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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

  • work Practice Area

    Personal Injury and Med Mal

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Wednesday, December 7, 2022

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$197.00

This course is $0 with these passes:

CLE
ALL

This CLE webinar will discuss how to prove or challenge the necessity and reasonableness of medical costs in a personal injury case. The program will discuss the current landscape regarding what evidence is required and the necessary foundations to admit it, the collateral source rule and admissibility of write-offs or adjustments, the difference, if any, between the "incurred" amount and the reasonable amount, and how the debate can morph into a bad faith claim.

Faculty

Erica Spurlock
Partner
Jones Skelton & Hochuli Plc

Ms. Spurlock focuses her litigation practice in the areas of automobile, commercial trucking, and other personal injury, wrongful death and general liability defense. Additionally, she represents healthcare providers involved in mental health cases, overseeing Court Ordered Treatment Plans, and other Title 36 matters. Ms. Spurlock was a summer law clerk for Jones, Skelton & Hochuli and has practiced with the firm since she was licensed in 2015. In her practice, she has obtained favorable outcomes for many of her clients through motion practice, settlement negotiations, arbitrations, and trials in state and federal court.

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Casey C. DeReus
Miscellaneous

Ms. DeReus has been a devoted personal injury attorney and first-party property attorney. Before starting with Baer Law, LLC, she focused on property insurance claims and personal injury cases.

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Description

Recovering compensation for medical costs in a personal injury claim can be a complicated and challenging legal process. Generally, the plaintiff must show that costs are "reasonable" and "necessary" and a direct result of the injuries caused by the at-fault party. Over the last few years, many states have developed new approaches to this issue. Some of these approaches make it more difficult for plaintiffs to recover, and other approaches make it very difficult, if not impossible, for defendants to challenge the bills.

Just because something was billed for does not automatically mean that an expense or treatment will be considered reasonable or necessary by a court or a jury. Evidence of treatment and its cost is open to various interpretations and is scrutinized by the other parties. Defense counsel often challenge the foundation of medical records and seek to introduce write-offs or adjustments to bills. Recently enacted federal regulations about "reasonable" expenses may impact the analysis.

Listen as this experienced panel guides counsel through proving or challenging the necessity and reasonableness of medical costs in a personal injury case.

Outline

  1. Reasonableness of medical expenses
  2. Necessity of treatment
  3. Collateral source rule
  4. Write-offs and adjustments
  5. Potential bad faith claims

Benefits

The panel will reiew these and other issues:

  • Is it becoming more difficult for plaintiffs to prove medical expenses or more difficult for defendants to challenge those expenses?
  • Has establishing the foundation for introducing medical billing records stiffened in recent years?
  • What is the role of medical funding in proving or challenging medical expenses? What is discoverable?
  • What are the standards for "reasonable" and "necessary" treatments and how are they established?
  • What role do the new federal regulations about reasonable medical treatment play?