Two customers of Blue Shield have sued the insurance company for its failure to provide some prosthetic limbs to its customers. The plaintiffs are asking that the court make the lawsuit a class action.
The plaintiffs are men who both lost their legs in automobile accidents and have insurance provided by Blue Shield. One of the plaintiffs had his request for a prosthetic limb denied. The other plaintiff was forced to go to an out-of-network prosthetists to have a limb made, which resulted in large out-of-pocket expenses for him.
The plaintiffs are seeking to certify the lawsuit as a class action, which would allow them to represent the interests of many individuals who have had similar issues with Blue Shield. They are asking that the court certify two classes: (1) all people covered under Blue Shield of California non-ERISA health plans whose requests for microprocessor-controlled foot prostheses have been or will be denied because they are “investigational”, and (2) all people covered under Blue Shield non-ERISA health plans whose requests for prosthetic lower limb devices were paid by Blue Shield to out-of-network providers.
In order to certify a lawsuit as a class action, the plaintiffs must show that there are numerous members of the potential class, that all members can be ascertained, that common questions of law and fact exist as to all members of the class, that the plaintiffs’ claims are typical of the claims of other class members, that the plaintiffs will fairly protect the interest of the members and have competent and experienced attorneys, that if the lawsuit is not a class action there could be inconsistent verdicts with various cases, and that Blue Shield has acted similarly with respect to all class members.
This case as well as several others are pending, and all are seeking to be class action lawsuits. If you are a customer of an insurance company, and that company has failed to provide coverage for your prosthesis, call me, Conal Doyle, personal injury attorney, at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation on your case.