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Arthur v. Catour7/21/2005
solution of this question was governed by our decision in Peterson v. Lou Bachrodt Chevrolet Co., 76 Ill. 2d 353, 363 (1979), and quoted the following language from Peterson as controlling: " `The purpose of compensatory tort damages is to compensate; it is not the purpose of such damages to punish defendants or bestow a windfall upon plaintiffs. The view that a windfall, if any is to be enjoyed, should go to the plaintiff borders too closely on approval of unwarranted punitive damages, and it is a view not espoused by our cases.' " Based upon its interpretation of our decision in Peterson, the circuit court concluded that the collateral source rule did not require that plaintiff be allowed to present the billed amount of her medical expenses, and that "to allow the plaintiff to seek and recover $19,355.25 worth of medical damages when she was only charged for and became liable for $13,577.97 would only serve to punish the defendants punitively and provide a windfall for the plaintiff."
Plaintiff thereafter filed a "Motion for Reconsideration or Clarification." The circuit court denied this motion. However, finding that its order granting partial summary judgment to defendants involved a question of law as to which there is a substantial ground for difference of opinion, the circuit court certified the question presented in this appeal, pursuant to our Rule 308(a) (155 Ill. 2d R. 308(a)).
A majority of the appellate court reversed the judgment of the circuit court. The appellate court, stating that this case presented the question of "how to best harmonize the law of compensatory damages with the principles underlying the collateral source rule" (345 Ill. App. 3d at 808), held that the circuit court erred in limiting plaintiff's damages to the amount actually paid to the health care providers by her insurer. Rather, the appellate court held that the rationale underlying the collateral source rule supported allowing plaintiff to claim the entire amount of medical expenses billed, as long as "those charges are reasonable expenses of necessary medical care." 345 Ill. App. 3d at 808.
In dissent, Justice Holdridge noted the well-settled rule that in order to recover medical expenses, a plaintiff must prove that he or she has become liable to pay the amount claimed. Thus, " n view of the fact that the plaintiff was never liable for the amount `discounted' by the hospital," the dissenting justice took the position that only the amount received from plaintiff's insurance company as payment in full should be fully protected by the collateral source rule. 345 Ill. App. 3d at 809 (Holdridge, P.J., dissenting). Accordingly, the dissent concluded that the difference between the amount billed and the amount received needed no similar protection, as plaintiff never incurred or became obligated for that expense.
I am in agreement with the observation of the appellate court that this case squarely presents the question of "how to best harmonize the law of compensatory damages with the principles underlying the collateral source rule." 345 Ill. App. 3d at 808. It is my belief that it is the tension between the concept of compensatory damages and the protections afforded to a plaintiff by the collateral source rule, as well as the restrictive interpretation this court has previously afforded the collateral source rule in Peterson, that framed the issue in the circuit and appellate courts below, and which animated our grant of leave to appeal in this matter.
In its opinion, however, the majority avoids the questions presented by this appeal. The certified question is a straightforward one: can plaintiff seek compensation for the amount billed or the amount paid for medical ser
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