Less than a month ago, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Some law firms and lawyers are now questioning how this could affect personal injury cases.
With the healthcare act solidified, more and more injured plaintiffs will have health insurance coverage. What this means, is that the medical care a plaintiff might be awarded could be undervalued as medical costs could be based on what is covered by insurance rather than out-of-pocket costs.
Scott Cooper, partner at Schmidt Kramer, does not necessarily believe the ruling will affect how courts have been ruling on personal injuries cases.
“I don’t think it revives the issue,” Cooper said in an interview with The Legal Intelligencer.
Part of the arguments as to how the ACA could change the legal landscape revolves around the collateral-source rules, which prohibits defendants from introducing evidence about a plaintiff’s potential collateral source of money.
However, Cooper and other attorneys believe that the argument will likely not gain much traction and that courts will probably stick to the collateral-source rule prohibition.
Could the ACA ruling affect jury deliberations? It is possible as the passing of the act is so public. Juries will be aware that the injured party, more likely than not, had some type of insurance coverage. Though, it is still possible to opt out of coverage under the ACA, so the assumption that everyone has healthcare coverage is actually inaccurate.
At Schmidt Kramer, we believe in fighting for the maximum amount of compensation a victim deserves, no matter if they have health insurance or not.
If you or someone you love has been injured in by a careless individual or entity, contact our personal injury lawyers for a free case evaluation. We have obtained millions on behalf of injury victims and will work hard to ensure you get the compensation you need to get your life back on track after an accident.
Call (717) 888-8888 or fill out an online contact form.