![]() ![]() 2011), which is part of the workers’ compensation act. Melissa argues McNeal’s holding is narrow and only applies to the specific statute addressed in that case, Mississippi Code Annotated section 71-3-71 (Rev. Instead, the existence of this right “must rise or fall strictly as a matter of statutory interpretation.” Id. 2006) (quoting Miss.Food & Fuel Workers’ Comp. And according to the supreme court, when the “right of reimbursement ‘exists by virtue of statute,’” the equitable made-whole rule does not apply. Instead, we are faced with a statute creating a clear right to reimbursement. Unlike Hare, here there are no “issues of unilateral contracts and bargaining power in negotiations.” Miss. The COA reversed the trial court ruling in the case of Medicaid v. The judge relied on Hare to deny Medicaid’s claim. If his medical bills are any indication of the gravity of his injuries, they must have been severe, because they totaled more than $170,000, of which Medicaid paid around $66,000. There is no explanation in the record for the reason why the child was on the hood of a moving automobile. ![]() Javas had been seriously injured when he was riding on the hood of a car that was involved in a crash. 1999).Ĭan a chancellor rely on the made-whole rule to deny Medicaid’s claim of subrogation in a minor’s settlement?Ī chancellor did deny Medicaid’s right of subrogation that would have left Javas Pittman, a minor, with only $6,000 from a $25,000 settlement. In Mississippi, an insurer is not entitled to equitable subrogation unless and until the insured has been fully compensated. Be ready to put justification in the record for ordering the child to pay her own expenses. I usually ask questions to elicit that information if the lawyers do not because I want justification in the record. My suggestion is that you offer proof that: (1) the parents do not have the financial ability to pay (2) ordering the parents to pay will impose undue financial hardship on the family (3) the bills can not be left unpaid because those medical providers may refuse service in the future because of the unpaid balances. To accomplish that you have to put some evidence in the record that it is in the child’s best interest to order that. So when you ask the court to pay medical bills out of the minor’s settlement proceeds, you are asking the court to order the minor (or her guardian) to pay her own expenses. Proulx, which you can read about at this link, which held essentially that medical providers do not have a statutory lien against settlement proceeds, and, therefore, they do not have the right to collect from them. ![]() ![]() But that came into question after Gulfport Memorial Hospital v. It’s been the expectation for a long time that medical bills for the child will be paid out of the child’s settlement proceeds. It’s obvious that the issue has never been discussed between attorney and client. Worse … when I try to ask the petitioners (usually parents) why they want the bills to be paid out of the proceeds of a minor’s settlement, they have no clue about what I am asking. But often those kinds of questions are left unasked. Sould an 8-year-old child be expected to pay her own medical bills? Aren’t medical bills the kind of thing that parents provide for their children? But what if the parents don’t have the ability to pay? And if we leave the bills unpaid, what impact will that have on the ability of the parents to access medical care for Stacy in the future?Īll of those questions are what the judge needs answered in the course of a minor’s settlement. Whom should the judge order to pay the bills? Stacy? Her parents? Leave them unpaid? The questions seem almost absurd. Her medical bills are $17,000 for the hospital, $800 for ambulance and EMT, and $1,200 for miscellaneous doctors and other medical. Stacy, age 8, is injured in an automobile accident. ![]()
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