Chapter 4.D.3: Calculation and Administration of Damages

Notes: Damages Awards

Note 1. The Collateral Source Rule

On the collateral source rule, see Comment, The Fate of the Collateral Source Rule After Health Care Reform, 60 UCLA L. Rev. 736 (2013); Adam Todd, An Enduring Oddity: The Collateral Source Rule in the Face of Tort Reform, the Affordable Care Act, and Increased Subrogation, 43 McGeorge L. Rev. 965 (2012); Comment: Allocating the Costs of Harm to Whom They Are Due: Modifying the Collateral Source Rule After Health Care Reform, 160 U. Pa. L. Rev. 921 (2012)

Note 2. Calculating Medical Expenses

On calculating the reasonable value of health care services, see George A. Nation III, The Valuation of Medical Expense Damages in Tort: Debunking the Myth That Chargemaster-Based "Billed Charges" Are Relevant to Determining the Reasonable Value of Medical Care, 95 Tul. L. Rev. 937 (2021); Thomas R. Ireland, The Concept of Reasonable Value in Recovery of Medical Expenses in Personal Injury Torts: An Update from 2008 to 2015, J. Leg. Econ. 69 (Oct. 2015); George A. Nation III, Determining the Fair and Reasonable Value of Medical Services: The Affordable Care Act, Government Insurers, Private Insurers and Uninsured Patients, 65 Baylor L. Rev. 425 (2013); Thomas R. Ireland, The Concept of Reasonable Value in Recovery of Medical Expenses in Personal Injury Torts, 14(3) J. Leg. Econ. 87 (2008)

Note 3. Liens on Recovery

On unfair billing practices by hospitals in relation to tort victims, see Bryce Talbot & William Sjostrom, "Disingenuous and Somewhat Deplorable" A Look at Hospitals' Use of Healthcare-Provider Liens to Reap A Windfall, 47 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. 827, 828 (2020); George A. Nation III, Hospitals Use the Pernicious Chargemaster Pricing System to Take Advantage of Accident Victims: Stopping Abusive Hospital Billing, 66 Drake L. Rev. 645 (2018). A short article you might assign to help students understand the issue is How Rich Hospitals Profit from Patients in Car Crashes (NYT Feb. 1 2021) (though it focuses on tort recovery of medical costs generally rather than in malpractice cases specifically).

Note 4. Damage Awards and Settlement

On damages awards in settlement and at trial, see Michelle Mello & Allen Kachalia, Medical Malpractice: Evidence on Reform Alternatives and Claims Involving Elderly Patients (MedPac, 2016); David A. Hyman et al., Settlement at Policy Limits and the Duty to Settle, 8 J. Empirical Legal Stud. 48 (2011); Mirya Holman, Neil Vidmar & Paul Lee, Most Claims Settle: Implications for Alternative Dispute Resolution from a Profile of Medical-Malpractice Claims in Florida, 74 L, & Contemp. Probs. 103 (2011); Neil Vidmar, Juries and Medical Malpractice Claims: Empirical Facts versus Myths, 467 Clin. Orthop. Relat. Res. 367 (2009); Catherine Harris et al., Does Being a Repeat Player Make a Difference?, 8 Yale J. Health Pol’y L. & Ethics 253 (2008); Philip Peters, What We Know About Malpractice Settlements, 92 Iowa L. Rev. 1783 (2007); Kathryn Zeiler et al., Physicians’ Insurance Limits and Malpractice Payments, 36 J. Leg. Stud. 9 (2007); David Hyman et al., Do Defendants Pay What Juries Award?, J. Empirical Legal Stud. 3 (2007); David A. Hyman & Charles Silver, Medical Malpractice Litigation and Tort Reform: It’s the Incentives, Stupid, 59 Vand. L. Rev. 1085 (2006); Catherine Harris et al., Placing “Standard of Care” in Context: The Impact of Witness Potential and Attorney Reputation in Medical Malpractice Litigation, 3 J. Empirical Legal Stud. 467 (2006); Neil Vidmar, Kara MacKillop & Paul Lee, Million Dollar Medical Malpractice Cases in Florida: Post-Verdict and Pre-Suit Settlements, 59 Vand. L. Rev. 1343 (2006); Neil Vidmar, Felicia Gross & Mary Rose, Jury Awards for Medical Malpractice and Post-Verdict Adjustments of Those Awards, 48 DePaul L. Rev. 265 (1998); Frank Sloan et al., Suing for Medical Malpractice (1993); Michael Saks, Do We Really Know Anything About the Behavior of the Tort Litigation System — And Why Not?, 140 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1147 (1992).

Note 5. Scheduled Damages

On damages schedules in medical malpractice cases and beyond, see David M. Studdert et al., Rationalizing Noneconomic Damages, 74 Law & Contemp. Probs. 57 (2011); S.J. Shapiro and A.E. Rodriguez, Scheduled Damages and the American Tort Environment, 91 Contemp. Stud. Econ. Fin. Analysis 277 (2009); Maxwell J. Mehlman, Promoting Fairness in the Medical Malpractice System, Medical Malpractice and the U.S. Health Care System (2006); Randall R. Bovbjerg,, Frank A. Sloan, and James F. Blumstein, Valuing Life and Limb in Tort: Scheduling Pain and Suffering, 83 Nw. U.L Rev. 908 (1988).