Teh One Who Knocks
01-10-2012, 01:01 AM
By Chris Paschenko - The Daily News
TEXAS CITY — A woman injured in a wreck by a wrong-way driver claims a hospital’s $20,211 fee is unreasonable for four hours of examination and diagnostic tests.
Melissa Torres filed a lawsuit against Mainland Medical Center in Texas City, claiming the hospital increased its bill fivefold and made a claim against her insurance settlement.
League City attorney Kelly Forester filed the lawsuit Dec. 30 in Galveston’s 56th District Court, claiming the bill exceeds a reasonable rate for services.
Messages left with the hospital seeking comment weren’t returned.
Torres, then 23, was injured April 2 in a three-car wreck that involved a wrong-way driver in the 3700 block of FM 1764 in Texas City, according to a police report.
An SUV tried to avoid the wrong-way driver but was sideswiped by his pickup, the police report states. The wrong-way driver then struck another pickup head on.
Torres was a passenger in the second pickup. The police report states none of the five people involved was injured.
The driver could have fallen asleep, police said in noting contributing factors in the crash.
According to Torres’ court filing, her hospital chart showed her total treatment time was 4 hours and 2 minutes.
“She was not admitted as an inpatient, and her treatment consisted of an examination and diagnostic testing,” the filing claims.
The hospital filed a lien on her property in Galveston County, the filing claims.
Torres hired an attorney to file a claim against the wrong-way driver, which settled for the driver’s insurance policy limit of $30,000, the filing claims.
As recently as September, the hospital’s online billing system showed Torres’ balance as $4,850. The hospital’s collection agency sent Torres a bill seeking the $4,850 payment, but when the hospital learned Torres was involved in an automobile wreck, it updated the online billing records to show a balance of $20,211, the filing claims.
The hospital then made a claim to Torres’ accident settlement for the entire $20,211 bill, less a “paltry” 15 percent, or $17,179, the filing claims.
The statute covering a hospital’s right to file a lien to collect bills doesn’t cover charges that exceed a reasonable and regular rate for services.
The bill far exceeds the reasonable and regular rate, the filing claims.
Torres seeks a judgment that the bill should be limited to an amount that is a reasonable rate. She also seeks attorney’s fees.
TEXAS CITY — A woman injured in a wreck by a wrong-way driver claims a hospital’s $20,211 fee is unreasonable for four hours of examination and diagnostic tests.
Melissa Torres filed a lawsuit against Mainland Medical Center in Texas City, claiming the hospital increased its bill fivefold and made a claim against her insurance settlement.
League City attorney Kelly Forester filed the lawsuit Dec. 30 in Galveston’s 56th District Court, claiming the bill exceeds a reasonable rate for services.
Messages left with the hospital seeking comment weren’t returned.
Torres, then 23, was injured April 2 in a three-car wreck that involved a wrong-way driver in the 3700 block of FM 1764 in Texas City, according to a police report.
An SUV tried to avoid the wrong-way driver but was sideswiped by his pickup, the police report states. The wrong-way driver then struck another pickup head on.
Torres was a passenger in the second pickup. The police report states none of the five people involved was injured.
The driver could have fallen asleep, police said in noting contributing factors in the crash.
According to Torres’ court filing, her hospital chart showed her total treatment time was 4 hours and 2 minutes.
“She was not admitted as an inpatient, and her treatment consisted of an examination and diagnostic testing,” the filing claims.
The hospital filed a lien on her property in Galveston County, the filing claims.
Torres hired an attorney to file a claim against the wrong-way driver, which settled for the driver’s insurance policy limit of $30,000, the filing claims.
As recently as September, the hospital’s online billing system showed Torres’ balance as $4,850. The hospital’s collection agency sent Torres a bill seeking the $4,850 payment, but when the hospital learned Torres was involved in an automobile wreck, it updated the online billing records to show a balance of $20,211, the filing claims.
The hospital then made a claim to Torres’ accident settlement for the entire $20,211 bill, less a “paltry” 15 percent, or $17,179, the filing claims.
The statute covering a hospital’s right to file a lien to collect bills doesn’t cover charges that exceed a reasonable and regular rate for services.
The bill far exceeds the reasonable and regular rate, the filing claims.
Torres seeks a judgment that the bill should be limited to an amount that is a reasonable rate. She also seeks attorney’s fees.