The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, sitting in Boston, Massachusetts, has had a busy week handing down significant case law. The Law Office of Neil Burns reported earlier regarding slip and fall injuries on ice and snow, and the change in the law in evaluating those cases. Also this week, the Court changed how the medical bills of a personal injury plaintiff, someone injured a car accident, for example, are submitted into evidence at trial.
Thus, the actual medical bills, not the substantially lower bills actually paid by the insurer, are admissible at trial. The Court also found, however, that the defendant - who allegedly caused the car accident in which the plaintiff was injured - could still submit evidence regarding the range of payments accepted by medical providers as payment in full for such services.
This is because the Court found that Massachusetts General Laws "Section 79G states unambiguously that medical bills are admissible to establish the reasonable value of services rendered where the services are related to the injury for which the claim was made," Justice Margot G. Botsford wrote on behalf of the Court. Nonetheless, the Court also found that §79G clearly permitted the defendant to present evidence of the range of payments that a provider accepts for the particular services received by the plaintiff.
It was noted that the practical reality is that in smaller cases with lower medical bills, not much will change whereas a defendant would not likely elect to incur the additional expense of calling such witness for trial. But in cases where medical bills are substantial, the impact of the Court's ruling could be significant. For in those cases where the defendant elects to offer testimony regarding the range of payments accepted by medical providers as payment in full for such services, it will be up to the jury to decide what constitutes a reasonable charge for the medical service provided.
