How do I get out of medical bill that was from a school incident?

Question

my daughter got stabbed in her eye with a sharpened pencil by some boy. She went to the emergency room the eye doctor and almost went to surgery. Now she is saying that eye goes blind for an hour at a time. We can not afford the medical bill, and the school will not help with it, or give any information to the parents so they can pay for it. So now we are getting sued by the hosiptal because they will not allow us to do payments. They said all or none. I do not know what to do. I can not afford a lawyer, because I can not afford the bill. Is there anything out there that might help me with this situation?

Answer 1

Talk to a lawyer about sueing the school and the boy. You should not have to pay this bill. A lawyer should only charge you if you win the case. Ask the lawyer first. Where were the school employees at the time of this incident?

Answer 2

You do have some options. So, don't panic.

First, no matter what anyone at the hospital said, if you pay them $5 a month, they cannot legally send your account to collections. They can say all or nothing if they want, and they can even return your checks, but if you are making what's called a "good faith effort" to pay, they lose in court, every time. So send them a little each month, and you're doing your part. If they return your payments, keep the checks, in case you need them.

Has the hospital already filed court papers, or are they just threatening? Collections will threaten you with all kinds of stuff, but it's usually not really worth it to them to pay to go to court to get a judgement from someone who can't pay it.

If the school filled out an incident report, which they are legally required to do when a student is injured, ask for a copy. If you have to, you can get the police involved. If the boy did it intentionally, his parents are partially responsible for her injuries.

Good luck. I know how frustrating this must be.

Answer 3

Only if you have a house you can refinance and get money out to pay that bill. But I think the boy parents should be responsible try contacting the school district.

Answer 4

Wow..

Get a lawyer.
Although it would be costly, he would be able to help you..

You may be able to sue the boy's parents if the incident was intentional.
If your credit is good, you can also take loans to pay the bills.

Best of luck..

Answer 5

Find out the boys parents name and contact them immediatly, explain the situation and if they do not agree to pay for everything then take this to a lawyer. Gloria Allred if you can afford it. Sue them for everything they have that ******* brat that they have paralized your daughter and should be killed.

Answer 6

This seems a bit unreal but I suppose it is possible.

First thing's first: contact the school district administrator. If he or she is useless, go beyond them to the country, etc up the ladder until you get someone who will help you out or listen to your case.

And next, the latest AHA guidelines state that hospitals must provide financial counseloing for patients, have understandable written policies to help patients determine if they qualify for public assistance or hospital-based assistance programs and ensure that all written policies for assisting low-income patients are applied consistently, and share them with appropriate community health and human services agencies and other organizations that assist people in need.

Also I don't believe the hospital is suing you, they should have sent you to collections, which is different. Large organizations do not sue for money they KNOW you don't have, it is a watse of their time and effort. They send your outstanding bills to a collections agency who takes over your case and if necessary uses legal intervention to set up a payment schedule or garnish your wages in order to fill the debt.

Boston globe says: First and foremost, if you have no insurance and think you may qualify for government assistance, apply for it. And, if the bureaucracy and application forms intimidate you, get help. Also, look at the itemized bill and check each item against your medical records to make sure that you received the services for which you are being charged.

And the law of personal injury is as follows: The law of personal injury includes injury suffered by a person. Personal injury is part of the law of torts, the legal term that encompasses all kinds of injury to people and their property. State law usually governs personal injury lawsuits, but in certain circumstances, Federal Law may also apply. For example, personal injuries suffered on Federal property maybe be covered by the Federal Tort Claims Act, or liability for injuries suffered in an airplane crash may be governed by international treaties.

Personal injury includes bodily injury, property damage, and economic injury. The concept of bodily injury to a person is very broad, depending on the law in the state in which an incident occurred. Bodily injury may include not only ordinary physical injury, such as a broken leg, but also mental or emotional injury, such as emotional upset caused by witnessing a personal injury done to a close family member, and injury to property which includes loss or damage to a property such as a house, car, or other treasured property items.

Economic injury includes loss of pay, and other types of money damages. The law of personal injury is concerned with determining who may be liable or who has liability for causing the injury, and how much they should be required to pay for the damages which result in such injury. The are many broad principles that apply to the laws of torts in general and to personal injury in particular. The law of personal injury in particular recognizes different levels of responsibility or degrees of fault on the part of the person who causes an injury. Generally, the degrees of fault are negligence, intentional fault, and strict liability.

The degree of fault involved in this situation in which an injury has occurred has an effect as to whether or not the person at fault is required to pay damages for the injury, and in some cases the amount of damages they may be required to pay. Another way of stating this idea is that the law may provide different standards of care in different situations.

For example, a greater standard of care is usually required in situations involving children or people who are disabled. Generally speaking, in a lawsuit, it is the jury who decides whether a person has met the standard of care that applies to a situation. As a lawyer, I am often asked, "What constitutes, or what is the element that brings about a bodily injury claim?" My answer to that is, negligence. Negligence means carelessness or the failure to use due care. If you are careless, and your carelessness causes injury to another person to whom you have "duty of care", you may liable to pay any damages which may result from the injury caused by your carelessness. A person may be considered "careless" or "negligent" if they do not use the kind of "due care" that is appropriate to the particular situation in question. Usually the law requires that individuals exercise the same kind of due care that a reasonable person would exercise under saying circumstances. This is called reasonable man or reasonable person standard.

The law of personal injury is concerned with compensating the injured person for damages they suffered as a result of personal injury. To bring a lawsuit for personal injury, the law requires the person bringing the suit to allege that the person sued committed a wrongful act and that they suffered damages from a wrongful act.

Damages which result from a wrongful act, actual damages, may include medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. In a wrongful death lawsuit, your surviving relatives can sue for the loss of your expected support.

Also, punitive damages may be awarded by a jury in addition to actual damages. Punitive damages are usually only permitted if the person who caused the actual damages did so with some degree of intent to cause harm or with an indifference to the possibility of causing harm. The purpose of punitive damages is to punish the person who caused the actual damages, and help ensure that they do not engage in the same conduct again.

It is very important to remember that there is a specific time period in which certain personal injury claims must be filed in a court of law, or they may be forever barred. It is imperative that you contact an attorney as soon as possible so that these determinations can be made, and your rights will be protected.

You may also check out the AHA's Hospital Billing and Collection Practices document online at
http://www.accessproject.org/adobe/AHA_hospital_billing_and_collection_practices.pdf

to see if anything can help you from there.

If nothing else, bring forward a case of personal injury with a lawyer against the stuent who stabbed your daughter. If you have a GOOD lawyer he will take no or little money upfront until you get your settlement.

Good luck