Joerg presented the question of what evidence a jury should be allowed to consider when determining the future health care expenses of a disabled Medicare beneficiary. The trial court excluded from the jury all evidence about future health care expenses except for the projected “sticker price” (the full amount billed) for the services. On appeal to the Florida Supreme Court, the Florida Justice Reform Institute argued that limiting the jury to evidence of the amount billed by providers would violate settled principles of compensatory damages, in that the “sticker price” is often much greater than the amount Medicare allows as payment in full for medical services and thus does not represent the loss the injured plaintiff actually incurs.
Unfortunately, the Florida Supreme Court disagreed, holding that evidence of eligibility for future benefits, including from Medicare, Medicaid, and other social legislation, is inadmissible as collateral sources.
FJRI represented by Mark K. Delegal and Matthew H. Mears of Holland & Knight LLP, and William W. Large.