Medical Malpractice Attorneys and Lawyers

What to expect if summoned to court for medical bills?

being sued for 5200.87 in medical bills, court cost, and their attorney fees. Court date July 8th, 2008 my husband is military and being deployed for Iraq will they can they garnish his wages. I already have a previous garnishment on my wages.

Public Comments

1. pay up! or go to jail for 6 months!
2. a judgement against you lowering your credit score if you are working a garishment against your wages you have to pay your bills
3. You may be able to make a payment shedule if you can prove that you can not pay it all at once. Unless this has been offered to you in the past and you declined or ignored the offer.
4. they will first try to set up a payment plan you will explan y you couldnt pay if you dont have a good case they payment plan
5. In whose name are the bills? Yours or your husbands? Even if they are in yours, if your husband is currently deployed then collection efforts are barred by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Go down to the base and talk to a JAG officer. They handle this stuff all the time and know what to do. Richard
6. Depends upon the State. I think it is their position is to get a judgment against you so they can either get the money from your existing bank account or garnishee you wages. Once they get a judgment, they need to next get someone to execute the judgment Do you owe the money, did you try to work out a payment plan? Did you have health insurance during that period of time, is the problem with the health insurance company? Don't go without an attorney. If you get an attorney try to negotiation before you go to court to pay off the amount due over a period of time. If you try this and they refuse, the judge will take that into account. If you get an attorney, he will try to postpone the trial to give you and the people to owe money to negotiate. It is better to work out of court then to get a judgment. No one wants litigation.
7. If you owe it, and haven't paid it, the judge will find for the plaintiff and issue a money judgment against you. At this point you can pay it, set up a payment plan, or ignore it. If you ignore the judgment, your wages may be garnished or (in some states) your liquid assets seized to satisfy the judgment AFTER ONE YEAR has passed beyond the date of the judgment. Beyond that it will be a black spot on your credit that must be resolved before taking on a major loan such as house mortgage. If you don't have a job or a house, there isn't much that the system can do to you. YOU WILL NOT GO TO JAIL FOR UNPAID DEBT. However, you will need to resolve the judgment someday. If you act before the court date, you may be able to come to terms with your medical creditor, but you have probably already tried that. You can also file for bankruptcy and discharge the debt but it would be a crying shame to do so over $5000. Best advice, suck it up and pay it as soon as you can.
8. The Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act MAY help. If your husband is in the military, why do you have these bills? In this type case, you normally get a notice to file an answer to the charges with the attorney and the court. Did you do this? If you have just been ignoring, and adding to, medical bills, you may lose the case. If these bills were made before your husband joined the military, it could also cause problems.