Sarah E. Coyne quoted in article "Proposed Rule Change Would Reduce Verdicts, Settlements in Personal-Injury Cases"

Media Mention

On yet another side of the argument, some say the proposed change could prove both a boon and a stumbling block for hospital attorneys, who can find themselves on either end of a personal-injury lawsuit. In one way, said Sarah Coyne, a Madison hospital attorney with Quarles & Brady, the change would reduce damages and thus probably benefit clients whose doctors or employees are defendants in personal-injury suits.

If the client, though, is a hospital that provided medical treatment to the plaintiff, the outcome could be quite different, Coyne said. Plaintiffs’ ability to pay medical bills, for instance, might be impeded if verdicts and settlements were suddenly to become smaller. Moreover, defense lawyers’ newfound ability to introduce collateral source evidence would probably lead to a steep increase in requests for billing information.