PAYMENT DUE ON FAMILY’S TRAGEDY
Grieving death of infant torn from womb, they get bills topping $300K from hospital
The family of Yovanny Lopez, the infant who died after he was cut from his mom’s womb, has been billed hundreds of thousands of dollars for his medical care — including for care while the woman charged with murdering the boy and his mom allegedly claimed him as her own.
What’s more, a bill obtained by the SunTimes and sent to the family from Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn refers to the infant as the “Figueroa, boy” — the last name of accused killer Clarisa Figueroa.
The hospital’s actions amount to “intentional infliction of emotional distress,” Frank Avila, the attorney for the boy’s family, charged Thursday. “What kind of monstrous people are these?”
In a statement, the hospital said it had “inadvertently” sent one of the bills, and said it regretted doing so.
Avila and the infant’s father, Yovani Lopez, have been extremely critical of the hospital for not reporting the situation to authorities sooner, especially when Figueroa allegedly showed up at the hospital in April claiming to be the mother of the unresponsive baby despite strong indications that she had not given birth.
Avila’s latest comments were made at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, after a bail hearing where prosecutors announced firstdegree murder charges in Yovanny’s death against Figueroa, 46, and her daughter, Desiree, 24. Yovanny died on June 14 from the injuries he suffered due to lack of oxygen when he was cut from his mother’s body, prosecutors said.
The two women had earlier been indicted on murder and other charges in the brutal slaying of the boy’s mom, Marlen Ochoa-Lopez. Both have pleaded not guilty.
The two allegedly lured the pregnant Ochoa Lopez on April 23 to their Scottsdale neighborhood home then strangled Ochoa-Lopez and cut the infant from her womb.
When the infant was unresponsive, Clarisa Figueroa called an ambulance and they were taken to Christ Medical Center, where Yovanny remained in intensive care for weeks and Figueroa allegedly posed as his mother. The first week of May, police investigating Ochoa Lopez’s disappearance interviewed Figueroa in the hospital and DNA tests were taken. She was arrested a week later when it was determined that Figueroa was not the mother and Ochoa Lopez’s body was found outside the home where Figueroa lived, authorities have said.
The boy’s true family then got access to him, and they remained by his side until he died.
Since then, numerous bills have been sent to the family totaling more than $300,000, Avila said. The bills date back to April 23 and include care of “high complexity.”
The child is listed in the bills as “Figueroa, boy.” He was still listed under that name for multiple line items dating until at least May 7.
“Thank you for choosing Advocate Health Care,” a statement dated June 3 reads. “Your balance is past due. Please pay the entire amount ... to avoid being referred to an external collection agency.”
Avila said the hospital at a meeting had promised to waive the bills, but the family continues to receive demands for payment. Yovani Lopez does not have health insurance.
“I would hope the hospital would not be so cruel” in enlisting a bill collector, he said.
In its statement, the hospital did not detail what bills were mailed to the family, but indicated at least one should not have been sent.
“Our hearts and prayers continue to be with the Ochoa-Lopez family during this difficult time,” the statement said. “We have had discussions with the family regarding a bill that was inadvertently sent 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.”
While the hospital has billed the family, it has not provided medical records for the baby, despite the family being “promised” that they would receive them, Avila said. Relatives are also still waiting to receive the original birth certificate, which continues to list Clarisa Figueroa as the boy’s mother, he said, and would help the boy get medical coverage.
“That is atrocious,” said Avila, accusing the hospital of stonewalling. “It needs to stop.”