Proposed lawsuit accuses company of engaging in fraud

TEXARKANA, Texas —A proposed class action lawsuit pending in a Texarkana federal court accuses the company that operates Wadley hospital and a medical billing company of violating state law and engaging in fraud in auto accident injury cases.

The complaint was filed in July by Texarkana lawyer Jim Wyly on behalf of Bowie County resident Beverly Williams and seeks certification as a class action which would represent others who’ve sought treatment at hospitals operated by Steward Health Care System in Texas including

Wadley Regional Medical Center in Texarkana, Texas.

Steward and billing contractor Medical Reimbursements of America are named as defendants. Neither company responded to email requests for comment Friday.

The complaint alleges that MRA, acting on Steward’s behalf, seeks to augment hospital revenue by increasing automobile claim payments illegally.

According to the complaint, Williams sought treatment at Wadley after being injured July 5, 2018, on Highway 59 in Cass County, Texas. Williams was a passenger in a car which was struck when another motorist crossed the median and struck the car she was riding in.

Williams alleges that she notified Wadley personnel that she has health insurance through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas.

“However, during the screening process, defendants had in place their unlawful system, which upon identifying plaintiff as having been involved in an automobile accident, listed defendant MRA as the ‘Primary insurance.’ Further, defendants’ unlawful system omitted plaintiff’s health insurance plan as the source for payment, listed