Q: long story short I was an accident when to the hospital. had bills that had to wait to get paid until I received
help please now im on hold with the hospital im trying to get receipts and a call log with the notes that were made on my account i don't know what else to do. why would they serve me AFTER i paid them?
ong story short I was an accident when to the hospital. had bills that had to wait to get paid until i received my settlement. i called upon receiving any bill to let them know we will pay it as soon as we receive the money. until 11/2019 when they told me they had made notes on my account &would no longer have to call with each bill I had received no mention of call their lawyer. fast forward to 2/20/2020 I received a check it took roughly 10 business days to clear. paid the bill in full on 3/5/2020 just received a summons stating they wanted 11500 plus interest and we have 3 days to answer. called the hospital they stated there was no balance and are not sure why we received that summons.what do we do not have a lawyer. we moved 8/2019 address didn' update never received lawyer mail
A:
You probably have more than 3 days to answer. you have 28 days from date you were served with summons to provide answer to hospital's attorney and then must file answer with Court within 3 days of responding to attorney.
The hospital most likely referred the matter to collection attorney who prepared the complaint without verifying amount outstanding.
You have the defense of payment, but you must file an answer in order to assert the defense. Do not ignore or a default judgment will be rendered against you.
Nicholas P. Weiss agrees with this answer
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
