Lopez v. Daimler Chrysler
At age seven, plaintiff Ruben Lopez suffered permanent brain damage in a rear-end freeway accident. Lopez filed suit against several car manufacturers that produced the car Lopez rode in at the time of the accident. Lopez settled his suit for $2 million. Between the accident and the subsequent settlement, defendant California Department of Health Care Services (Department) paid for Lopezs medical expenses in the amount of $547,680.08. Pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 14124.76, the trial court reduced the Departments lien for medical expenses paid to $63,216.69. The Department appeals, arguing the court improperly placed the burden on it to establish the portion of the settlement that was allocated to medical expenses and erred in reducing the Departments lien. Court shall affirm the judgment.
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