The Maritime Collateral-Source Rule used in Maritime Admiralty Law claims to protect the plaintiff or defendant from experiencing a windfall. Variations of this rule are also used quite frequently in personal injury lawsuits.
In general, the Maritime Collateral-Source Rule protects the amount of damages considered recoverable and prevents them from being reduced when the injured party has received compensation from another source other than the defendant.
However, the converse is also applied, using the Maritime Collateral-Source Rule where a defendant cannot have the amount they are required to compensate the plaintiff reduced when they or the plaintiff receives compensation from an outside source.
How the Maritime Collateral-Source Rule Is Applied
In Robert Deperrodil v. Bozovic Marine, Inc., F.3D 2016 WL 6810728, Fifth Circuit Court, November 17, 2016, the court had to determine whether the plaintiff was entitled to receive monetary compensation for the amount billed for medical services or only the actual amounts paid.
The court held that the plaintiff was not entitled to receive the full amount billed. They made this determination because the amount owed for the bills had been reduced either by the insurance company or the healthcare provider.
Essentially, since Deperrodil’s medical bills had been paid through the Longshore Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA), he was not entitled to recover for the amounts billed when the amount paid was less than the billed amount.
The only compensation that he could seek was for any medical bills that were not paid and still due, but only for the amounts due if they were less than the amounts billed.
Conversely, a defendant cannot have the amount they owe for compensation reduced when the plaintiff recovers certain damages from a “collateral” source, which is a source of compensation received from a third-party.
For instance, you are injured and need someone to assist you with daily tasks. Your neighbor volunteers to do this service for free. Your employer could not deduct the monetary value you received from your neighbor’s generosity from the amount of compensation they owed you.
As you can see, the Maritime Collateral-Source Rule is meant to protect both the plaintiff and defendant from experiencing a windfall outside the monetary compensation allowed in maritime injury cases.
To learn more about this rule or to find out if you have grounds for a Maritime Admiralty Law personal injury claim, please feel free to contact Maintenance and Cure at 800-836-5830 to speak with a maritime and offshore injury attorney today!
