San Diego

Quadriplegic Kip Hayes, 25, who was crippled in a 1976 high school football game, may have to be hospitalized before his insurance carrier will pay all of his medical costs, according to his attorney. A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the carrier only had to pay $10,000 annually for home nursing care. Hayes had sued the carrier to force it to continue to pay for all of his nursing care, which totals about $170,000 a year. But U.S. District Judge Leland Nielsen ruled that the carrier, the National League of Postmasters, only had to pay $10,000 annually, which is the maximum allowed by the benefit package. Rick Bove, one of Haye’s lawyers, said that Nielsen’s ruling meant that Hayes would probably have to be hospitalized because the insurance covers all of Hayes’ care costs only while he is in a hospital. Total hospitalization costs for Hayes is about $500,000 a year, according to Bove, who argued that providing out of hospital care for Hayes actually reduced costs. Hayes was injured while playing for Mount Helix High School in a game with Granite Hills High School and was covered under his father’s insurance policy.