Steve Laitinen and Hilary Loynes secure significant victory on behalf of amici curiae in Swanson v. Brewster case

In a recent landmark decision from the Minnesota Supreme Court, Steve Laitinen and Hilary Loynes obtained a major victory on behalf of amici curiae Minnesota Joint Underwriting Association and the Insurance Federation of Minnesota. In David Swanson v. Rebecca Brewster, et al., ___ N.W.2d ___, 2010 WL 2605951, Minn., June 30, 2010 (NO. A08-806), the Court ruled that negotiated-discount amounts – amounts a plaintiff is billed by a medical provider but does not pay because the plaintiff’s insurance provider negotiates a discount on the plaintiff’s behalf – are “collateral sources” (and thus not recoverable as damages) for purposes of the collateral-source statute, Minn. Stat. Sec. 548.251 (2008).