Daughter being sued by ca for medical bills

[copperarab]

I have tried reading some posts here but am just so darned confused. My 19 yr old daughter was served today at work. It is a summons/suit by a collection agency here in Tulsa (one of the biggest i believe). It states she is to 'File a written answer in the court within 20 days from service' (along with a copy mailed to the attorney for the plaintiff)

The petition states her owing $1,155.73 in medical bills from 4 different medical places. The Plaintiff prays for a judgement against the defendant in the sum of $1,155.73 plus interest from date of judgement at 5.38%, costs accrued and accruing, plus attorneys fees of not less than $440.00.

I do know that one of the bills for $319.53 dated 02/12/03 was when she was still pregnant and only 17 yrs old. The other three were in 6/03 when she had just turned 18. All 4 are legit.

She did pay on some bills. She was covered under my husbands insurance until she gave birth 1 week before her 18th birthday., but after that, did not have any insurance at all.

She is working parttime as a waitress plus attends college partime. She only makes @ $50-$60 per week plus tips. She drives an old 1990 car that is hers but doesnt have any other assets.

What is the first step? I know she needs to file an answer but WHAT actually is an answer?

Anybody with an example?

Thanks bunches..

Fretting Mom~GRrrrr..

[Chancy949]

Chase?

Wanna take this one?

You have local help, don't worry.

[Guest]

You need to find out which bills took place when she was in fact 17 and which ones she incurred after she was 18.

Usually if she was not 18 she canniot be held legally responsible for those debts.

Also.. did she have any medical coverage at all during that time?

She may be getting sued for bills and remaining balances that the doctors should have written off. It is becoming more common than not for doctors and hospitals to try and collect on the charges they are supposed to discount for insurance.

Make sure to state you need strict proof of the charges. Make them provide them in court. You can state that you are unsure if those are truly legit debts.

Then DV the attorney right away. I sent my DV letter to the court AND to the lawyers when I was sued. They sent me crap for validation and then dismissed the case.

Listen to what the others here on the board might have to say as they are far smarter than I.

Lotsa luck

[Recovering Attorney]

why is it she didn't apply for Medicaid or whatever medical help OK provides for the workiong poor?

She might be able to get the first one dismissed becasue she was a minor. Of course, if the CA is assiduous, they will come after you as her parents.

Are you sure some of these bills aren't covered by insurance? Maybe the provider simply negelcted to try to collect from the insurance co.

It sounds like she is not denying the debts, just she can't pay them. She should answer the complaint, in which she admits or denies the paragraphed allegations, and adds what defenses she might have. She might be able to get the plaintiff's lawyers to take stipulated payments, i.e., she pay them $30-50 a month til she pays it off, all interest and fees capped. Fight on the fees, that is a lot for this amount and the smoall amount of work the lawyer has done.

Do the answer, get it served/sent, and consider a payoff plan to present. If the lawyer balks, don't worry, try to get in front of a judge who might help her.

[copperarab]

You need to find out which bills took place when she was in fact 17 and which ones she incurred after she was 18.

Usually if she was not 18 she canniot be held legally responsible for those debts.

Also.. did she have any medical coverage at all during that time?

She may be getting sued for bills and remaining balances that the doctors should have written off. It is becoming more common than not for doctors and hospitals to try and collect on the charges they are supposed to discount for insurance.

Make sure to state you need strict proof of the charges. Make them provide them in court. You can state that you are unsure if those are truly legit debts.

Then DV the attorney right away. I sent my DV letter to the court AND to the lawyers when I was sued. They sent me crap for validation and then dismissed the case.

Thanks for your quick answers..both of you!

I have her thick file right here with me. She actually has many more bills that appear not to be included as yet with this suit. Most were when she was 17 yrs old. She applied for state medicaid when she was 6 months pregnant, but was immediately found out that she was still under my husbands insurance, they {state} said we would have to use his insurance first. The female doctor she chose ended up not accepting medicaid to cover above and beyond what my hubbys insurance would cover. We didnt know this until several visits and bills were coming in. Because it was considered a 'high risk' pregnancy, ultrasounds at $300 a whack were being done EVERY week!

I know that the baby was on medicaid after her birth (3/24/03) and believe my daughter was also for a short time. They both live with me now. As I have guardianship of my granddaughter, she alone is on my husbands insurance.

Right now we are going thru the state child support system trying to get support from the natural father. Papers state that he is responsible for half of all medical where the child is concerned...birth and pregnancy. Slow process tho...

Thanks again... How does one dv a court? does it get filed in person and where? LOL!!

19 days to go...

[copperarab]

<<<She might be able to get the first one dismissed becasue she was a minor. Of course, if the CA is assiduous, they will come after you as her parents.

Are you sure some of these bills aren't covered by insurance? Maybe the provider simply negelcted to try to collect from the insurance co.

Hi and thanks Recovering Attorney. She was on medicaid for a short time also...but as I stated in my above reply, her doctor didnt accept medicaid.

Hubby and I paid several hundred in bills from the hospital during her pregnancy, that which insurance didnt cover. At that time, the bills came in our name...yikes!

[divemedic]

First, in most states minors who are pregnant are considered emancipated for any decisions which affect the unborn child, or the child once it is born.

Especially if the suit is the initial communication, you can DV them. This amount of money is significant enough that I would consider an attorney. Most areas have some sort of legal aid, where pro-bono attorneys assist low income people. Have you tried that?

[Recovering Attorney]

If teh bills are for the child's care, I would have your daughter implead the father. That is, she sues him for his part of the bills. The suits would then be joined, so teh caption looks like Them vs. You vs. Him. This gives the plaintiff the chance to include the father in the lawsuit directly, and this gives your daughter more leverage to negotiate a settlement.

You need to answer the complaint, Don't let this go to default. Then, ask for discovery, meaning you want all the bills, statements, invoices, payment ledgers, etx, which shows how they came to teh amount claimed and where your daughter is responsible for fees and such.

If the amount is significant, or you don't think she is up to it, go see a lawyer. Most hate to be on the debtor'es end of a collection suit, but if you tell him you want help woth a pleading and discovery, you can probably get it done for $500 or less with a sympathetic lawyer. Call teh bar assn in your county or state, look for a referral. See if there is a pro bono panel.

[c m chase]

It doesn't sound like the puds I'm dealing with...they always give 35 days to answer the suit. It's (the law firm) not LB&N is it? Who is the CA? What county are you in?

Like R.A. said, you have to file an answer. If you want an example let me know. What are the statements on your Petition? That'll help us figure out what you should answer.

Is the summons your first communication with them? If so, did they put a mini miranda in the summons?

It's not easy to find a lawyer...not even IN Tulsa (you're in Skiatook, right?). But you can certainly try. There are examples of everything you need all over the net, though, if you can't find one. Plus, there's tons of people to help.

No frets...we'll get this at least answered and help you figure out what you DO need to pay.

[copperarab]

LOL!! Okay you guys/gals...you have my head spinning!

divemedic...This is the first letter from this attorney/ca. There ARE bills from the collection agency..I have most of them, and my daughter did have payment arrangements at one time. Her job doesnt pay well, so there came a day when it came to either keep insurance (liability) on her car and pay for gas and such...OR pay the ca...you know what I told her to do by this latest dilemna. <sigh>

There is no way we can afford an attorney for this. I am still paying the thousands it cost me for lawyers to handle my Guardianship and modifications of the guardianship case. I will look into legal aid and pro bono attorneys though.

Recovering Attorney....I am sure it costs to sue the father. There is no way he would pay a dime otherwise. We just finished Larceny, Concealing stolen items, and Violations of Protective Orders against this guy. He is on probation with 4 yrs deffered sentencing over his head right now. I just filed another police report last night against the father for larceny of my granddaughters sterling silver earrings plus items he has that he refuses to return that belong to me and the baby. I had to mail out a limited Power Of Attorney to the child support agency yesterday so I can push the child support case, whereas the state is trying to make him pay plus arrears AND a portion of the medical bills. He was unemployed most of last year, his probation officer told me yesterday that he is now a dishwasher at some restaurant.

CM CHASE I now live here in Tulsa at 5th pl and Yale...no longer in Skiatook! Parted with the farm/horses/chickens/ducks/etc..

The lawfirm is Jacobus,Enlow & Assocoates..the CA is Tulsa Adjustment Bureau, Inc.

The petition states a bunch of wording I wrote in an earlier post in this thread, plus orders the OK Employment Commission to produce employment info for the proceeding 4 quarters from my daughter.

As for mini mirandum..on the first page it states that she may seek an attorney blah blah blah, the actual petion states at the bottom "This is an attempt to collect a debt. Any information obtained will be used for that purpose"

The third page is an affidavit of account from the CA with the account numbers, hospital/doctors names and the amounts, signed and notarized by a notary public.

Hey cm...do you have any examples of the ;answer; letter?

Thanks to you all!

[c m chase]

CM CHASE I now live here in Tulsa at 5th pl and Yale...no longer in Skiatook! Parted with the farm/horses/chickens/ducks/etc..

We just live a few blocks from each other now. I'm on 8th & Yale/Harvard!

Hey cm...do you have any examples of the ;answer; letter?

I can show you what I have (my answers to a suit). We can sort of weed out what's necessary and what's not.

I'd kinda like to see the collection letters they've sent - see if there's any counters you can work with. I've never dealt with that CA...I don't know how they work. We can do lunch at some point if you want. If not, we can do it all via PM or email...however.

Just let me know. I'll PM you my email.

[copperarab]

Hey CM....I just sent you an email...lunch sounds great!!!

Lisa~ Still frustrated in Tulsa, OK

[admin]

If she was covered under your husband's insurance, why didn't they pay??

[Guest]

You still need to check into medicaid. Normally for pregnancy related bills they will pay whatever the primary insurance wouldnt pay.

And they have been known to go back several if not a year prior to the enrollment date to cover pregnancy related expenses.

In hindsight you should h ave still signed up for the medicaid.

if your daughter DID get the medicaid.. then yolu need to have them billed for the balances.

They WILL pay whatever is left over.

ALSO.. if you pay bills yourself that you have to pay out of pocket.. nine times out of ten medicaid will re-imburse you for those bills as well.

They dont tell you all this stuff when you apply but after having 5 kids ((All who get medicaid along with their fathers insurance)) you learn all the cool tricks .

Hope that helps too

[copperarab]

Hi Admin!! My daughter was covered (against hubbys knowledge for the pregnancy part) up until the second the baby was born, which was 1 week before her 18th birthday. He is on one of those HMO's that carry a specific list of doctors...VERY expensive doctors. Even after we pay deductibles, there is always a certain amount that insurance wont cover....Basically for the weekly ultrasounds, the insurance would only cover $120...the rest, about $200, would have to be paid by us..which WE paid, not my daughter or the respnsible father. My husband has no clue about how much money I dished out for bills to keep them off our credit reports...I have ALL the saved bills/copies.

Sky, in the beginning I went round and round resubmitting these bills. I no longer have the case info or numbers for Medicaid. I think I had spoken to them once or twice and submitted copies of bills...but this dang-gone file is so thick that I do not know What may have been covered later or not. I do know that some of the last billing from the birth hospital was over $1,000 plus billing from the original doctor and such. These are not on the present suit. They may show up later...I don't know.

I know this is not my responsibility..they are my daughters....but she is a leech, liar, lazy butthead. If I expect her to take care of this she will do nothing, maybe end up in a worse scenario and then blame me. Why do you think I have Legal Guardianship of the baby? I know I am partly to blame for being a leniant mother while she was growing up. So yes..there is A LOT of guilt on my part which keeps me rescueing a daughter who doesnt really give a patootie to how I feel.

~Shame is always on the parents...ugh!

[Guest]

Nah..you are a good mom who is trying to help your daughter straighten her life out.

And KUDOS and more to you for taking care of your granddaughter. It takes a lot of love to not just tell your kid to have an abortion or put the baby up for adoption but rather take on the responsibility yourself.

I think it would be a good idea to go back and have the insurance co send you EOBS for everything from pregnancy on. And compare them to what the CA is saying that you owe. I would definately tell the judge that there are issues here and ask for a continuance to get things tgether.

It might be a pain in the arse.. but it could be worth it.

Also get in touch with CM and have her look over things..... she knows her stuff and could help you lots

[copperarab]

I think it would be a good idea to go back and have the insurance co send you EOBS for everything from pregnancy on. And compare them to what the CA is saying that you owe. I would definately tell the judge that there are issues here and ask for a continuance to get things tgether.

It might be a pain in the arse.. but it could be worth it.

Also get in touch with CM and have her look over things..... she knows her stuff and could help you lots

Thanks Sky for the compliment..many days tho...grrrrr.

Since the pregnancy and birth, my husbands insurance changed to a new company, an HMO...would the old company still have the needed info?

YES! I am having lunch with CM tomorrow (friday) YIPPEEE!!!

[c m chase]

I agree with Sky...ask for a continuance in order to get your stuff together. You should have no problem getting that.

I would imagine the HMO will still have the records. It's only been 2 years, right?

[copperarab]

I agree with Sky...ask for a continuance in order to get your stuff together. You should have no problem getting that.

I would imagine the HMO will still have the records. It's only been 2 years, right?

Well there isn't a court date yet...just an answer needed in 18 days filed with the courts...would we ask for a continuance on the 'answer' letter?

The first listed billing thru Saint Francis hospital when she was still pregnant and 17 could possibly be dismissed...but the other 3 dated 6/15/03 was an emergency visit at Hillcrest for my then 18 yr old daughter cuz she thought she broke a rib..so its for the xray dept., the emergency room doc, and one for the medical center itself..she didnt have any insurance then. She remembers the visit, but cannot find any of the billing...just like her to toss them!

It wasnt the HMO that handled it then...or maybe they did for a bit. Geesh I am pretty sure the insurance was switched just three weeks before the birth, march 1 2003. The one billing that she's being sued for was with his original insurance co..and I am going to have to do some digging to see if I have any of that paperwork.

Cya tomorrow CM!!

[c m chase]

Oooooooh yeah. No, you won't have to ask for that in the answer....if you need to you can do that later. We'll talk more about it at lunch.

Anyone else want to join? So far it's me, Chancy and Copperarab.

[admin]

I were close to OK, I'd be there in a heartbeat.

[c m chase]

Is there a Greyhound leaving anytime soon?

[nimrod]

...So far it's me, Chancy and Copperarab...

Sounds like trouble... Let us know if you need bail money.

[DocDon]