Cuevas v. Contra Costa County (Apr. 27, 2017, Nos. A143440 & A144041)
__ Cal.App.5th __ [2017 WL 1507913]
Child plaintiff Brian Cuevas sued County Costa County for medical malpractice, alleging that a county physician’s negligent management of his mother’s pregnancy caused him to suffer birth injuries. The trial court granted several of Cuevas’s motions in limine. The court ruled that Civil Code section 3333.1, the MICRA statute permitting evidence of collateral source benefits to be introduced, applied only to past benefits and not to future benefits. The court also ruled that the County could not introduce evidence of publicly funded benefits available to Cuevas through regional centers or evidence regarding the cost of future medical services based on negotiated rates under health insurance available through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and that Cuevas’ life care plan evidence could be based on a national database of amounts billed for various services. The jury found the County liable and awarded Cuevas $100 million for future medical expenses, which it reduced to a present value of $9,577,000 The County appealed.
The Court of Appeal reversed for a new trial on future medical damages. First, the court held that the trial court erred by ruling that Civil Code section 3333.1 did not apply to collateral source payments of future medical expense damages. The court then held that, independent of section 3333.1, the trial court abused its discretion by excluding the County’s evidence regarding the market value of future medical services, including evidence of the lower, negotiated rates that will be paid through Medicaid or by private insurers under the ACA. Citing Corenbaum v. Lampkin (2013) 215 Cal.App.4th 1308, 1319, 1330-1333 and Markow v. Rosner (2016) 3 Cal.App.5th 1027, 1050-1051, the court concluded that the trial court’s rulings were prejudicial because future medical expense damages must be measured by the amount that providers are likely to accept as payment. Finally, the court affirmed the trial court’s decision barring evidence of benefits available through regional centers because they had statutory subrogation rights enforceable by a lien on Cuevas’ recovery.
Thomas Watson
htwatson@horvitzlevy.com
Horvitz & Levy LLP
3601 W. Olive Ave., 8th Fl.
Burbank, CA 91505
818.995.0800
horvitzlevy.com
