Lagerstrom v. Myrtle Werth Hospital-Mayo Health System

Klover Lagerstrom (plaintiff) sued Myrtle Werth Hospital-Mayo Health System (defendant) for medical malpractice and wrongful death after her husband Vance died from negligent care, presenting evidence his medical expenses totaled $89,000. The circuit court allowed Myrtle to show that Klover's actual out-of-pocket costs were only $755 thanks to write-offs, health insurance, and Medicare payments, even though Medicare had a statutory right to seek reimbursement from any recovery and had told Klover it intended to do so; Klover chose not to join Medicare in the suit but did try to introduce evidence of her reimbursement obligation, which the court excluded. The relevant statute allowed evidence of collateral-source payments without specifying how juries should use it, while separately allowing subrogation claims by third parties like Medicare. The court instructed the jury it could, but wasn't required to, reduce the medical-expense award by the collateral-source amount, and the jury awarded $55,755 total but only $755 for medical expenses; Klover appealed.