VIOLET JANES, AS THE PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND ADMINISTRATRIX OF THE ESTATE OF JULIA MCFARLAND, DECEASED, APPELLANT,
v.
BAPTIST HOSPITAL OF MIAMI, INC., AND TRAVELERS INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLEES
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The Florida District Court of Appeal reversed a negligence judgment and remanded for a new trial, holding that the trial court erred in excluding hospital and doctor bills from evidence merely because Medicare had paid a substantial portion of them. The court applied the collateral source rule, which prohibits reducing damages by payments from independent third-party sources.
The trial court erred in refusing to admit the bills into evidence. The collateral source rule requires that recovery from a tort feasor not be reduced by compensation received from a collateral source wholly independent of the wrongdoer. The value of services rendered is a proper element of damages even though paid by a collateral source.
[1] The collateral source rule prohibits reducing damages recoverable from a tortfeasor by compensation received by the injured party from a collateral source wholly independ…
[2] A tortfeasor may not benefit from insurance proceeds received by an injured party when there is no privity between the tortfeasor and the injured party's insurer.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Florida follows the collateral source rule which stands for the proposition that total or partial compensation received by the injured party from a collateral source wholly independent of the wrongdoer will not operate to lessen the damages recoverable from the person causing the injury.”
Establishes the fundamental principle that collateral payments do not reduce tort damages
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJulia McFarland received medical services at Baptist Hospital of Miami. Medicare paid a substantial portion of the hospital and doctor bills. A jury t…
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PER CURIAM.
This an appeal by the plaintiff, Violet Janes, as personal representative and ad-ministratrix of the estate of Julia McFarland, deceased, from an order denying motion for new trial, in an action for negligence against Baptist Hospital of Miami, Inc., and Travelers Insurance Company, its insurer. A jury trial was held. The jury rendered a verdict in favor of the plaintiff in the amount of $1,500.00, judgment was entered thereon, plaintiff’s motion for new trial was denied and this appeal ensued. Plaintiff contends that the trial court erred in refusing to admit into evidence certain hospital and doctor bills for services rendered to the deceased, for the reason that they had been paid, in substantial portion, by the deceased’s Medicare. We agree and reverse.
Florida follows the collateral source rule which stands for the proposition that total or partial compensation received by the injured party from a collateral source wholly independent of the wrongdoer will not operate to lessen the damages recoverable from the person causing the injury. See Finley P. Smith, Inc. v. Schectman, 132 So. 2d 460 (Fla.2d DCA 1961); Paradis v. Thomas, 150 So. 2d 457 (Fla.2d DCA 1963); Greyhound Corporation v. Ford, 157 So. 2d 427 (Fla.2d DCA 1963); Walker v. Hilliard, 329 So. 2d 44 (Fla.1st DCA 1976).
As stated in Walker v. Hilliard, supra, it is well settled that recovery of damages from a tort feasor may not be reduced by the amount of insurance proceeds received by the injured party from his insurance company; a wrongdoer should not be permitted to benefit from a policy of insurance where there is no privity between him and the plaintiff’s insurer, and the policy was written for the benefit of the insured and not the wrongdoer; if there must be a windfall, it is more just that the injured party profit, rather than the wrongdoer be relieved of full responsibility for his wrongdoing. The value of services rendered the injured party are a proper element of damages even though they were paid for by a collateral source. Paradis v. Thomas, supra.
Based on the foregoing, we hold that the court erred in refusing to admit the bills into evidence so that the jury could take them into consideration in making a determination of plaintiff’s damages. This does not, in any way, affect the entitlement of the collateral source, in this case Medicare, to recover such sums paid to, or on behalf of the plaintiff either by way of lien, intervention or otherwise.
In light of the reversal on the foregoing point, the other point on appeal will not be discussed in this opinion.
Reversed and remanded for a new trial.
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Goble v. Frohman, 901 So. 2d 830 (Fla. 2005)…d 276, 277 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986) (“At common law, a wrongdoer was liable for the total damages caused an injured party, regardless of whether the injured party received payment for some of the damages from collateral sources.”); Janes v. Baptist Hosp., 349 So. 2d 672, 673 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977) (“Florida follows the collateral source rule which stands for the proposition that total or partial compensation received by the injured party from a collateral source wholly independent of the wrongdoer will not operate to l…
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Stanley v. United States Fid. & Guar. Co., 425 So. 2d 608 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982)…his Court said in Walker v. Hilliard:8 If there must be a windfall, it is more just that the injured party profit, rather than the wrongdoer be relieved of full responsibility from his wrongdoing. See also Janes v. Baptist Hospital of Miami, Inc., 349 So. 2d 672, 673 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977), cert, den., 355 So. 2d 512 (Fla.1978); Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 920A; Fleming, The Collateral Source Rule and Loss Allocation in Tort Law, 54 Calif.L.Rev. 1478, 1483 (1966).9 In this case two additional factors stre…1 / 2
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Polly Weaver v. Wilson, 532 So. 2d 67 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)…tal or partial compensation received by an injured party from a collateral source wholly independent of the wrongdoer does not operate to reduce the damages recoverable from the person who caused the injury. Janes v. Baptist Hospital of Miami, Inc., 349 So. 2d 672, 673 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977). In Florida Physician’s Insurance Reciprocal v. Stanley, 452 So. 2d 514 (Fla.1984), the Supreme Court created a limitation to the common-law collateral source rule. Stanley involved a case where an infant was bom mentally ret…
Previewing 3 of 10 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Paradis v. Thomas, 150 So. 2d 457 (Fla. 2d DCA 1963)
- The Greyhound Corp. v. Sudella Ford, 157 So. 2d 427 (Fla. 2d DCA 1963)
- Walker v. Hilliard, 329 So. 2d 44 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976)
- Finley P. Smith, Inc. v. Schectman, 132 So. 2d 460 (Fla. 2d DCA 1961)