Hospital Services, Inc. v. Dumas, 9776
| Citation | 297 N.W.2d 320 |
| Decision Date | 06 October 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 9776,9776 |
| Parties | HOSPITAL SERVICES, INC., a corporation, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. Albert J. DUMAS, Jr., and County of Ramsey, State of North Dakota, Defendants and Appellees. Civ. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of North Dakota |
Pearson & Christensen, Grand Forks, for plaintiff and appellant; argued by Douglas A. Christensen, Grand Forks.
Duane Schurman, Walhalla, for Albert J. Dumas, Jr.
Lewis C. Jorgenson, State's Atty., Devils Lake, for County of Ramsey (no appearance on oral argument).
This is an appeal from a district court dismissal 1 of appellant Hospital Services' suit against Albert Dumas and Ramsey County for recovery of $729.40 for services furnished Dumas by the North Dakota State Hospital. We reverse and direct entry of judgment against Ramsey County.
There is no material dispute as to the facts. In the early morning of November 19, 1975, Dumas was arrested and jailed for disorderly conduct. He appeared quite intoxicated. Later that same morning he was ordered to appear in the Ramsey County Court of Increased Jurisdiction. Claiming paralysis of his lower extremities, Dumas was unable to leave his cell. A physician examined Dumas and expressed the opinion that his condition was not serious. The judge of the county court, being unwilling to have Dumas carried into the courtroom, remanded Dumas to the custody of the Ramsey County sheriff and drafted an order committing him to the State Hospital in Jamestown.
The record is bare of any evidence, medical or otherwise, that Dumas's mental state left him unable to appear in his own defense. The committal order recites that Dumas's commitment was for treatment of alcoholism. In custody of the Ramsey County sheriff, Dumas arrived at the State Hospital on November 20 and was not allowed to leave until December 10. During that period he received services and supplies worth $729.40. Upon completion of treatment, Dumas was remanded to the custody of the Ramsey County sheriff and returned to Devils Lake.
The disorderly conduct charge was dismissed. On October 27, 1976, the State Hospital assigned the claim against Dumas of $729.40 to appellant Hospital Services, Inc.
A patient of the State Hospital is ordinarily responsible for the cost of treatment received. Section 25-09-02, NDCC, provides that the Hospital "shall recover monthly from the patient, if possible, or from the person who has been a patient in such institution after he has been discharged from the institution, expenses for care and treatment." No distinction is made between those who are patients voluntarily and those who are not. And there is authority for the proposition that a patient or his estate may, without offending constitutional safeguards, be charged for expenses arising from commitments to a health care facility. 20 A.L.R.3d 363.
Dumas is thus technically liable under the statute. The assignment of the claim by the State Hospital to Hospital Services is lawful, § 25-09-07(2), NDCC, and does not alter the obligation, which can be reduced to a judgment against the patient. Hospital Services, Inc. v. Brackey, 283 N.W.2d 174, 177 (N.D. 1979).
We conclude that Dumas's liability under the statute is, in this case, precluded by the fact that he was a prisoner in the custody of the Ramsey County sheriff. Chapter 12-44, NDCC, in force at the time of Dumas's commitment, when read together with the jail rules promulgated by the District Court for Ramsey County, requires that expenses for medical care furnished to Dumas be paid by the County.
Section 12-44-04, NDCC, states that the district courts Section 12-44-16 obligates counties to supply prisoners with "nursing when required ... and all necessaries for the comfort and welfare of the prisoners, as the judge of the district court shall designate by his rules." This statutory scheme plainly intends that within certain broad limits the district court has authority to define the terms upon which prisoners will receive medical care.
The rules adopted by the District Court for Ramsey County, of which we take judicial notice, establish that Rule 9, Jail Rules in and for the Second Judicial District, State of North Dakota. (Emphasis supplied.)
Clearly, Ramsey County is responsible for providing medical services to its prisoners and must, as the committing agency, pay for Dumas's expenses.
That Dumas's expenses were incurred at a state institution is of little consequence. The State Hospital is under a statutory duty to recover expenses from its patients. Thus...
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...we will treat the appeal as an appeal from the order. Bond v. Busch, 313 N.W.2d 704, 705 n.2 (N.D.1981); Hospital Services, Inc. v. Dumas, 297 N.W.2d 320, 320-321 n.1 (N.D.1980).We believe the same standard should apply in criminal cases. We stated in State v. Jelliff, 251 N.W.2d 1, 4 (N.D.......
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