QUESTION

How does one go about suing for pain and suffering as a result of harassment?

Asked on Aug 21st, 2013 on Personal Injury - New York
More details to this question:
My husband suffered a life threatening accident a year ago, permanently losing use of his right arm. We received info from both Johns Hopkins and the Mayo Clinic on seeking a 2nd opinion. JHU asked for $1000 for the review so we went with Mayo. In March of this year, we began receiving incorrect bills from JHU for services I have since verified were never received. For months they continued to send bills, threatening collections for a bill we did not owe. As you can imagine, we were already swimming in legitimate medical bills, we were trying to fight for his arm, our son had a psychiatric break down - and they kept sending bills! After months of phone calls and emails (which I have documented well) I was finally able to get the physicians on the bill to talk to the billing department - and so far no more letters. We have had many crises to traverse and the bills from all of them still abound. We managed to survive and have been trying to save for our first home. The threats to even refer us to collections sent my anxiety through the roof. All the time spent communicating and feeling as though no one would listen to our (since confirmed) correct claims that this was fraudulent billing was overwhelming in light of our already tenuous situation. I would like to seek some type of recompense for the psychological toll of this process. Is small claims court the right place?
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5 ANSWERS

Ronald A. Steinberg
If you incurred an expense, and you do not pay it, the creditor can do whatever is reasonable to collect the bill.
Answered on Sep 11th, 2013 at 11:55 AM

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Personal Injury Attorney serving Charlotte, NC at Paul Whitfield and Associates P.A.
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Frustration over incorrect billing haunts everybody at some time or other. Not likely you can do anything. you need to relax. If you could prove some kind of fraud maybe you could do something if you had medical testimony, but you are not likely to prove fraud and you probably don't have a doctor who will testify that the problem caused you mental problems.
Answered on Aug 22nd, 2013 at 7:16 PM

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Criminal Defense Attorney serving Anderson, SC at The David F. Stoddard Law Firm
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Small claims is the place to go if you intend to go if you intend to sue without using an attorney. You are limited to a recovery of $7,500.00. If you want more, you might try to find an attorney to take the case. In my opinion, incorrect billing may be an insufficient grounds to sue for emotional distress.
Answered on Aug 22nd, 2013 at 12:27 PM

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Commercial Contracts Attorney serving Boise, ID at Peters Law, PLLC
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You can try, but unless you can prove they did it intentionally, I doubt you will win. You would be better off moving on.
Answered on Aug 22nd, 2013 at 11:11 AM

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Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Attorney serving Syracuse, NY at Andrew T. Velonis, P.C.
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Absent a violation of regulation or statute, I do not think you have a cause of action.
Answered on Aug 22nd, 2013 at 10:41 AM

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