Opinion ID: 2060702
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Did Peterson Survive Arthur?

Text: This court has been criticized both internally (see Arthur, 216 Ill.2d at 84-100, 295 Ill.Dec. 641, 833 N.E.2d 847 (McMorrow, C.J., dissenting)) and externally (see, e.g., R. Hernquist, Note, Arthur v. Catour: An Examination of the Collateral Source Rule in Illinois, 38 Loy. U. Chi. L.J. 169, 208-09 (2006)) for failing to reconcile the Arthur opinion with Peterson. The trial court in Arthur based its decision on Peterson, but this court did not discuss Peterson when it reversed the trial court. In her dissent, Chief Justice McMorrow criticized the majority for discussing the collateral source rule in general terms, instead of acknowledging the limited form of the collateral source rule adopted in Peterson. Arthur, 216 Ill.2d at 91-92, 295 Ill.Dec. 641, 833 N.E.2d 847 (McMorrow, C.J., dissenting). To determine the status of Peterson in light of Arthur, we consider the three approaches courts have taken in determining whether, pursuant to the collateral source rule, a plaintiff was entitled to recover his or her full billed medical expenses when the bill was later settled by a third party for a lesser amount. In Bozeman v. State, 879 So.2d 692, 701 (La.2004), the Supreme Court of Louisiana identified these three approaches as: (1) actual amount paid; (2) benefit of the bargain; and (3) reasonable value.