Collateral Sources Can Make A Difference To You

At the end of your case, if you win at trial, or even if you settle your case, you may see the amount of compensation, and figure that minus attorneys fees, litigation costs, and medical bills, that the rest of the settlement or verdict is yours. Except there is one other thing to consider: collateral sources.

What are Collateral Sources?

Collateral sources are entities who paid money on your behalf in connection with your injuries and the accident (usually medical expenses) that expect to be, and which are entitled to be, paid back at the end of the case.

We tend to think of things like insurance, workers’ compensation, or government Medicare medical benefits as being ours, to use how and when we want. Normally, you don’t pay these entities back, after they pay for your medical treatment. But when it comes to an accident and injuries, you actually do pay these entities back.

Why Pay Them Back?

The reason for having collateral source rules is that the law doesn’t allow you to get a double recovery.

So, let’s say the government through Medicare paid $10,000 for your medical treatment after an accident. Then, at trial, a jury awards you the same $10,000 for your medical expenses. That means you just got paid twice, for that same $10,000 medical expense. So, the government or the insurer, wants to be paid back.

Complex Laws

Collateral sources can be confusing. In Rhode Island, the Defendant generally pays you, the victim, the entirety of what it owes, and most sources can’t get the money back through collateral source setoffs. But some can.

For example, if you received workers’ compensation medical benefits, the workers’ compensation insurer normally has a right to be paid back for what they paid on your behalf, but that largely depends on whether workers’ compensation paid money for lost wages or for other losses.

Medical malpractice cases are different from other kinds of cases, where there may be a right for providers to claim repayment as a collateral source, more so than there would be in other kinds of cases.

After the Case is Over

There is often an argument after the conclusion of a case between the parties, as to what “credit” the Defendant should get for collateral sources.

In some cases, your attorney may be able to negotiate with any entities that do have a right to be paid back as a collateral source, to try to lower the amount that they claim that you owe to them from the proceeds of your verdict or settlement. The more that your attorney can lower what these sources claim you owe them, the more of your verdict or settlement will end up in your pocket.

That’s why it’s so important to get injury attorneys that work for you, even after the case is over. Negotiating with these collateral sources post-verdict or settlement can mean more compensation for you.

Contact our Rhode Island personal injury lawyers at Robert E. Craven & Associates at 401-453-2700 today for help with your case, from start to finish.

Sources:

americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/litigation_committees/products/50-state-survey/litigation-products-2011-rhode-island.pdf

rid.uscourts.gov/juryinstructions/jccv_damages_collateral_source