Who's Swallowing the "Bitter Pill"?: Reforming Write-Offs in the State of Washington

Washington’s application of the collateral source rule permits recovery for medical expenses that were never incurred and have no relationship to their market value. This application is set forth in Hayes v. Wieber Enterprises, Inc., where the plaintiff sued a restaurant for injuries she sustained from falling down the restaurant’s basement stairs. Why should the collateral source rule compel the defendant in Hayes to pay the original amount billed, $5,800, when the physician accepted $3,300 as payment in full? Is not $3,300 the reasonable or market value of the medical services provided to the plaintiff?

This Comment discusses whether Washington should amend its application of the collateral source rule to disallow the recovery of write-offs and whether the amount accepted as payment in full by a medical provider is the reasonable or market value of the services provided.