McMeans v. Scripps Health Inc.,

McMeans v. Scripps Health Inc.,
No. D035486 (Cal. Ct. App. March 26, 2002)

Patients
who were injured in automobile accidents brought a class action suit against
a hospital. The patients were seeking a declaratory judgment that the hospital
was not entitled to liens on the patients’ tort recoveries. The Court of Appeal
of California ruled that any right of the hospital to collect from a tort recovery
would have to be defined by the contract between the injured party’s insurance
company and the health care provider. Therefore, the amount a hospital would
be entitled to collect would be limited to the amount it agreed to accept in
payment from the insurer.