Judge Vacates Significant Medicaid Lien, Allowing the Parties to Settle Mold Case

A court granted our petition to vacate in entirely a $47,000 Medicaid lien, thus paving the way to settle a disputed Mold infection case. It is not uncommon for our clients on public assistance and Medicaid to have a lien placed on their lawsuits based on medical services provided through Medicaid. These liens are known as 104-b liens under New York’s Social Services Law, and are strictly construed. A county with such a lien must strictly follow the requirements to file and serve its 104-b liens. In addition, the United States Supreme Court has determined that any lien for medical services must the realities of litigation and settlements, and reduced accordingly. Sometimes these liens are significant and can impede a settlement, as in this case.

We successfully argued that the county failed to strictly follow New York Law in terms of filing and serving its alleged lien, and failed to establish it was entitled to enforce it.  

At Conway & Kirby, we typically analyze whether a Medicaid lien is actually valid under the law and aggressively protect our client’s interests by challenging Medicaid liens in court.