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Jury finds Humana was solely motivated by financial concerns

January 28, 2002

On January 21, 2002 the over six year struggle to secure the rights for his severely disabled cerebral palsy child concluded when Mark Chipps settled his lawsuit against the managed care giant, Humana for $2.2 Million.

Chipps struggle to protect his daughter's health care rights started in 1995 when the Chipps insurer, Humana, terminated Caitlyn Chipps from its Medical Case Management program without any justification and in complete violation of its own policies and procedures. Humana's actions left Caitlyn without desperately needed life sustaining therapies.

Throughout the over five years of litigation Humana refused to turn over its internal documents. As a result, over 150 motions were filed with the Court. Eventually, because of Humana's refusal to comply with numerous Court orders requiring it to turn over documents the trial court struck Humana's pleadings. Humana appealed the default ruling to the Appellate and the Florida Supreme Court. Both appeals were denied.

In December of 1999 a Palm Beach County Jury heard 4 weeks of trial testimony and examined Humana's internal documents and concluded that Humana's conduct was motivated solely by financial concerns. Evidence established that Humana believed that the catastrophically ill children in its program were costing Humana too much money and as a result Humana made the unilateral decision to terminate Caitlyn, as well as over 100 other catastrophically ill children from the program. Humana estimated that by terminating the catastrophically ill children from its Medical Case Management program it would save $78.48 million. The jury punished Humana for this conscious indifference to these children and awarded $78.5 million in punitive damages. The jury also awarded the Chipps over $1 million in breach of contract and intentional infliction of emotional distress damages.

Humana's conduct was summed up by the findings of Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge James T. Carlisle, who after hearing weeks of evidence, wrote: "The clear and convincing evidence establishes that the defendant's conduct was particularly reprehensible, flagrant, deliberate and intentional. It exhibited a reckless disregard for human life and health, a conscious indifference to the suffering of the children Humana insured. Its conduct warrants a substantial punitive damage award. The verdict appropriately expresses the outrage on the part of the jury at the greed and arrogance of the defendant, and the result of it's conduct - actual and threatened physical and emotional injury to catastrophically ill children whose care and treatment Humana had contractually assumed and then abandoned."

The Chipps verdict was the second largest managed care verdict in U.S. history and the punitive damage award was the largest individual punitive damage award in Florida history.

Humana appealed the jury verdict and in the fall of 2001 Florida's 4th District Court of Appeals overturned the jury's decision and remanded the case for a new trial on technical grounds and on damages only. The liability judgment was not disturbed.

Faced with a threat by Humana that it would drag the litigation on for at least another six years and having realized the strain it would place on his daughter's mental and physical well being, Mark Chipps decided his duty to his child warranted settling the case at this time.
Chipps v. Humana was a landmark case that awakened the nation to the outrageous and disingenuous conduct of managed care companies, particularly Humana. What Chipps uncovered in 6 1/2 years of litigation laid the foundation for the National Managed Care Class Action Lawsuit presently being litigated in Federal Court in Miami.

It is Mark Chipps hope that the National Managed Care Class Action lawsuit will carry the torch for others who have been mistreated by the health care industry and that some day Americans will finally be able to receive the "medically necessary" care to which they are entitled.

Attorney Edward M. Ricci in the law firm of Edward M. Ricci, P.A., has specialized in civil trial law for more than 34 years. The firm is headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida at 515 N. Flagler Avenue, Suite 400. Mr. Ricci can be contacted at (561) 842-2820. Additional information about Edward M. Ricci, P.A. may be obtained from the firm's website at www.edriccilaw.com.
 

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