A lawsuit naming an Idaho neurosurgeon over a six-figure medical lien has gone back and forth with lower courts and Idaho Supreme Court, Idaho Statesman reported Aug. 25.
According to the lawsuit, Gary DeKlotz had emergency surgery in 2021 at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise after a car crash. Dr. Paul Montalbano, co-owner of Boise-based Neuroscience Associates, was on-call that night and operated on the man’s spinal fracture.
But instead of billing the man’s insurer at the time, Dr. Montalbano filed a $183,829.60 lien on any money Mr. DeKlotz might gain from a personal injury claim, according to Idaho Statesman. The lien included the costs for the two-hour surgery and post-operative care.
Mr. DeKlotz hired an injury attorney who argued the lien was illegal under the Idaho Patient Act, according to Idaho Statesman. That act was later amended in 2022 to address healthcare billing and collections.
A claims coordinator offered to discount the lien by 60% but the attorney maintained that Dr. Montalbano’s practice had to bill the patient’s insurance. After the discount was retracted by the claims coordinator, Mr. DeKlotz took them to court.
A Fourth District judge initially ruled in Dr. Montalbano’s favor and ruled that the patient wasn’t personally responsible for the debt since he “was never sent an invoice.” But Mr. DeKlotz appealed to the Idaho Supreme Court, which reversed the lower court’s order, according to an opinion filed Aug. 19.
An attorney for Dr. Montalbano and his practice didn’t respond to a request for comment from the Idaho Statesman. Saint Alphonsus Health System didn’t comment and said it isn’t a party to the litigation. Saint Alphonsus Health System and Dr. Montalbano didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Becker’s.
Mr. DeKlotz’s attorney said he plans to pursue the class-action certification again with the case back to the lower court.
