Still being sued even though they resolved the issue themselves.

[westog]

Hi everybody,

I am being sued by the debt collection firm of a hospital in Wisconsin. Here's the story.

November 2007, I find a mark on my Credit report for about $3800. I call the company listed and I (eventually) am told that this is for an unpaid bill for a hospital visit is early 2004. I had the same insurance company (Ins.Co.) then as I do now. I called Ins.Co. and (eventually) find out that the hospital submitted the claim twice in the months following the stay, but never submitted a "pre-certification" (basically stating what the dates of the stay were) to Ins.Co. and were subsequently denied.

Then, it seems, that this claim sat around with the hospital for almost about three years until it was submitted to the credit bureau and I saw it.

I had been attempting for a couple of months to reconcile the matter through many, many, many phone calls, some of which sounded very promising. Then I received a summons - the hospital is suing me while at the same time working with the Ins.Co.

Just before going to the initial hearing I was told by my Ins.Co. that the hospital had resubmitted all the necessary and appropriate paperwork and that they (Ins.Co.) would be paying the bill. I went to the initial hearing and explained that the two companies had worked together to resolve this and that the bill would be paid by Ins.Co. but that I did not yet have proof.

The court set a date for us to come back and that date is tomorrow. I just received a voice mail from the hospital's attorney saying that, yes the issue of the outstanding bill has been resolved, but he'd like me to call to discuss the "remaining costs and fees." At the last court appearance, when I mentioned that the Ins.Co. would be paying this he mentioned (ever so quickly) that they would still continue the suit to get their fees paid.

I'm am now not sure what to do. I've had success with small claims cases dealing with old consumer credit accounts, but I've never dealt with insurance and hospital bills and so I'm not sure where to even look (though look I have). I'm fairly certain that I won't have to pay the bill as it's been paid by Ins.Co. but I don't want to pay any other fees either as this whole thing resulted from the hospital's mistake and because they simultaneously took care of the issue themselves.

If you have any advice I'd love to hear it. Should I call the attorney back today or just show up tomorrow afternoon? I've gotten some loose advice about suing on unmatured debts, but I'm not sure how it applies here or what to do with it if it even does apply. Is there any part of any law you know of that applies to this situation?

Thanks to anyone that can give this any thought.

[Denita]

I have not been in your situation. However, it seems to me that the attorney is probably looking to recover attorney fees for his client - the hospital.

If I were you, not only would I not pay his attorney fees; I might even have a countersuit filed for damages. Didn't they have the wrong information on your report for a least a year? Surely it would have negatively impacted you financially to have a $3800 collection account sitting on your report. It would have at a miniumum reduced your credit score.

You may want to look up the RCP in your district to see what you need to do to file a countersuit for damages. These rules are probably on line.

There are others in this forum that know just what to do. Hopefully they will see your post and respond tonight.