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Dyet v. McKinley12/4/2003
2003 Opinion No. 126
The judgment entered in the District Court following jury trial is affirmed.
This is a personal injury case arising out of an automobile collision. Mari Ann Dyet (Dyet) was a passenger in her own vehicle which was being driven by her daughter, Charlotte Hansen (Hansen). Shane McKinley (McKinley) was driving the other car involved in the collision. A jury awarded Dyet damages and both parties appeal. The primary issues on appeal are the admissibility of evidence of reductions in the charges for medical services due to Medicare "write downs," and the question of whether the award should be reduced by the amount Dyet received for underinsured motorist benefits from her own insurance company.
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
On October 27, 2000, Hansen and Dyet were traveling in the same car on a highway near Idaho Falls. McKinley was traveling the opposite direction on the same highway and attempted to make a left turn in front of Hansen and Dyet at an intersection. The cars collided and Hansen and Dyet sustained serious injuries. Dyet's right hip and left femur were fractured. Her injuries required multiple surgeries, including the insertion of a new right artificial hip, replacing an artificial hip that had been inserted in 1987. In spite of successful surgeries, she has some remaining impairments as a result of the injuries. The charges from the medical providers for Dyet's care totaled $89,367.71. However, because Dyet was a Medicare patient, the bill was mandatorily reduced by $67,655.22 to $21,712.49. Subsequently, Dyet also received $75,000 in Underinsured Motorist Benefits from her own insurance company.
Dyet sued McKinley for damages arising from his alleged negligent driving. She filed a motion in limine requesting that all evidence be excluded at trial relevant to whether she was insured and relevant to whether she "received monies from any source such as Medicare, Medicaid, underinsured insurance, or private health insurance." The district court granted the motion in limine, allowing Dyet to introduce the charges for the medical services but not allowing any evidence during trial as to the amount she actually paid for the services or the write off required by Medicare. McKinley made an offer of proof during trial showing that Dyet's medical bills were reduced by $67,655.22 due to Medicare regulations and federal law.
The jury returned a special verdict finding McKinley and Hansen, a non-party, both negligent and apportioning 88% of the fault to McKinley and 12% to Hansen. The jury awarded Dyet $400,000 in damages, which amount included $89,367.71 for medical expenses. The district court reduced the verdict by $48,000 for comparative negligence on the part of Hansen and by another $67,665.22 for the reduction in charges required by Medicare regulations and federal law, leaving a net judgment of $284,334.78. The district court refused to reduce the verdict by the $75,000 paid for underinsured motorist coverage. Both parties appeal. Dyet maintains the verdict should not have been reduced. McKinley maintains that he should have been allowed to offer evidence at trial of the actual amount paid for medical expenses and that the verdict should have been reduced by the $75,000 paid as underinsured motorists benefits.
II. THE DISTRICT COURT DID NOT ERR IN PROHIBITING MCKINLEY FROM OFFERING PROOF OF THE AMOUNTS ACTUALLY PAID TO DYET'S MEDICAL PROVIDERS
A. Standard of Review
The interpretation of a statute is an issue of law over which this Court exercises free review. Idaho Fair Share v. Idaho Public Utilities Comm'n, 113 Idaho 959, 961-62, 751 P.2d 107, 109-10 (1988), o
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