The Spring 2012 edition of the Federalist Society’s State Court Docket Watch features an article authored by Hamilton Consulting’s Andrew Cook. The article, Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules Plaintiffs Entitled to Receive “Phantom Damages,” provides an in-depth analysis of the high court’s unanimous decision in Orlowski v. State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co.

Part I of the article begins with a discussion of previous Wisconsin Supreme Court decisions applying the collateral source rule in personal injury cases where the plaintiff’s medical expenses were written off by the medical provider. Part II concludes by discussing the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s latest decision in Orlowski, which extends the collateral source rule to underinsured motorist claims.