Evidence that some medical charges were written off, then, is squarely barred by the collateral-source rule. Defendants contend that the rule's scope was narrowed by Dedmon v. Steelman, No. W2015-1462-COA-R9-CV, 2016 WL 3219070 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2016). The Tennessee Hospital Lien Act allows hospitals to place a lien on patients for the medical costs not paid by insurers, as long as those costs are reasonable and necessary. TENN. CODE ANN. ยง 29-22-101(a).
Id. at 1040; see also Smith v. Lopez-Miranda, 165 F. Supp. 3d 689, 691 (W.D. Tenn. 2016) (holding that, pursuant to West, "undiscounted hospital charges do not constitute evidence of 'reasonable and necessary' medical expenses"); Keltner v. United States, No. 2:13-cv-2840-STA-dkv, 2015 WL 3688461, at *4 (W.D. Tenn. June 12, 2015) (concluding that non-discounted medical bills were "not an 'expense' because [they] were not 'expended' or even 'incurred'") (citing Howell, 257 P.3d at 1138). Thereafter, in Dedmon v. Steelman, the Tennessee Court of Appeals considered whether the holding in West applied in personal injury actions. No. W2015-01462-COA-R9-CV, 2016 WL 3219070 (Tenn. Ct. App. June 2, 2016), perm. app. granted (Oct. 21, 2016). The court of appeals acknowledged that trial courts had "reached opposite conclusions as to the impact of West on Tennessee tort law."
J & M, Inc. v. Cupples, No. E2004-01328-COA-R3-CV, 2005 Tenn.App. LEXIS 301, at *7, 2005 WL 1190704 (Tenn. Ct. App. May 20, 2005) (citing Jackson v. City of Cookeville, 31 F.3d 1354, 1359 (6th Cir. 1994)). Dedmon v. Steelman, No. W2015-01462-COA-R9-CV, 2016 WL 3219070, at *11 (Tenn.Ct.App. June 2, 2016) ("Defendants are permitted to offer proof contradicting the reasonableness of the medical expenses. . . . However, in doing so, they must not run afoul of the collateral source rule."). Keltner, 2015 WL 3688461, at *4 (quoting Howell v. Hamilton Meats & Provisions, Inc., 52 Cal.4th 541, 129 Cal.Rptr.3d 325, 257 P.3d 1130, 1133 (2011)); see also Hall v. USF Holland, Inc., 152 F.Supp.3d 1037, 1041 (W.D. Tenn., 2016).
(ECF No. 66 at 1, 5-6.) Plaintiffs further refer to the recent decision of the Court of Appeals of Tennessee in Dedmon v. Steelman, No. W2015-01462-COA-R9-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. June 2, 2016), which held that the West holding does not extend to personal injury cases. (ECF No. 89 at 2.)