PRINCETON – A woman who was treated at a Mercer County emergency room alleges that she was billed excessive charges.
Deborah Payton, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed a complaint Aug. 3 in Mercer Circuit Court against Bluefield Hospital Co. LLC, doing business as Bluefield Regional Medical Center and Does 1-25 seeking declaratory judgment.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff received treatment from the defendant in July 2015 as a self-pay patient. She alleges the contract she was presented contained no language describing the defendant's charge description master as a pricing schedule. She alleges that she was charged $2,955.99 for defendant's services and believes the billed amount exceeds the reasonable value of the treatment and services she was provided.
The plaintiff is seeking declaration that the defendant's contract does not authorize it to bill and demand payment at 65 percent of its rates for self-pay patients who receive emergency care.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks an order certifying this complaint as a class action and appointing her and her counsels as class representatives, award for damages, attorneys' fees, costs and such other and further relief. She is represented by W. Stewart Calwell, D. Christopher Hedges and Benjamin D. Adams of The Calwell Practice LLC in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Derek C. Swope.
Mercer Circuit Court case number 17-C-298
