Alert: Plaintiffs allowed to "blackboard" medical bills?

Alert:  The First District Court of Appeal in Nationwide Mutual v. Harrell has created yet another conflict in the ongoing saga as to whether or not a Plaintiff is allowed to “blackboard” his or her outstanding medical bills when those same bills have been paid by a collateral source as outlined by Florida Statute Section 768.76.The Harrell court determined that when a private insurer (not Medicare) makes the payments the Plaintiff under common law should be able to present the full amount of the bills for the juror, not the amounts unpaid by the insurer and subject to a lien.You can anticipate Plaintiff’s attorneys utilizing this case to build their “outstanding” bills when a private health insurer pays a portion of the bills.