Howell v. Hamilton Meats is a landmark case in California personal injury law, and a favorite weapon used by insurance companies to reduce payments to injury victims.  The essence of the Howell​ case is that a personal injury victim's recovery is limited by the actual payment from their health insurance.  This means that if your hospital bill was $30,000, but your health insurance only paid $800 to the hospital as full payment, then your personal injury recovery is limited by the $800.  The $30,000 number can never be presented to a jury.  Sounds outlandish, yet these are not fictional numbers.  This is from an actual case that we tackled.

If faced with the Howell challenge, the victim is already at a disadvantage.  Usually, this is caused by a victim not getting professional legal help early in the game. However, many cases can be salvaged through careful analysis.  For example, the Sanchez case carves out gratuitous medical bill write-offs.  Not all insurance adjusters, unfortunately, are well-informed about the many carve-outs.  We are always glad to provide them with additional legal knowledge, but occasionally, we have no choice but to file a lawsuit.  Once a lawsuit is filed, the case is almost always re-assigned with a different negotiator who is more knowledgeable about the law.

You should discuss your strategy with a legal professional.  Always feel free to call us at 408-890-7925