In Kent case, jury won't see entire medical bill

The jury in the case of a skateboarder who died on a bike path in Columbia Falls won’t see an entire $153,000 medical bill as evidence.  

Flathead County District Court Judge Robert Allison granted the city’s motion to suppress only the most recent bill because it was submitted late.

Casey Kent, 35, died June 14, 2008, while skateboarding on a steep bike path in the Cedar Pointe Estates subdivision at the south end of Nucleus Avenue and Second Avenue West. His wife, Sara, sued the city of Columbia Falls three years later, claiming the city was negligent in its role overseeing the design and development of the subdivision.

The city of Columbia Falls recently filed a motion with the court to restrain Casey Kent’s medical bills from being used as evidence in the upcoming May 2 trial. The medical bill from Kalispell Regional Medical Center totaling $153,000 was written off as a charity adjustment by the hospital, according to the motion. The city claimed the Kent estate doesn’t have legal liability for the bills since it never made payments on them, and they shouldn’t be submitted to the jury as evidence of damages. 

Kent’s attorney, John Lacey, emailed a 54-page medical bill to the city on March 17, which was several months after the deadline for new evidence. A two-page bill had already entered evidence in November.

Lacey claimed the more detailed bill was sent for the sake of transparency.

Allison wrote in his order that the medical bills are relevant despite the fact they were written off because they provide “evidence of issues such as the nature and severity of the injuries, and of the medical procedures and treatments that were required.”

While Allison ruled that the medical bill write-off cannot be used as evidence in the trial, it can be used post trial for reduction in the award of damages.