Automobile accident victims can get full value of medical treatment – court ruling applauded by lawyer Patrick J. Tighe

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Automobile accident victims can get full value of medical treatment – court ruling applauded by lawyer Patrick J. TigheNow, customers can rejoice with the latest court ruling that plaintiffs who are injured in auto accidents can introduce bills for the full value of treatment they have received. This comes as a major victory and has been hailed by Florida Insurance lawyer Patrick J. Tighe (Fourth district, Case Number – 4D09-1659). This had earlier become a contentious point of law to many.

Tighe stated that the major insurers such as Allstate, Progressive, Geico, and State Farm may not like the ruling, but for all the others it is a moment to rejoice. Tighe is a senior advocate for accident victims and consumer rights. He added that insurers had been arguing for very long that Florida case law requires the introduction of bills as evidence in order to establish the amount that is paid. However, the problem is that very often these bills are often negotiated by either the insurers or the victims themselves, right after the accident. In reality, there seems to be no guarantee that these would be the rates in case of treatment in the future. These are rarely the rates and many plaintiffs normally end up with damages award that never reflects the actual cost of medical treatment. For the insurance companies, it is great for their business, but it is a lousy deal for the actual victim and it is far from justice.

The ruling by the appellate court is based on the long-established legal aspect where the defendants should not get benefits out of an expense, obligation, or liability that is being incurred by the plaintiff. The accident victim who would have negotiated for a lower treatment cost or paid the insurance premiums would have in one way or the other, ‘earned the discount.’ Hence, defendants cannot be rewarded for that action by lower payments on damages. So, the full value of the treatment bills may be introduced into the evidence. Patrick Tighe also stated that what this actually meant was that the compensation that the plaintiff would receive would be more in tune with what the plaintiff would have actually suffered and what they may require for future care.

The charges or medical costs can vary wildly in Florida when compared to other jurisdictions. It would all depend on what the coverage does offer and what it doesn’t. An MRI may be billed at $1,800 if there is no insurance cover, but if the insurer has negotiated rates it may be billed at just $350.