[DV_listserv] Restitution--State must prove medical charges are "reasonable"

[Domestic Violence issues]

>From DOJ's Appellate Division Legal Update:

SENTENCING-RESTITUTION: State must put on evidence to demonstrate that
charges on hospital bill to treat injuries caused by defendant were "reasonable"; it
cannot rely on the bill as evidence of reasonableness.
State v. McClelland, 276 Or App 138, __ P3d __ (2016) (Coos).
Defendant appealed the trial court's restitution award, which followed
defendant's convictions for fourth-degree assault and interfering with a police officer.
He argued that the trial court erred by ordering restitution based solely on a hospital bill
for the victim's knee surgery, without further testimony or evidence that the charges were
reasonable. The state argued that although medical bills alone are insufficient to support
restitution in civil cases, such evidence is sufficient in criminal cases because the criminal
restitution statutes merely require "evidence of the nature and amount of the damages."
See ORS 137.106(1)(a). The trial court (Judge Michael Gillespie) agreed with the state
and ordered defendant to pay restitution in the amount of the hospital bill.
Held: Remanded for resentencing; otherwise affirmed (Shorr, J.).
[1] ORS 137.106(1)(a) allows criminal restitution for "the full amount of the victim's
economic damages." The criminal restitution statute, ORS 137.103(2), defines
"economic damages" based on a definition of that term in a civil statute, ORS
31.710(2)(a), which includes a "reasonableness" requirement for bills for medical and
hospital services. Thus, civil cases holding that medical bills alone do not establish
reasonableness apply to criminal restitution awards for hospital or medical services.
[2] A hospital bill alone is insufficient proof for a criminal restitution award of
"reasonable" hospital or medical services; additional testimony or evidence is required to
establish the reasonableness of such services. [3] Here, the trial court erred by relying on
a medical bill and "common sense" to conclude that the relevant charges were
reasonable.
http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/docs/A157254.pdf




Erin S. Greenawald
Sr. Assistant Attorney General | DA/LE Assistance| Criminal Justice Division
Oregon Department of Justice
2250 McGilchrist Street SE, Suite 100, Salem OR 97302
Main: 503.378.6347 | Desk: 503.934.2024 | Fax: 503.373.1937

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