Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia

Re: bill collection

If you signed any piece of paper relating to the hospital stay, it'd be treated as a written contract, for which the s.o.l. is five years; three otherwise. That doesn't mean the debt is "dead" however after that time; it means that if they sue you, you can make out a defense of statute of limitations. S.o.l. is an "affirmative defense" - if you don't make it clear in writing that you're relying on it in your responsive pleadings, you lose the defense.