medical bill

My husband and I had our son tested for A.D.H.D. and I paid for the services w/a credit card. Then a month or 2 later I used my card and did not know they had not put the pmt. through yet so I did not have enough on my card to pay the bill when they finally did send it through. Alot has happened w/my husbands job and the new contract they signed caused him to lose so much money we are behind in everything and even have a hard time buying groceries. The Doctor has now sent us a registered letter stating that my husband has a court date in a few weeks for the balance of the bill. We feel so ashamed not being able to pay it. What exactly can they do to us if we don't show up or if we can't pay?

They would win the suit if you do not show, and then would have to try to collect from you--


See http://www.worldlawdirect.com/article/935 -- Collecting on a court judgment.

ok but will they garnish his wages over it? Can he be in trouble for not showing up to court? thanks!

[ABC]

If there is an actual lawsuit, then you really must answer the complaint or appear in court on the designated date....defaulting is not a good idea at all. Is the doctor suing you on his own, or is he using an attorney? Also, were you sent any debt collection letters before the lawsuit was initiated?

The Doctor is not sueing us himself it came from a courthouse I believe. It said that the doc don't even have to be there. we never got anything from a collection agency. Just a bill from his office.

he has to be involved--the court cannot do it alone

sorry, no I know the doc is the one that is sueing us. I wasn't sure what you meant by who is sueing us? It is him but I guess he don't even have to be there. I keep calling and leaving messages w/the billing dept. to see if I can do something to stop this from going to court but they won't return my calls. I don't know if it's too late to try and pay pmts. or if they may even laugh at me for what I can try to send each mth.

He can still sue even if you pay partially. But perhaps in court you can try to dispute part of the bill or the quality of services or something similar.

I thought I would let you all know the latest, After many attempts on my part to try and fix this matter someone called me back and she said we could pay pmts of $100. mth. I said If I had that kind of $ I would have pd it before this. So we finally came to a small monthly pmt agreement that will still be very hard for us to do but we are going to do our best. The court date is still set but she said we will not have to show up as long as we keep up the agreed amt. Thanks so much for all the advice!

YOU DO NEED TO SHOW!!!

That is a common and frankly illegal thing for her to say unless the court case has been dismissed.

--if you do not show you will lose.

Shady collection agencies do this often...