class actions

Many auto accident victims struggle not only to recover from their physical injuries, but also to deal with excessive medical bills. Georgia hospitals frequently file “liens” against accident victims’ potential personal injury claims in order to ensure their bills get paid. But the actual amount of these bills can vary wildly, especially when the victim lacks health insurance.

Bowden v. Medical Center, Inc.

In 2011, an uninsured woman named Danielle Bowden was injured in an auto accident. She subsequently received care at The Medical Center, Inc., (TMC) in Muscogee County. Bowden had no health insurance at the time, and TMC billed her over $21,000 for her treatment. TMC then filed a hospital lien against Bowden’s potential recovery against the other driver who caused her accident.

Class actions allow multiple individuals who suffered a common personal injury to file a single lawsuit against a defendant or group of defendants. Typically, the plaintiffs who file the class action decide whether or not to bring their case in state or federal court. But in some cases, the defendants may force the “removal” of a class action from state to federal court.

A 2005 law, the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA), permits defendants to do this. CAFA provides for removal when there are more than 100 plaintiffs in the class, the amount they seek is more than $5 million, and at least one plaintiff is a resident of a different state than at least one of the defendants. However, removal is not allowed when the class action arises from “an event or occurrence in the State in which the action was filed, and that allegedly resulted in injuries in that State or in States contiguous to that State.”

Spencer v. Specialty Foundry Products Inc.

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