Is a hospital bill due if nothing was signed?
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Is a hospital bill due if nothing was signed?
I went to the emergency room after a car accident. My insurance was ran 3 times and I was not told I was out of network and I did not sign any financial responsibility paperwork I checked with the hospital and they said they show nothing signed. Because of that, am I still liable for the bill?
Asked on August 3, 2017 under Insurance Law, Indiana
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Yes, you can be held liable for the bill even without signing under either or both of the following theories:
1) Breach of implied contract: by accepting medical care (e.g. not checking yourself out and leaving) knowing that it costs money (i.e. everyone in our country knows that medical care is not free--that if you don't have insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid for it, you pay--), you can be held to have implicitly agreed to pay for the care, even if you did not sign anything explicitly to that effect.
2) Unjust enrichment: the law generally does not allow someone to knowingly (or when they realistically *should* know) accept services from another which cost money without paying for them; that is considered "unjust"--or unfair or inequitable--"enrichment."
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