Bill sent to murdered woman's family was an error, suburban Illinois hospital says

Kelly Gooch -

An Illinois hospital said it mistakenly billed the family of a woman who was murdered before her unborn baby was cut from her womb, according to NBC Chicago.

Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Ill., sent the bills to Yovanny Lopez, the father of 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez.

The hospital provided a statement to Becker's, saying that the billing — which totaled hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the family's lawyer — was "inadvertent."

"Our hearts and prayers continue to be with the Ochoa-Lopez family during this difficult time," Christ Medical Center said. "We have had discussions with the family regarding inadvertent billing, and we regret this error. We take our obligation to patient privacy seriously, and therefore are unable to comment further regarding care, services or billing."

Ms. Ochoa-Lopez was murdered in April. After her death, her son was cut from her womb and later died at Christ Medical Center, according to NBC Chicago, which cites information from the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. 

Desiree and Clarisa Figueroa, who are mother and daughter, face murder charges in the deaths of Ms. Ochoa-Lopez and her infant son.

Read the full report here

 

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