EAST ST. LOUIS — A patient filed a class action lawsuit against Jersey Community Hospital, claiming it attempted to collect on an already paid medical bill.
Toni Jackson, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated filed a complaint July 22 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois East St. Louis Division against Jersey Community Hospital and Consumer Collection Management Inc., alleging violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Fair Credit Reporting Act.
According to the complaint, Jackson received treatment at Jersey Community Hospital on Aug. 28, 2018, and was insured by Meridian Health Insurance. She claims the defendant sent her "alleged balance" to collections without seeking funds from her Medicaid, which then paid the remaining balance on May 2, 2019. Jackson alleges Jersey Community continued to attempt to get payment from her for the balance, which was already paid in full. The defendant then turned the debt over to Consumer Collection Management, which allegedly failed to send the plaintiff any notices before reporting the false debt on her credit.
Jackson claims the defendants' actions caused her to be declined for a home loan and that even after notifying to remove the debt, they continued to report it on her credit and failed to mark the debt as "disputed."
Jackson seeks monetary relief, trial by jury all other just relief. She is represented by Samantha Orlowski, Gregory Klote and Joel Halvorsen of Halvorsen Klote in St. Louis.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois East St. Louis Division case number 3:21-CV-00848