Oklahoma oilfield worker Johnny Trent and two others who challenged what they thought were exorbitant medical helicopter flights have lost again in federal court.
Trent was hurt in an oilfield accident near Elk City and was flown by helicopter to an Oklahoma City hospital. He was charged $45,101.94 for the 106 mile flight by Air Evac EMS, Inc.
Trent joined two others in filing suit against Air Evac EMS which did business as EagleMed. In one case, Susan Schneberger sued when her family was charged $63,564.17 for a 416 flight of her husband from Norman to the MD Anderson Hospital in Houston, Texas. The bill was later reduced to $53,133.83. The third case involved Lacy Stidman who was charged more than $34,000 for a medi-flight from Pittsburg County to the St. John Medical Center in Tulsa. Her bill was later reduced to $19,516.26 after her insurance paid $15,180.53 of EagleMed’s charges.
All three lost in Oklahoma City federal court where they had claimed no price or schedule of prices was disclosed by EagleMed at the time of their flights. They had filed suit after EagleMed started collection efforts.
This week, the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver agreed with the Oklahoma City federal judge who dismissed the suit in siding with EagleMed.
