Ray Escandon v. Cincinnati Insurance Company, et al.

District Court, D. Arizona·Decided December 18, 2025·No. 4:24-cv-00355·Unknown

Opinion

WO

Ray Escandon, No. CV-24-00355-TUC-JCH

Plaintiff, ORDER

v.

Cincinnati Insurance Company, et al.,

Defendants. Before the Court is Defendant Cincinnati Insurance Company’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (“Motion”) (Doc. 23). The matter is fully briefed (Docs. 23, 25, 26, 31, and 32), and the Court heard oral argument on June 25, 2025 (Doc. 30). The Court will deny the Motion. I. Factual Background1 In 2009, Plaintiff Ray Escandon suffered a back injury and underwent discectomy surgery. (Doc. 24 at 4.) Over a decade later, on March 1, 2021, Plaintiff was working for Curb Services, Inc. as a concrete finisher when he lifted a concrete mixer and re-injured his back. (Id.; Doc. 26-1 at 16.) In April 2021, Plaintiff filed a workers’ compensation (“WC”) claim with his employer for his industrial injury. (Doc. 24 at 5.) Between March and June, Plaintiff visited various medical providers, including Dr. Matthew Wilson, for treatment and reported worsening back pain radiating into his left leg.2 (See Doc. 26 1 The parties filed a Stipulated Statement of Facts (Doc. 24). Thus, the facts are undisputed unless otherwise noted. 2 In Plaintiff’s Response, he contends he did not receive “any medical care from March 1, at 71–8; Doc. 26-1 at 21–52.) On June 11, Plaintiff was rear-ended while working for Curb Services and driving a vehicle insured by Defendant under a business auto policy. (Doc. 24 at 1–2.) The at-fault driver fled the scene and has not been identified. (Id. at 1–2.) Although this accident happened while Plaintiff was working, Plaintiff apparently never filed a WC claim for the injuries he now claims this motor vehicle accident caused. (See id. at 2.) On August 17, Dr. Wilson performed discectomy surgery on Plaintiff. (Id. at 5.) The WC insurer, a subsidiary of Defendant, accepted Plaintiff’s WC claim for benefits on May 5, 2022. (Doc. 24 at 5; Doc. 26-1 at 2.) Plaintiff testified during WC proceedings that he continued to experience low back pain and left leg numbness after his surgery and was receiving medical treatment for his symptoms. (Doc. 26-1 at 16.) As of March 2023, Plaintiff and the WC insurer had agreed Plaintiff’s medical condition was stationary with an unscheduled permanent disability, and the Arizona Industrial Commission (“AIC”) had awarded Plaintiff supportive care for pain management. (Doc. 26-1 at 15, 19–20.) The medical expenses for the discectomy, pain management, and related services were billed to and fully covered by the WC insurer. (Doc. 24 at 5–6.)3 On June 10, 2024, Plaintiff filed his Complaint in state court making an Uninsured Motorist (“UM”) claim against Defendant. (Doc. 1 at 1; Doc. 1-3 at 4.) On July 17, Defendant removed the Complaint to this Court under 28 U.S.C. § 1446(a). (Doc. 1 at 1–2.) The Complaint alleges the June 11, 2021 car accident aggravated his March 1, 2021 industrial injury. (Doc. 25 at 1.) Here, Plaintiff claims as damages medical expenses

2021, to June 11, 2021,” and “all of his treatment is after the subject motor vehicle collision.” (Doc. 25 at 3.) But the medical records provided by Defendant in Reply contradict this contention. (See Doc. 26-1 at 21–52.) The Court assumes Plaintiff will not be seeking to recover in this case for any medical expenses related to treatment he received before the motor vehicle accident occurred on June 11, 2021. 3 The Court granted Defendant leave to file the Motion early in the discovery process with the understanding that the issue to be presented was purely legal. (Doc. 19.) Presently, the record only contains the AIC’s March 2023 WC award. (Doc. 26-1 at 14–20.) As the briefing developed, a dispute surfaced over whether the WC insurer paid the same amount billed by the medical providers or negotiated a lesser amount which the providers accepted as payment in full. (See Doc. 25 at 8–9.) The Court need not make a finding on this factual issue to rule on the Motion. already covered by the WC insurer (“Subject Medical Expenses”).4 (Doc. 24 at 5–6.) II. The Motion (Doc. 23) On April 4, 2025, Defendant filed the Motion seeking partial summary judgment to bar Plaintiff from “double recovery of certain medical expenses in this lawsuit.” (Doc. 23 at 1.) Defendant argues the auto policy’s terms and conditions preclude the recovery. (Id. at 4–7.) In Response, Plaintiff asserts he is not seeking double recovery, but the “full measure of his damages for his UM claim.” (Doc. 25 at 4.) Plaintiff alleges the motor vehicle accident “aggravated” his existing WC injury and he is “entitled to a full measure of his reasonable and necessary medical expenses in an action against the unidentified driver, even if a portion of those expenses were paid by . . . [WC] insurance.” (Id. at 5–6.) In Reply, Defendant argues Plaintiff can only obtain one recovery for medical expenses under Arizona law and Plaintiff lacks standing to recover for the Subject Medical Expenses under A.R.S. § 23-1023. (Doc. 26 at 2–3, 4–5.) On June 25, the Court held oral argument. (Doc. 30.) Plaintiff argued § 23-1023—which allows one year for an injured party to pursue claims against a third-party who “aggravates” a previous industrial injury—does not apply to UM claims; rather, the statute only applies to claims against third parties. Plaintiff also argued the correct approach to avoid double recovery here is for Plaintiff to seek the full invoiced amount of the Subject Medical Expenses as damages against the UM insurer and then for the WC insurer to assert a lien on the UM recovery amounts already paid on the WC claim. Plaintiff confirmed the Subject Medical Expenses were fully covered by the WC insurer. However, Plaintiff speculated that the WC insurer likely paid only a fraction of the invoiced amounts and so Plaintiff’s potential recovery here for the Subject Medical Expenses exceeds the potential WC lien. Defendant argued § 23-1023 is an absolute bar to recovery for any medical expenses covered by the WC insurer. Defendant’s argument goes that because the UM insurer steps

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Ray Escandon v. Cincinnati Insurance Company, et al., (D. Ariz. 2025).

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