On Thursday a complaint was filed in the Eastern District of Michigan by Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama. The case is regarding a subrogation action filed by Blue Cross Blue Shield and Allstate’s demand for declaratory judgment on this liability.
The billings in this case are regarding the medical treatment of patient Tamara Webster, who was allegedly involved in a motor vehicle incident where she was walking in the parking deck of a hospital while pulling a small wagon and a negligent driver struck the wagon, which impacted her leg and caused injury. Webster had previously filed suit against Allstate, her motor vehicle coverage, and obtained a court order that Allstate would indemnify her regarding any subrogation action regarding medical costs.
Webster had also received other injuries, including a prior motor vehicle accident that caused damage to her back, prior injuries to the leg that was injured in the wagon accident, a prior surgery on the leg that was injured during the wagon accident, and other conditions. She received further medical treatment for these conditions, for which bills were incurred in the amount of $111,351.01. BCBS has now sought to subrogate these bills to Allstate, indicating that they are related to the parking lot wagon accident. While Allstate acknowledges the court order to indemnify Webster, Allstate disputes the characterization of the treatment as being related to the parking lot wagon accident, indicating that there is documentation of the injuries being treated being related to the other incidents and that there was no immediate treatment required for the wagon accident.
The plaintiffs seek declaratory judgment that there is no duty to provide indemnification for these charges. Allstate is being represented by the firm Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney.
