(a) After the fact finder has rendered an award to a claimant, and after the court has awarded costs and attorney fees, a defendant may introduce evidence of amounts received or to be received by the claimant as compensation for the same injury from collateral sources that do not have a right of subrogation by law or contract.
Terms Used In Alaska Statutes 09.17.070
action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
state: means the State of Alaska unless applied to the different parts of the United States and in the latter case it includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
(b) If the defendant elects to introduce evidence under (a) of this section, the claimant may introduce evidence of
(1) the amount that the actual attorney fees incurred by the claimant in obtaining the award exceed the amount of attorney fees awarded to the claimant by the court; and(2) the amount that the claimant has paid or contributed to secure the right to an insurance benefit introduced by the defendant as evidence.(c) If the total amount of collateral benefits introduced as evidence under (a) of this section exceeds the total amount that the claimant introduced as evidence under (b) of this section, the court shall deduct from the total award the amount by which the value of the nonsubrogated sum awarded under (a) of this section exceeds the amount of payments under (b) of this section.(d) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, the defendant may not introduce evidence of
(1) benefits that under federal law cannot be reduced or offset;(2) a deceased’s life insurance policy; or(3) gratuitous benefits provided to the claimant.(e) This section does not apply to a medical malpractice action filed under Alaska Stat. Chapter 09.55.(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, if the teachers’ retirement system (Alaska Stat. Chapter 14.25) or the public employees’ retirement system (Alaska Stat. Chapter 39.35) obtains an award of damages or other recovery in compensation for harms caused by the wrongful or negligent conduct of a third party, the award of damages or other recovery is not subject to reduction under this section on account of additional state contributions under Alaska Stat. § 14.25.085 or Alaska Stat. § 39.35.280.
