Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Indiana

Debt Collection Legality

Can a person be legally held responsible for hospital bills they believed were paid when you don't have receipts to prove otherwise? These were back in 1997 and I believe the Statute of Limitations ran out on these. The Judge told my wife that the Collection Agency filed in 1999 on these. I don't believe the Judge is being completely honest and that he is working with the Collection Agency. Can you give me any advice and help on whether this decision can be reversed and we could really find out whether this is true and what other steps we can take? We don't have money to hire a lawyer.


Asked on 8/27/07, 1:21 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
C. David DuMond Law Offices of David DuMond

Re: Debt Collection Legality

Remove from your mind any suspicion that the judge is working for the collection agency. The judge must have had a record showing that the case was filed in 1999, within the Statute of Limitation. You can verify this yourself by going to the court and asking the clerk to show you the file. If a default judgment was entered against you, and you never received notice of the lawsuit, you can ask the judge to set the default aside. Put your request in writing. You have to show a good excuse for not responding (like maybe the court records show you being served at an address where you did not at that time live) and show some evidence that you didn't owe anything. Get the hospital billing records for that time and see what they show. If you can't find any evidence to support your case, then you have every right to expect that the judge will rule against you. Good luck.

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Answered on 8/27/07, 3:16 pm


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