If my husband was transported to a hospital in an ambulance against his wishe, how can we dispute the charge?
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If my husband was transported to a hospital in an ambulance against his wishe, how can we dispute the charge?
He was having an asthma attack. The first EMT team on the scene asked if he wanted to be taken to the hospital and he clearly stated, “No.” The second team arrived and he believed he was getting in the ambulance truck for the EMT to check his vitals, but instead they drove off. Afterward, a doctor at the hospital told him he had signed a consent form along with the paperwork for the hospital.
Asked on May 19, 2012 under Bankruptcy Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If he had signed a consent to treatment form, you probably do not have grounds to contest the charges; people are held responsible for reading and reviewing documents prior to signing them, and if they sign, they will be held liable to what they agreed to.
Even in the absence of a consent form, it would be difficult to escape liability unless your husband and you can show that as the ambulence was closing up its doors and driving away, he protested and told them to stop and let him out. Otherwise, if he acquiesced in being driven to the hospital, that could be taken as an expression of consent to the trip and treatment.
You can and should try to negotiate a reduction in what you owe--and may be able to get that, if you can show at least some ambiguity in regards to conset--but it appears unlikely that you could entirely escape liability.
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