Martinez v. MILBURN ENTERPRISES, INC.

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Nuss, J.:

This civil interlocutory appeal concerns the possible application of the collateral source rule to medical bill write-offs.

Facts and Holding

The essential facts are straightforward. On July 23,2005, plaintiff Karen Martinez slipped and fell while shopping at defendant’s business in Lyons, Kansas. She underwent back surgery at Wesley Medical Center and was ultimately billed $70,496.15. The hospital accepted $5,310 in satisfaction of the bill: $4,689 from plaintiff s private health insurance company, Coventry Health Systems (Coventry), and $621…