486 So. 2d 1302 | Ala. Civ. App. | 1986
This is an appeal by Tuscaloosa County from the judgment of the Jefferson County Circuit Court ordering it to pay to Children's Hospital, Inc., $1,851.31 under the Alabama Health Care Responsibility Act (AHCRA), §§
The judgment appealed from ordered payment for services rendered by Children's Hospital to an indigent patient on two separate occasions: The first, $462.83, for treatment provided in January 1983; the second, $1,388.49, for treatment provided in August 1983. Tuscaloosa County appeals only with respect to the first claim. The only issue is whether that claim is barred by the applicable statute of limitations.
Tuscaloosa contends that the statute of limitations for an action brought under AHCRA is §
By its language, §
It is our considered opinion that a suit brought under AHCRA is in the nature of a suit on a contract implied by law. It is established that damages for the reasonable value of services rendered under an implied contract, the terms of which are not fixed by the parties, is merely an open account. Norton v.Liddell,
While it is unclear from the record the exact date upon which this claim accrued, we find such a determination unnecessary. These services were rendered in January 1983. The present action was filed in July 1984. The three-year statute of limitations has not barred the action.
The judgment of the trial court is due to be affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
BRADLEY and HOLMES, JJ., concur. *1304