What a Jury Actually Sees About Bills
Can I Recover the Full Amount My Medical Bills Show?
Not anymore, at least not automatically under the way the law currently stands. Under Louisiana Revised Statute Section 9:2800.27, when a claimant’s medical expenses have been paid, in whole or in part, by a health insurer or Medicare, recovery of those past medical expenses is generally limited to the amount actually paid to the provider, along with any applicable cost-sharing amounts such as copayments or deductibles owed by the claimant. This represents a significant departure from the older rule, which generally allowed recovery based on the full amount billed regardless of what was actually paid to the provider.
Why Does This Rule Matter So Much?
Medical providers frequently bill amounts far higher than what an insurer or Medicare actually pays under a negotiated rate. A hospital might bill $30,000 for a single procedure while accepting only $9,000 as full payment from an insurer. Under the current version of this particular statute, a claimant’s recovery for that expense is generally based on the lower, actually-paid amount rather than the higher billed figure that used to dominate these calculations in years past. This gap between billed and paid amounts can be quite substantial, and it directly affects how much a personal injury case is ultimately worth in the end.
Does the Jury Still See the Full Billed Amount?
Yes, under the most recent version of this law, the jury is shown both the amount originally billed by the medical provider and the amount actually paid, rather than being told only one figure in isolation. This differs meaningfully from an earlier proposal that would have hidden the paid amount from the jury entirely, and it reflects the legislature’s ongoing attempt to balance fairness to both sides of a personal injury claim.
How Are Medicaid and Workers’ Compensation Payments Treated?
These categories of payment follow their own distinct rules under the statute. Several payment sources are treated differently depending on their origin:
- Private health insurance and Medicare payments, both subject to the amount-paid limitation described above
- Medicaid payments, which are strictly limited to the amount Medicaid actually paid the provider
- Workers’ compensation medical payments, which are treated in much the same way as Medicaid under the statute
- Attorney-negotiated write-offs, which generally are not treated as a collateral source at all under current law
A Gonzales personal injury lawyer can help sort out which category applies to a specific claimant’s medical bills, since the actual source of payment can significantly change what is ultimately recoverable in the end.
Why Does Getting This Calculation Right Take Careful Work?
Because the applicable rule depends entirely on exactly who paid which specific portion of a claimant’s medical expenses, building an accurate damages calculation requires detailed billing records from every provider involved in the treatment. The team at Palmintier, Thrower, and Treuting Injury Attorneys gathers this documentation early in every case, since an incomplete picture of what was billed versus what was actually paid can lead to a significantly undervalued claim overall. Insurers are quick to point to whichever figure works most in their favor at any given moment, which makes complete documentation essential rather than merely optional.
What Does This Mean for Valuing a Claim Going Forward?
Because this particular area of Louisiana law has changed more than once in just the past few years, a claim’s value can depend heavily on which version of the statute applies to the date of the injury. Confirming the applicable rule early in the process helps set realistic expectations rather than relying on outdated assumptions about how medical expenses actually get calculated, since older articles and blog posts may no longer reflect the current version of the law. A Gonzales personal injury lawyer can help confirm which version of the rule actually applies to a specific case.
If you have questions about how your medical expenses will factor into a Gonzales injury claim, speak with our team about your billing records and what they may actually be able to support.