Hillcrest Medical Center v. Fleming

WILSON, Presiding Judge:

We are asked to consider the application of Vinzant v. Hillcrest Medical Center, 609 P.2d 1274 (Okl.1980), to the case at bar. In Vinzant, the Court held that, as between a hospital lien and an attorney’s lien for a contingency fee in representing a patient, the attorney fee lien took priority. There, the amount of the settlement of the patient’s action against the tortfeasor was less than the total of the two liens. In our case, the settlement exceeds the total of the two. The issue is whether, in light of this distinction, the Vinzant case entitles the attorney to…