Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

Re: being sued over a medical bill

Your question raises a number of interesting issues.

If you haven't received a summons and complaint with the name of the court and case number, then you haven't been sued -- and the person who is calling your husband at work probably isn't really an attorney. Collection agencies aren't allowed to impersonate attorneys, and they aren't allowed to call your workplace after you've told them to stop. These actions could hand you a free lawsuit under the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

If your insurance was still in force when she saw the doctor, pursue the insurance company.

You could contact the attorney who did your bankruptcy and have him or her file court papers to reopen the bankruptcy and include this debt. If this debt was included in the bankruptcy filing, this is also a free lawsuit for you for violation of the discharge injunction.

If you do receive a summons, have a lawyer review it in person before doing anything about it. Do not communicate with the 'lawyer' in any manner before you have seen your own attorney -- except to get the correct spelling of his or her name, and to tell them not to call you at work anymore.