Collateral Source Rule Inapplicable When Injured Person's
Medical Expenses are Discounted by Health Insurer  By Larry M.
Golub  In a long-awaited, and nearly unanimous decision, the
California Supreme Court has held that an injured plaintiff
whose medical expenses are paid through private health insurance
may recover as economic damages no more than the amounts paid by
the plaintiff’s insurer for those medical services, and that
this discounted amount does not fall within the collateral
source rule. The decision is Howell v. Hamilton Meats &
Provisions, Inc., decided August 18, 2011.  Rebecca Howell was
injured in an automobile accident caused by a driver of Hamilton
Meats & Provisions, Inc. The total amount billed by her medical
providers for her medical care up to the time of trial was
$189,978.63, but due to the preexisting contracts those
providers had entered into with Howell’s health insurer, the
bills were reduced by $130,286.90, such that the amounts paid to
(and accepted by) the providers was only $5