Cases

The wife and conservator of a city police officer who suffered brain damage in the course of open heart surgery sued for medical malpractice on behalf of the city police officer. The city, a self-insured workers’ compensation carrier, filed complaint in intervention, seeking to recover from medical malpractice defendants expenses it incurred in providing workers’ compensation benefits to officer.

The trial court granted defendants’ summary judgment motion and the city appealed.

The Supreme Court held that the statute which precludes a “collateral source” which has provided medical expenses or other benefits to a medical malpractice plaintiff from obtaining reimbursement of those expenses from medical malpractice defendant does not violate due process or equal protection.