Hospital bill Judgement

by Linda
(Georgia)

My husband had a heart attack 1 1/2 years ago had no health insurance and was laid off from his job shortly after. He found work but is self employed and is not supposed to work anymore than 7 hours a day. The hospital would not accept the payment we could afford and are now suing him for the full amount of $21,000 plus interst of $8,000. The debt was in his name only, but I am afraid they can take my money as well. I work part time as an Office Manager 3 days a week. He was on unemployment for 6 months last year and we could barley make ends meet. Can they seize our bank account and garnish my wages as well. I feel his only recourse is to file bankrupcy, since he can't afford to pay that kind of debt. We are both 60 years old this year and unfortunately I don't know what to do.

Comments for Hospital bill Judgement

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May 12, 2010
 Hospital Bill Judgment
by: Mary

So sorry to learn about your financial struggles. Unfortunately we hear similar stories all too often these days.

If you are being sued for your husband's medical debt, you need to consult with an attorney right away. It's important that you not try to represent yourself in the lawsuit, that you file a response to the lawsuit, and that you appear in court on the date of the hearing related to the lawsuit. I suggest that you either set up an appointment with a consumer law attorney in your area with experience in debt collection cases. Find out how to get FREE or low cost legal advice about debt collection from a consumer law attorney here.

If you don't show up in court on the day of the hearing, the judge will give the medical provider a default judgment against you for the amount of money that you've been sued for; but if you show up and your attorney explains your situation, even though you may still end up with a judgment against you, the judge may show compassion, especially since you did offer to pay at least some of your outstanding debt, and order you to less than the full amount that you owe.

If the medical provider gets a judgment against you, it would be able to go after the money in your bank account and could put liens on assets that you owe. Given that the debt is in your husband's name only, I do not think that the provider could garnish your wages, but I am not an attorney so you should talk with an attorney to be sure.

I also suggest that you consult with a bankruptcy attorney immediately given the state of your finances. Click here for a free consultation with a bankruptcy attorney.

Please share what happens with your situation in the comments section for this question. We are very interested in hearing how this turns out for you, and your experience can help others who are facing struggles like yours.
Sep 05, 2015
 Hospital under 300.00
by: Ann

Insurance paid all my medical bill except for 300.00 I was making small payment until I taken ill again balance is now under 300.00 . Collection agency sent me a letter stating amount due 330.00 and be filing a judgment within 30 days what should I do.

Reply from DebtCollectionAnswers.com

We're sorry we weren't able to respond to your message sooner. As we explain in our ebook, making a small payment on a past due debt doesn't stop a debt from being sent to collections or for for them to sue to collect the balance. We explain your options which you can download here at no charge. We hope it helps!
Nov 01, 2015
 help with hospital bill
by: Anonymous

I have old hospital bill from 2004 and 2005 in which I got garnished for since April of this year until sept I'm guessing they didn't get the amount they wanted so they just sent me another garnishment paper for the same bill .Is there any thing I can do about it? And also is it legal for them to take to separate bills together to make one?

Reply from DebtCollectionAnswers.com

It sounds like you were sued for this debt and the creditor obtained a judgment against you. We can't comment on whether it was legal for them to combine the bills but if there is already a judgment then it will likely be difficult to challenge it at this point. (The time to raise an issue with something like that is usually when they sue you and you appear in court.)

At this point you have two options. One would be to hire a consumer law attorney to review the situation. But our guess is that you probably don't have the money for that. (You could try Legal Aid, and we would recommend you at least try that route.)

The other option is to talk with a bankruptcy attorney to see whether it makes sense to try to wipe this debt out in bankruptcy.

We hope you are able to put this behind you.

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