In the modern era of healthcare, while services and medicine have gotten better than ever, the cost of having an accident and/or injury can prove detrimental to someone’s life. While insurance companies are supposed to help out with the costs of respective personal injuries, that is not always the case. While you cannot control the costs of your medical bills, can you find out if your charges are reasonable by discovering the amounts that other patients were charged by the same hospital?

In the case of Parkview Hospital, Inc. v. Frost, Parkview Hospital brought an interlocutory appeal on the issue of whether evidence of discounts provided to patients is relevant and admissible evidence to determine reasonable charges under the Indiana Hospital Lien Act. The discounts may be provided by private insurance or government healthcare reimbursement programs. Parkview says that the patient Frost cannot challenge reasonableness of charges on grounds that the contract that guarantees to pay the accounts of the Hospital for all charges refers to its rates. Frost relies on the past case of Stanley v. Walker, regarding the evidentiary use of discounted medical expenses when he says that he can challenge the reasonableness. The Court of Appeals said that the trial court was correct when it said that Frost should be allowed to discover discounted amounts Parkview has accepted from other patients in order to challenge the lien amount. By attempting to block Frost’s discovery efforts, Parkview prevented Frost from meeting their prima facie evidence of reasonableness with contradictory evidence.

If you or a loved one have been affected by unreasonable medical bills, contact an experienced personal injury attorney at Hurst Limontes, LLC. We have decades of combined experience fighting for our clients in any number of personal injury claims. Call 317-636-0808 or email us for a FREE and confidential consultation.