Latin American Agents Association

Insurance Companies Dodge Billion-Dollar Bullet in California

Insurance companies, and ultimately California consumers, avoided a windfall sought by the Consumer Attorneys of California to the tune of more than $3 billion dollars per year. On Aug. 18, 2011, the California Supreme Court settled a widely followed, long-simmering dispute concerning the appropriate damage awards for claimed medical specials in tort litigation. The near-unanimous decision (6-1) in Howell v. Hamilton Meats & Provisions, Inc. (52 Cal.4th 541) puts to rest the outrageous claims by plaintiffs that they are entitled to recover the total amount of medical bills, as opposed to the much lesser amount that is actually paid by health insurers on their behalf.

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