Jessica Guadalupe Ramos Alvarez, Individually and as Parent and Natural Guardian of Minor Child, J.Z.R.; and Vicente Paul Zamudio Vazquez, Individually and as Parent and Natural Guardian of Minor Child, J.Z.R. v. Djory Alderson Louis

Summary

The court denies Defendant Djory Alderson Louis’s motion for partial summary judgment concerning Plaintiffs’ claims for medical expenses. It holds that Fla. Stat. § 768.0427 establishes a non-exhaustive framework governing admissible evidence, rather than requiring plaintiffs who did not use health insurance to introduce insurance reimbursement-rate evidence as a prerequisite to recovering medical expenses. The court concludes that Plaintiffs may rely on other admissible evidence, including evidence of reasonable amounts billed.

Holdings

1. Florida Statute § 768.0427 does not require a personal-injury plaintiff who declines to use available health insurance to introduce evidence of what the insurer would have paid in order to maintain a claim for past or future medical expenses.
2. The phrase "shall include, but is not limited to" directs the court regarding admissibility and does not impose on the litigant an exclusive mandatory checklist of evidence necessary to prove damages.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Florida Statute § 768.0427 requires a personal-injury plaintiff who has health insurance but does not use it to introduce evidence of the insurer's reimbursement rates as a prerequisite to recovering past or future medical expenses.
2. Whether the statutory phrase that evidence "shall include, but is not limited to" creates a mandatory burden of production or instead identifies nonexclusive categories of admissible evidence.

Disposition

other