Beating Victim Accuses Dodgers of Fraud

LOS ANGELES (CN) - The San Francisco Giants fan brutally beaten at Dodger Stadium claimed in court Monday that the Dodgers profited from the $3.4 million lien for the cost of his treatment for brain damage, by paying about half that amount to buy the debt.

Bryan Michael Stow's family was awarded $18 million after Louie Sanchez and Marvin Norwood beat Stow nearly to death outside Dodgers stadium in March 2011. The jury found the Dodgers were partly negligent for the attack, which the family blamed on inadequate security.

On Monday, Stow's parents, Elizabeth Ann Stow and Dave Stow, filed another lawsuit on their son's behalf, claiming Anthem Blue Cross, their son's then-employer Envision and the Dodgers "conspired" to deny him the live-in care that was helping him rehabilitate from brain damage.

During Stow's trial, the Dodgers, through defendant ACE Casualty Insurance, acquired Anthem's $3.4 million lien for Stow's treatment, the parents say.

But the team's owners paid only $1.8 million for the medical lien, then credited Stow for the full $3.4 million, according to the complaint.

The Stows presented the $3.4 million figure to the jury and said in the lawsuit that had they not been kept in the dark they could have negotiated for a reduced rate on the lien.

A year after the attack, the former paramedic resided at the live-in facility in Bakersfield called the Centre for Neuro Skills. He received healthcare insurance through his employer Envision, which operates through American Medical Response, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit claims that Stow was receiving around-the-clock care, and physical, occupational and speech therapy five days a week. Anthem and Envision had told Stow he would receive adequate care under his policy, his parents say.

That was until April 2013, when Anthem Blue Cross allegedly refused to pay for the care Stow needed to rehabilitate, forcing him to leave the center.

"As a result, plaintiff has suffered serious regression in his rehabilitation," the 14-page complaint states.

The parents say Stow was denied coverage and then received 30 hours of physical therapy per year, plus 10 hours of occupational and speech therapy.

While he was at the Centre for Neuro Skills, Stow could walk 200 feet with a walker without breaks, his parents say.

"Plaintiff's parents currently have a difficult time transporting him to and from physical therapy as well as helping plaintiff with his at home physical therapy exercises," the lawsuit states.

After the Dodgers purchased the lien, neither Anthem nor Envision notified Stow about the sale of the medical lien, the parents claim.

"ACE and Defendant Los Angeles Dodgers, LLC now seek to profit off of plaintiff's inadequate medical care," the complaint states.

The Stows seek restitution, damages for breach of contract, breach of faith, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment and tortious interference with life expectancy.

Named defendants are Anthem Blue Cross Life and Health Insurance, ACE Casualty Insurance and Property, Los Angeles Dodgers and their associated companies Blue Landco and LA Real Estate.

The Stows are represented by Thomas Girardi with Girardi Keese.

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