LAW WEEK COLORADO
DENVER — If a defendant is found liable for a plaintiffs’ medical expenses, are they liable for the reasonable value of the medical expenses, or the amount paid?
It’s been a longstanding debate in Colorado trial courts, and in a 4-3 decision Monday, the Colorado Supreme Court settled the issue: the defendant is responsible for paying the reasonable value, even if it is higher than the amount actually paid for the medical services.
The case is Volunteers of America Colorado Branch, a Colorado non-profit corporation, and Volunteers of America Foundation-Colorado, a Colorado non-profit corporation, both d/b/a Volunteers of America v. Wayne Gardenswartz and Zachary C. Tucker, as co-personal representatives of Richard B. Tucker.
The opinion, written by Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey, holds that under the common law collateral source rule, the wrongdoer is prevented from enjoying benefits procured by the injured plaintiff.
The decision was hailed by the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association and lamented by the pro-tort reform Colorado Civil Justice League, both of which filed amicus briefs.
The trial-court plaintiff, who won in the Supreme Court, was represented on appeal by Richard J. Lesch and Ryan D. Nelson of Denver law firm Darling Milligan Smith & Lesch. The trial-court defendant was represented on appeal by Peter Moyson and John T. Osgood of Denver law firm Hall & Evans.
