Davis

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff and respondent Jason Craig Davis (plaintiff) suffered catastrophic physical injuries after falling from a freeway overpass. Appellant, the California Department of Health Care Services (Department), through the Medi-Cal program, funded plaintiff’s medical care following the accident and expects to do so for the foreseeable future. Plaintiff initiated the present suit again his psychiatrist and a psychiatric hospital alleging, among other things, that their negligence caused or contributed to the accident. They settled and the Department asserted reimbursement liens against plaintiff’s settlement proceeds. The issue before us relates to the method a trial court should use to calculate the allowable amount of such a lien when the injured-party plaintiff is expected to receive virtually all future medical care through the Medi-Cal program. As we explain, the trial court erred by failing to apply the methodology adopted in Aguilera v. Loma Linda University Medical Center (2015) 235 Cal.App.4th 821 (Aguilera). We therefore reverse and remand for further proceedings.

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BACKGROUND: MEDI-CAL LIENS

We recently explained the intricacies of Medicaid, a federal…