Missouri Laws 190.250 – Ambulance services to have same statutory lien rights as hospitals — ..
1. As used in this section, the following terms mean:
(1) “Claim”, a claim of a patient for:
Terms Used In Missouri Laws 190.250
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of the statutes, mean the section next preceding or next following that in which the reference is made, unless some other section is expressly designated in the reference. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Missouri Laws 1.020
(a) Damages from a tort-feasor; or
(b) Benefits from an insurance carrier;
(2) “Insurance carrier”, any person, firm, corporation, association or aggregation of persons conducting an insurance business pursuant to chapter 375, 376, 377, 378, 379, 380, 381, or 383;
(3) “Patient”, any person to whom an ambulance service delivers treatment, care, or transportation for sickness or injury caused by a tort-feasor from whom such person seeks damages or any insurance carrier which has insured such tort-feasor.
2. Ambulance services shall have the same rights granted to hospitals in sections 430.230 to 430.250.
3. If the liens of such ambulance services or hospitals exceed fifty percent of the amount due the patient, every ambulance service or hospital giving notice of its lien, as aforesaid, shall share in up to fifty percent of the net proceeds due the patient, in the proportion that each claim bears to the total amount of all other liens of ambulance services or hospitals. “Net proceeds”, as used in this section, means the amount remaining after the payment of contractual attorney fees, if any, and other expenses of recovery.
4. In administering the lien of the ambulance service, the insurance carrier may pay the amount due secured by the lien of the ambulance service directly, if the claimant authorizes it and does not challenge the amount of the customary charges or that the treatment provided was for injuries caused by the tort-feasor.
5. Any ambulance service electing to receive benefits hereunder releases the claimant from further liability on the cost of the services and treatment provided to that point in time.