OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
-c.Muln
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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
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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS