146 Conn. 686 | Conn. | 1959
This action was brought to recover payment of a bill, undisputed as to amount, for hospitalization, maintenance and support furnished by the plaintiff from July 28, 1955, until September 16, 1955, to Mrs. Mildred Gr. Bromley, a resident
Before she entered the hospital, Mrs. Bromley owned no real estate and no personal property other than the clothes she was wearing and some work clothes. She was not able to work either steadily or full time because of ill health. After her discharge, she was again interviewed by Mrs. Hoffman with regard to payment of the bill and indicated to Mrs. Hoffman that she hoped to pay the bill some way or other. She informed the city and the hospital that she would pay the bill herself, and that she did not want the city to pay it. After her discharge, she was unemployed during the remainder of 1955. She supported herself thereafter by borrowing from friends and relatives to supplement her own earnings. At the time of trial in March, 1958, she had
The amount of the bill in issue is $1277.50, and after the city refused to pay it, the plaintiff instituted this action. The court concluded that although Mrs. Bromley was without funds at the time of her admission to the hospital, was in need of hospitalization and was not able, then or in the immediate foreseeable future, to pay for hospital services, she was at no time a public charge, not having sought public assistance at any time. Accordingly, the court determined that the city was not liable for the bill.
The liability of the city to the plaintiff, if any, is purely statutory. State v. Bristol, 139 Conn. 469, 471, 95 A.2d 78. Section 17-273 of the 1958 Revision provides that “[a] 11 persons who have not estate sufficient for their support, and have no relatives of sufficient ability who are obliged by law to support them, shall be provided for and supported at the expense of the town where they belong.”
The liability of the city to the plaintiff was not dependent upon a prior determination by the city that Mrs. Bromley was a public charge or pauper. The city points to the fact that she managed to provide for her needs before and after her hospitalization by working as much as she could and augmenting her earnings by assistance from friends, and that she never requested or received public assistance. The city cites the statement in Weeks v. Mansfield, 84 Conn. 544, 549, 80 A. 784, distinguishing between an indigent person and a pauper, in which it is said, regarding the latter: “One may be ever so destitute of estate or ability to earn a livelihood, and yet not be a pauper. He may be cared for by the voluntary action of friends or relatives. The duty to care for him may by law be cast upon
Mrs. Bromley’s insistence that the bill for her hospitalization was an obligation of her own and not one for the municipality is a refreshing commentary upon her character and sense of responsibility. But however commendable her motive, she could not, by her desire to avoid receiving public assistance, thrust upon the plaintiff the burden of providing her with the care of which she was in need, nor thwart, by refusing to co-operate and furnish the information sought from her, the plaintiff’s right to recover payment from the city. The plaintiff having given the city timely notice that it looked to the city for payment, and the other conditions precedent to the liability of the city being present, the plaintiff’s rights could not be affected by a lack of co-operation on Mrs. Bromley’s part. Hartford Hospital v. Glastonbury, 112 Conn. 403, 406, 152 A. 576. The situation was not one where
Payment by the city does not, of course, relieve Mrs. Bromley of her obligation. She continues to remain liable for the relief she receives and for reimbursement to the city of the sums it is called upon to pay in her behalf. Eev. 1958, §§ 17-277, 17-283. If she has the capacity and willingness to do so in the future, she will not be deprived of the opportunity and satisfaction of discharging the obligation incurred for the hospital care furnished her by the plaintiff.
There is error, the judgment is set aside and the case is remanded with direction to render judgment for the plaintiff to recover $1277.50, with interest.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
We assume for present purposes that the statutes relating to the duties of towns apply to the defendant city. See Rev. 1958, § 17-272; 26 Spec. Laws 459, No. 573.