Opinion ID: 2584655
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 25

Heading: The Robinson approach from Ohio

Text: Our colleagues distill from the case law and arguments a new course of action they impose for use by our trial courts grappling with this issue. They adopt the approach taken by an Ohio Supreme Court decision in Robinson v. Bates, 112 Ohio St.3d 17, 857 N.E.2d 1195 (2006). From Robinson, our colleagues find the trial court should continue to allow plaintiffs to introduce into evidence the actual billings for plaintiff's medical care, while defendants will be entitled to introduce the actual cash payments that satisfied the medical obligation as well as the write-offs or negotiated discounts. They believe it is best to simply allow the jury to make the reasonable value determination using this information. Any potential prejudice to plaintiff arising from implying the existence of insurance or another collateral source can be ameliorated, they argue, by having a vigilant trial court provide limiting instructions to the jury. This approach, they claim, is the fairest. We disagree. By our count, 22 courts in other jurisdictions that have considered one or more aspects of our colleague's approach have rejected it. See Aumand v. Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, 611 F.Supp.2d 78, 92 (D.N.H.2009); Pipkins v. TA Operating Corp., 466 F.Supp.2d 1255, 1261 (D.N.M. 2006); Lopez v. Safeway Stores, Inc., 212 Ariz. 198, 207, 129 P.3d 487 (2006); Montgomery Ward & Co. v. Anderson, 334 Ark. 561, 567-68, 976 S.W.2d 382 (1998); Helfend v. Southern Cal. Rapid Transit Dist., 2 Cal.3d 1, 9-10, 84 Cal.Rptr. 173, 465 P.2d 61 (1970); Tucker v. Volunteers of America Co. Branch, 211 P.3d 708, 713 (Colo.App.2008); Mitchell v. Haldar, 883 A.2d 32, 40 (Del. 2005); Hardi v. Mezzanotte, 818 A.2d 974, 985 (D.C.App.2003); Goble v. Frohman, 848 So.2d 406, 410 (Fla. 2nd Dist.Ct.App.2003), aff'd 901 So.2d 830, 832-33 (Fla.2005); Olariu v. Marrero, 248 Ga.App. 824, 825-26, 549 S.E.2d 121 (2001); Bynum v. Magno, 106 Hawai`i 81, 89, 101 P.3d 1149 (2004); Wills v. Foster, 229 Ill.2d 393, 418, 323 Ill.Dec. 26, 892 N.E.2d 1018 (2008); Baptist Healthcare Systems, Inc. v. Miller, 177 S.W.3d 676, 683-84 (Ky.2005); Bozeman v. State, 879 So.2d 692, 705-06 (La.2004); Lockshin v. Semsker, 412 Md. 257, 284-85, 987 A.2d 18 (2010); Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Frierson, 818 So.2d 1135, 1139-40 (Miss.2002); Brown v. Van Noy, 879 S.W.2d 667, 676 (Mo.App.1994); Covington v. George, 359 S.C. 100, 105, 597 S.E.2d 142 (2004); Papke v. Harbert, 738 N.W.2d 510, 536 (S.D.2007); Texarkana Memorial Hosp., Inc. v. Murdock, 903 S.W.2d 868, 874 (Tex.App.1995), rev'd on other grounds 946 S.W.2d 836 (Tex.1997); Radvany v. Davis, 262 Va. 308, 310, 551 S.E.2d 347 (2001); and Leitinger v. DBart, Inc., 302 Wis.2d 110, 135, 736 N.W.2d 1 (2007). We also note with particular interest a recent opinion from the Ohio Court of Appeals that described its Supreme Court's majority opinion in Robinson as a perplexing decision that appears to both reaffirm the collateral-source rule in principle but eradicate it in practice. Ross v. Nappier, 185 Ohio App.3d 548, 559, 924 N.E.2d 916 (2009) (Now, litigants are forced to navigate an uncertain and complex procedure when presented with a case where the injured party received collateral benefits from a third party.). We find the collective analysis recited in these cases persuasive and far more consistent with the long-standing principles this court has espoused to support the traditional collateral source rule. This is particularly true in the context of the case before us now in which the private insurance benefits at issue were purchased personally by the plaintiff, i.e. they were not a derivative of a regulated public assistance program like Medicare or Medicaid. We would summarize our disagreements with the Robinson approach as follows: (1) its implementation is highly likely to generate jury confusion and mistrials; (2) the result discriminates against plaintiffs on the basis of whether they are insured; and (3) it contradicts the underlying principles of the collateral source rule by allowing defendants to benefit from the plaintiff's foresight or the kindness of others. We next address each of those disagreements.