Must Defendant Present Expert Testimony to Establish 'Written-Down' Medical Bills as True Value of Plaintiff's Injuries?

In Medical Malpractice Case Where Plaintiff Offers Full Medical Bills As Proof of Damages

Larry J. Moretz et al. v. Kamel F. Muakkassa, M.D., et al., Case no. 2012-0797

Ninth District Court of Appeals (Summit County)

ISSUE: In a medical malpractice case where the plaintiff has offered his full medical bills as presumptive evidence of the amount of his damages, is the defendant required to present expert testimony to challenge those amounts by establishing that: 1) the plaintiff's medical service providers accepted less than the amounts they originally billed as full payment for their services based on "write-off" agreements between the providers and the plaintiff's insurance company; and 2) the "written off" amounts actually paid to the providers by the plaintiff's insurer represent the reasonable value of the plaintiff's injuries?