Page:Montgomery Ward & Co. v. Anderson.pdf/5

Rh ., T L T § 25.22, at p. 651 (2d ed. 1986) as follows:

"But in these cases the courts measure "compensation" by the total amount of the harm done, even though some of it has been repaired by the collateral source, not by what it would take to make the plaintiff whole. It is "compensation" in a purely Pickwickian sense that only half conceals an emphasis on what defendant should pay rather than on what plaintiff should get."

[5, 6] We also noted that the rule had been extended to cases in other areas of the law, such as unemployment compensa.tion received during a period later held to have resulted from a wrongful discharge under the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act. Green Forest v. Herrington, 287 Ark. at 49, 696 S.W.2d at 718. In a later case, East Texas Motor Freight Lines, Inc. v. Freeman, 289 Ark. 539, 713 S.W.2d 456 (1986), a defendant argued that the collateral-source rule was inequitable because it resulted in a windfall to the plaintiff. We disposed of the argument by explaining the policy behind the rule as follows:

"Whether she received the money from her employer or from an insurance policy, she, rather than the alleged tortfeasor, is entitled to the benefit of the collateral source, even though in one sense a double recovery occurs. Vermillion v. Peterson, 275 Ark. 37, 630 S.W.2d 30 (1982). The law rationalizes that the claimant should benefit from the collateral source recovery rather than the tortfeasor, since the claimant has usually paid an insurance premium or lost sick leave, whereas to the tortfeasor it would be a total windfall."

Id. at 548, 713 S.W.2d at 462. That statement of policy and the cases cited favor including discounted and gratuitous medical services within the shelter of the collateral-source rule. There is no evidence of record showing that Montgomery Ward had anything to do with procuring the discount of Ms. Anderson's bill by UAMS. The rationale of the rule favors her, just as it would had she been compensated by insurance for which she had arranged.

Montgomery Ward cites Auto Transports, Inc. v. May, 224 Ark. 704, 275 S.W.2d 767 (1955), as authority that the collateral-source rule allows plaintiffs to introduce evidence only of bills that must actually be paid as the result of the injury inflicted by the