Collateral Source Legislation Introduced

Assembly Bill 539/Senate Bill 405, introduced by Senator Chris Kapenga (R-Delafield) and Representative Mike Kuglitsch (R-New Berlin), would allow evidence of payments to be submitted as evidence in personal injury or underinsured motorist cases when a jury must decide on the reasonable value of a claim.

Under current law, defendants are not allowed to introduce evidence of payments made to the plaintiff by third parties (collateral sources), except in medical malpractice cases, when determining the “reasonable value” of the medical expenses.

The bill allows the admission of evidence of collateral source payments for rebutting the presumption that billing statements and invoices that are patient health care records state the reasonable value of the health care services provided to the injured person.

The Assembly Committee on the Judiciary held a public hearing for this bill on December 10. The Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety will hold a hearing on Dec. 16.