How long can a hospital bill me?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

How long can a hospital bill me?

My Son was flown to Children’s Hospital for phenomena at 6 months old. He got out and we were sent a bill of 4000 that we paid in full. Now, 2 years later we get another bill for 5400. We called them and they said we did an audit and need to charge you more money. What should we do? If we pay this, are they going to do this every 2 years? I say, this isn’t my problem and don’t think we should have to pay this. please help. thanks.

Asked on June 1, 2016 under Business Law, Arkansas

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 8 years ago | Contributor

IF they truly found that they had failed to charge you everything, they may now charge you the rest of the money: there is no law saying that customers may not be charged more than once or as charges are found.
An exception would be if when they had previously billed you, they had, prior to you paying, given you something in writing indicating that making that prior payment would be satisfaction in full of all amounts owed--if you had paid after being told that payment would take care of all amounts owed by you, that essentially constituted a contract between you and them (an agreement that if you pay this, the debt is taken care of), and you could enforce that contract against them if they try to collect more.
However, without a prior agreement that paying would take care of all amounts owed by you, as stated, if they simply failed to charge you the full amount then, they may charge you now.
In your state, the applicable "statute of limitations" or SOL for a matter like this, the SOL for written agreements'/contracts (e.g. what written agreements or paperwork regarding paying were signed at the hospital) is 5 years, so they still within time to take legal action (i.e. sue) to collect any amounts you owe.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption