In Dial, the Florida Supreme Court confirmed that the holding in Joerg v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 176 So. 3d 1247 (Fla. 2015)—which prohibited the introduction of evidence of Medicare benefits in a personal injury case for consideration of future medical expenses—does not apply to past medical expenses.
In this slip and fall case, the trial court had granted a motion in limine that precluded Dial from introducing as evidence the gross amount of her past medical expenses and limited her to introducing only the discounted amounts paid by Medicare. Dial argued on appeal that Joerg allowed her to admit the full amount of her past medical expenses as evidence. The Second District Court of Appeal affirmed, finding that Joerg applied only to future Medicare benefits.
The Florida Justice Reform Institute, along with the Florida Trucking Association, Florida Chamber of Commerce, and American Property Casualty Insurance Association, submitted an amici curiae brief in support of the respondent-defendant. The amici argued that the Florida Supreme Court should approve the Second District’s decision because it maximizes transparency in medical billing practices, comports with longstanding principles as to the purpose of compensatory damages, and enhances the truth-finding function of trials.
The Florida Supreme Court approved the Second District’s decision. The Court emphasized that Joerg, “precluding the admission of evidence of a plaintiff’s eligibility for future Medicare benefits, dealt with only future medical expenses.” Thus, the Court reasoned simply, “Joerg has no application to the past medical expenses issue in the present case.”
The Institute was represented by Edward G. Guedes of Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman, P.L.