PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post - Breast Cancer Survivor Jailed over accidental $280 medical bill

mgburg · #9 05-07-2012, 09:55 PM

My X had a workers comp claim.

After MANY YEARS, it finally came down to the judge telling everyone to get their bills together and come on in for a final judgment.

The judgment came, everyone signed off on it and it was filed and that was the end of it...or was it?

Nope...about two years after everything was settled, I get a "bill" that was "apparently overlooked" and not stuck in with the rest of the settlement paperwork.

I explained, "T.S.. You, along with my wife, had to have all this crap before the judge. Shove it and have a nice life."

A few months later, the hospital's Credit-creeps start in.

Told them I was recording the matter and they can take their papers and have a rectal-oragami bleeding-out party with it all.

Then the summons before a small-claims court.

Everyone was instructed to mediate or it's coming back in for a final knock-out.

I choose the knock-out. (It's that damn "principle" thing).

Come the day of...I showed up with all the paperwork from the first and supposedly final order.

The hospital's collection attorney shows up.

Judge asks the attorney what's up.

All he says is since I'm the deep pockets, I'm suppose to pay the bill and since I won't/didn't, then he's entitled to a mulitple award.

Judge asks me what's the deal.

I show him all the paperwork, point out that it was all WC-related and it dealt with the wife only, my insurance NEVER was involved, former judge signed off on it, all parties were pleased/pissed/whatever, but the WC case had finally been closed.

I said that if the hospital can't keep track of their own billing and records, how is ANYTHING ever to be resolved? Furthermore, if they're allowed to re-open and collect on a case that was already resolved, then my wife should be allowed to re-file and seek further treatment should anything else come up that might be related to her original injury.

Judge thought about it for about 1.5 seconds and said something like "Case dismissed, with prejudice in favor of the defendant. Goodbye."

He wacked the gavel and was out of there in 10 seconds (light calendar that day).

The look on the hospital's collection agency attorney's face was priceless.

Me? I was operating on pure andrenaline for the next 20 minutes...I didn't know whether to chit, shave, explode or kick the chit out of that attorney for being so much of an @55hole...

I got over it.

Hospital billing departments and collection agencies are the scourges of the earth.