Collection of Hospital Debt
I am being sued for a hospital debt. I was not even aware of this debt until I went to withdraw some money and found out my checking account had been frozen. It turns out the Attorney for the hospital had been sending court papers to an address I had years ago. I never got any of the papers and no warning. My thing is this. I had no savings in this account. But my paycheck went in direct deposit. If not for my family my kids and I would have no food. All of my bills are now on hold because of this lean.
I went to the court and set up a court date. I go the 21st. My job will provide m a lawyer but I won't get to speak to them until the 18th. The lawyer for the hospital is pretty ruthless and is treating me like I'm a criminal. I called my health care provider. And they said they didnt' have any form updates from me in years. So they have not settled on payments. What bothers me the most in this is. I've been at the same work address for 9 years. Same work number for 9 years. The hospital had this information as did my health benefits provider. I could have been easily reach with court papers this way. I could have corrected the situation faster this way.
My fears are....
1) Can the take my coming paychecks from me in their entirity? I do not want to be left homeless because of this. I did stop the direct deposit on the account.
2) The money is frozen. Is there a chance I can get it back and then arrange payments? Or can I atleast use it as leverage to settle the account?
3) How ugly can this get? I have rent to pay. As is all my utilities are being held. Will the courts help get this guy off my back?
Any advice is appreciated. Thank you for reading.
Re: Any advice would be much appreciated
Quote:
Quoting Siphon77
1) Can the take my coming paychecks from me in their entirity? I do not want to be left homeless because of this. I did stop the direct deposit on the account.
In a typical state, assuming they are permitted to garnish your salary, they would have to obtain a court order permitting them to do so. If your attorney has filed an appearance, it is unlikely that they will attempt to do so in advance of the next court hearing.
Quote:
Quoting Siphon77
2) The money is frozen. Is there a chance I can get it back and then arrange payments? Or can I atleast use it as leverage to settle the account?
The money will remain frozen until the court orders otherwise. Your lawyer can clarify whether you can get the order freezing your funds to be changed, and when that might happen.
Quote:
Quoting Siphon77
3) How ugly can this get? I have rent to pay. As is all my utilities are being held. Will the courts help get this guy off my back?
If you owe the money, the court will likely again rule that you owe the money.