Untrue MRI examination, who should pay?

[MrNikolay]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NJ

Hi, My name is Nick.
I have neck problem. According to advice of my physician I have done cervical MRI examination in US clinic.
The report showed that everything within the normal 'unremarkable MRI of cervical spine'.
I didn't felt so and decided to repeat the same cervical MRI examinations in another clinic abroad during vocation.
It was within 2 months after first MRI. New findings are differ markedly from what I got first time.
Report showed problems which correspond to symptoms that I have.
Now first clinic ask me to pay bill around 500 with insurance , but I don't want to pay for that bush-league service.
Clinic don't wanna negotiate. They are going to send my case to collection agency and ruin my new credit score.
Also they didn't provide me price for the service when I asked and provide me not full information about payment options.
After that they charge my insurance company 1500, what is 2.5 times more than regular price for that type of MRI in NJ according to Bluebook, and 5 times more than they have in price-list 'for cash' on their website.
Should I file a lawsuit against clinic? Does it make sense?
I have low income and can't afford to have lawyer.
They offered me pay-plan, so it easy to pay debt for me now, but I don't wanna close my eyes and pay them on principle.

Thanks in advance.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NJ

Hi, My name is Nick.
I have neck problem. According to advice of my physician I have done cervical MRI examination in US clinic.
The report showed that everything within the normal 'unremarkable MRI of cervical spine'.
I didn't felt so and decided to repeat the same cervical MRI examinations in another clinic abroad during vocation.
It was within 2 months after first MRI. New findings are differ markedly from what I got first time.
Report showed problems which correspond to symptoms that I have.
Now first clinic ask me to pay bill around 500 with insurance , but I don't want to pay for that bush-league service.
Clinic don't wanna negotiate. They are going to send my case to collection agency and ruin my new credit score.
Also they didn't provide me price for the service when I asked and provide me not full information about payment options.
After that they charge my insurance company 1500, what is 2.5 times more than regular price for that type of MRI in NJ according to Bluebook, and 5 times more than they have in price-list 'for cash' on their website.
Should I file a lawsuit against clinic? Does it make sense?
I have low income and can't afford to have lawyer.
They offered me pay-plan, so it easy to pay debt for me now, but I don't wanna close my eyes and pay them on principle.

Thanks in advance.

You went to a clinic in another country and this clinic came to a different conclusion than the clinic in the US so now you do not want to pay the US clinic? Am I understanding this correctly?

 

[Zigner]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NJ

Hi, My name is Nick.
I have neck problem. According to advice of my physician I have done cervical MRI examination in US clinic.
The report showed that everything within the normal 'unremarkable MRI of cervical spine'.
I didn't felt so and decided to repeat the same cervical MRI examinations in another clinic abroad during vocation.
It was within 2 months after first MRI. New findings are differ markedly from what I got first time.
Report showed problems which correspond to symptoms that I have.
Now first clinic ask me to pay bill around 500 with insurance , but I don't want to pay for that bush-league service.
Clinic don't wanna negotiate. They are going to send my case to collection agency and ruin my new credit score.
Also they didn't provide me price for the service when I asked and provide me not full information about payment options.
After that they charge my insurance company 1500, what is 2.5 times more than regular price for that type of MRI in NJ according to Bluebook, and 5 times more than they have in price-list 'for cash' on their website.
Should I file a lawsuit against clinic? Does it make sense?
I have low income and can't afford to have lawyer.
They offered me pay-plan, so it easy to pay debt for me now, but I don't wanna close my eyes and pay them on principle.

Thanks in advance.

No, you shouldn't file a lawsuit. No, your position does not make sense.

 

[cbg]

Why do you automatically assume that the first clinic was wrong? What makes you think there couldn't have been changes in the two months between the two? For that matter, what makes you think that if someone was wrong, it automatically had to be the first clinic and not the second?

 

[FlyingRon]

Even if the radiologist reading the first MRI made an error, you still owe the money for the MRI itself (which has nothing whatsoever to do with the anaysis) and most likely the analysis. They're certainly under no obligation to negotiate just because you say the radiologist made a mistake. You'd have to sue the radiologist and show that given the MRI he read that his diagnosis was so negligent that he missed the error. That's going to be a hard sell. What your insurer and the radiology department negotiates as pricing for an MRI really is immaterial to your situation (and largely is a work of fiction between the two of them).