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Olariu v. Marrero

Plaintiff could not recover special damages for past medical expenses that she discharged in bankruptcy.

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On March 1, 1997, Carmen Marrero was injured when the truck in which she was a passenger collided with a vehicle driven by Ovidiu Olariu. She sued Olariu for personal injury and loss of consortium. The jury found for Marrero and awarded damages. On appeal, Olariu challenges Marrero’s recovery of past medical expenses written off by the health care provider or discharged in bankruptcy. Olariu also claims that the trial court erred in charging the jury on lost earnings, and by failing to grant his motion notwithstanding the verdict on the issue of lost earnings. For reasons set forth below, we reverse the trial court’s ruling allowing Marrero to recover medical expenses previously discharged in bankruptcy, but otherwise affirm.

1. The jury awarded Marrero $36,620.20 in past medical expenses.1 To show medical costs, Marrero introduced a bill for her initial treatment at the Gwinnett County Medical Center in the amount of $21,770.42. Before the trial, Olariu deposed a medical center employee who testified that Marrero’s $21,770.42 bill had been partially written off by the hospital and that $1,500 remained payable by Marrero. Marrero filed a motion in limine to exclude the deposition. The trial court found that the reduction of Marrero’s hospital bill was equivalent to a recovery from a collateral source, and excluded from evidence any reference to the hospital’s write-off of Marrero’s initial medical bill.

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