client paid out-out-pocket c. Medi-cal payment Howell Meds: 3. 4. 5. Sue Lim, D.C. (P.I Lien) Precise Imaging (P.I Lien) Biohealth Pain Management (P.I Lien) Total paid medical specials/Total Howell meds: $50,000 -$47,000 -$1,000 -$2,000 $3,000 $2,000 -$1,500 -$100 -$400 $500 $5,000 $2,400 $15,000 $25,900 Real Bill Example 1: Real Bill Example 2: Questions?
