My son almost died from septic shock at 30. In the last year and a half, he has been in the hospital 11 times, had multiple surgeries, and fought off serious infections. More surgeries are coming when he is strong enough. Now I got a notice that Amex is planning to sue him over a $12k credit card debt.
He is bedridden, heavily medicated, and has nothing left—just a broken car and his clothes. He lives with me now, and I take care of him full-time. I’m a widow on a fixed income, and just keeping up with his food is hard. I want to help, but I can only afford a cheap lawyer at best. The only bright side is that his $2M+ hospital bills were covered.
This is his only debt, but I can’t pay it for him. I also have a daughter with autism who I care for, and she gets SSDI. I applied for my son, but he was denied, and I’m still waiting on the appeal.
At some point, he might need to file for bankruptcy, but for now, they can’t do much to him.
He has zero medical debt. We live in a city where people with lower income don’t have to pay for hospital, doctor, pharmacy, or medical supplies. No premiums, no copays.
@Paxton
Keep pushing for the SSDI appeal. They can’t take money he doesn’t have. Once this is all over, bankruptcy might be the cleanest option. His disability income, if he gets it, will be protected.
A lawyer won’t be much help here. Credit card companies don’t care why someone can’t pay. Unless he’s dead (and even then, they’ll try to come after family), they’ll keep pushing.
Let them sue. If they do their research, they’ll see he has no assets and might just drop it to avoid wasting money.
Amex is tough. I handle a lot of debt cases, and they rarely go for hardship dismissals. Other banks are sometimes easier to work with.
If your state doesn’t allow wage garnishment, their only real option would be freezing a bank account or putting a lien on property, but it doesn’t sound like they’d get much.
Paxton said: @Remy
I was thinking about disputing the case in court. They got his name wrong on the paperwork, which might force them to refile.
Might be worth a shot. You could also try sending a hardship letter with medical records attached. Sometimes that works, though Amex is usually stubborn.
I’ve had success getting cases dismissed for clients, but only when they were permanently disabled. If there’s even a chance they might work again, creditors will try to hold onto the judgment for as long as they can.