Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN -c.Muln -c.- -- I Honordale A. J. Bryan. Jr: Criminal Cr~nal Dietriot Attorney JillSrboro, Jilllrboro,Texar Dear Sir: okanbtlm man neamst -rail- railroad war em espeoially rlnoe lOOal OitieenD 14 or 18 days an4 the bL11 wws lubmitte4 to the oountr for payment. The OoantJrAuditar doer not knew whether te pue the bill icn payment or not olnae the partywae a tmn- ate&t, an4 the hospital wa8 not a publi0 herpitsl. .The~oepital bill ~88 51%the sum of 3w.00. Pull ownty harrP ooontr healthy officer but his dutlea 40 not ineludo aare fOl!pa\U>erEI. B April 1939 tha Comn&aaianer~s aourt of Will oouuty gave the County fudge authority to bind the oounty up to $2S.O0 tor hospitalizationof paupera until a better arrangement oould be workad out. limonew ordera have been passed by the Court but the County Judge atates that~the CoamS.aaionen hare giren hi.8authority,Yerbally. to bind the Bounty for hoapitalixatlonof paapera not to erased a oertaln amount per day in lieu of the order thet ia of reoord. pneatioi: -1% tha county liable Sor the bill?* Vierestate your seoond Question ea followar 18 a oount~ liable for hoapltal.fmtlonof any tranelent if he is e pauper and the county haa no public hoapital? Pe quote the order of the coaabslonera* Court bearing date April 84, lG99, as followa: veder lo. 196 April z4, 1939~ On Yotion of Colaarieaioner Teylor and aeaonded by Oollaisalomar %allaea, it la ordered that the County Judge ia dlreoted an4 authorized to expend up to #eS.Oa ior oharity patienta until a oetisfactory;g may be worked aut for care of these. order to beeo~ effeotite of this date. *Coidasfonera Taylor, Watson, end UaUaoe present and voting *aye' Oosuaiaaioner Cliett absent. ,'. fudge Cowley, presidia&* Geotiona ll and 12 or titiole Z3Y1, Yernonfa annotat- ed CS’oll Statutes, read8 sa iollowat "11. Provide for the support Of paupers and such idiots tmd lumtlca 8s ozmnot be ad- &tted intQ the lunatio a8yhSt, reaidenta of their county, who are unable to support thes- ee1ves. By the tema resibent aa used herein, la mmnt a pensoon who has been a bona fide inhebltantof the oousttynot lose thm air mmths and of the State not less then arm &W&l-. “12. X’rorfdefor the burial oi pat~pere.~ ,,rtl%la4438, Vern0n*s xUlotattd Ctrll Statutes, rucrdsa5 followa: “3 shera is a regular tatebl5shad gublie hosgital In the oormty, the wmia- vionerr wurt ohail grovid% for aending the :nbii;eflt sfok of the oounty to such hoapltsl. Ii aore than one au%h hospital dXi8ts tz the Ooanty, the Indulgentpatlrnt shali haye the right to oalect whioh one 0r thsn hs shall be seat to.- IB the aa. of yiillaayCounty Y. YczllepBaptlat Eiospltal, et 81. 89 $. W. (ed) 484, the faotr wre aubaru\tIal- ly a.6ro1m; 'On a aert0In night In Suly, 1029, a person by the n&se of Rafael !&rbosd,a ri+Sidtsnt 31 tilllaoy CeUnty, was atruok by an outoioabile, sad usrloasly injured. He lay wmnded by the roadaide the rearaS.n4er of thenIght. The next wrniag his aondi- tlon ~8s Biscovend by the Sheriff of WlUaey County, who in tarn called the County Jady, who direoted that all &moassary aedloal aid be given to the injured yn, stating that tha eoontg wzmld ‘mp th4 urpenaoa. T3w sheriff thereupon oaXLad Rr. id%Cana,a looal phgeioian, who upan 4xaimS.ntatlon ot .the l.nJPp34 man caneluded that UL operatIo* was n%oeaaary* There wea no hospital in WfIlaoJrCountf and the sherirf, eeceqpanled bp Dr. McIccana,rushed aarbosa to the'Vall;eyBaptist Iioapltalat &rlingen, in C~rrieroaOount~, where aitother phyafcfen,vias oedbd in and yarrariaed an operation. A few days later Barbosa died as r~..nault of hls Injuries. Aftcsrward th6 tar0 physfaiam'srrdthe hbapital filed Clailu against the 6ount$,for thirty dollare, One htmdred and fifty bolltrra,Tad %i@tf-tie d~lililrs, rcape&tital~,tm tbdr reea f;hzb. etrvlaes rendhred~bg thea to Barboaa. oountg oodaa~~nera* court rejeota4 these Honortible I..J. aryan, Jr., Page 4 olaIm, and the claimants each riled suit against i%IllecyCounty, In a juetioe of the peaoe oourt. The three suits were oonsolidated and judgment was rendered in revor of the piaa+irrs r0forthe 4imount0r their respeotive olalnls. On eppeal to the County Court e like judgaent was rendered upon a dlreoted verdlot, aad Mlleog County appealed. The Judgnmnt was based upon the aaaumptlon that Barboea ua6 a peuper and therefore suoh a charge upon the county a8 to render It the duty of the latter ta furnish hia the aervloes for whioh the suit was brought; end that the Comfy Judge was olothed wlth author- ity to bind the oounty with his agreementto pay for such servloes,although It we8 ooaeldersdthat the oommle6lonere~court as a body, or the oommls- aloners individually,had taken no action to deolare Barbosa e pauper or to authorize thei Couuty Jadge to so bind them, end no such matters had ever been presented to them, WlUeog County,with but a llttle population, had no pub118 or private hospital, suoh as are being o.mreted in oountles or large population. The judgmsnt or the CoMty Court nes reversed and rendered. #a quote fmm the above nentioned oeee ee follows: "The powers ad dutle8 of ootantyeosmI#- sionexs' courts, end the obligation8or the oountles to pauper8 are ifsed by statute,and oeauot .haenlarged upon by uaneoesuary lmpllce- tion. Thee6 powera and duties, in SC far es epplioablehere ere defined in and restrioted by the protleions of Artiales 8351 and 443fb, Bevloed Statutea, 19E5. fn Artlole 2861 it is ravided that eaah eoumLeelonersVcourt shall 7subdivision11) ~providefor the support of paupera * * * residents ar their county, rb am unebh to support themeelves*, end (eabdivlsfonZS) *ror the burial of paupera*. Snhrtlele4G8 it is provided that *if there is a regular establishedpt%bllahospital in the ootmty, the oompLissioners’ oourt shall prorid? ior sending the ladlgent slok * * * to SUOQ hospital'. In the latter pro~lslon the duty end the authority or the ooemissioners* ~ootart to send the Indigent siok tQ hospital8 la limited to publlo hospitals Honorable A. 3. aryan, Jr.. ?age 5 within the county, whioh provision,by ncoeseary Lnplloatlonerolnder any duty or authority to send euoh persons to private hos2ltels, or to pub110 hospitala without the oounty. Even if Eierbosa wes within the ohes deflnsd a8 'lndi@nt alok,' t~?o%%f ths ooamiasloners*oourt as a body, muohleas :~d~~%c&% da::&? ::t%%%f Berbosa to a hoepltal, either pub110 or private, outside the county. rt:* ** Under the provLolonaof~iirtlolo 4438, the oounty wee under PO duty to send Rarbose to any hospltel, tlmrs bsing 8~ publio hospital in the souaty, end under ths im,plleQ reotrlotlansor this provisIon it Is doubtf&L ii the oounty aould be bound ty the oomls- '. 6loner8* tzourt, certainly not otheraim, to sand hlaito e hospital without t&t --sty, et pubZlc expense. n* 1 ~*.I xn view or the ioregokrg~authorltlasand the above 8tated reots, questions Xon. 1 ~4 e, ‘aboie quoted, are reapeot- fully answered in the negative. Trusting tha the fore(2ol.ag fuUy anmvers your laqolry, we toaela faurs very truly mr Ardsll Willlems AW:BS ABsiatdU¶t APPROVEIZAPR15, 1940 . ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS