Trumbull hospital operator fights medical supplier's $300K claim

 Insight Foundation of Trumbull is pushing back against claims it owes a medical testing company nearly $300,000. The non-profit, which runs Trumbull Regional Medical Center and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital, denied almost all the accusations made by Roche Diagnostics Corp.

Roche Diagnostics sued the Insight Foundation in early May, claiming it was owed $294,646.55 for medical tests and equipment provided to the Trumbull County hospitals. The lawsuit accused Insight of breaking its agreement and unfairly benefiting from Roche's services without paying.

In a document filed in federal court on Monday, Insight Foundation stated that its financial responsibilities related to taking over the hospitals are clearly outlined in thousands of documents from the Steward Health Care System bankruptcy case. Insight argues that any claims by Roche that don't align with those bankruptcy agreements are not true.

Insight Foundation raised several arguments in its defense. It claimed that Roche's lawsuit doesn't have a strong enough basis to proceed, that Roche didn't do enough to prevent or lessen its losses, and that Roche's claims are invalid due to issues like delay or unfair conduct on Roche's part.

Insight also argued that it might be owed money by Roche, that Roche's actions or inaction caused any problems, that other parties were responsible for any damages, and that Roche failed to include all necessary parties in the lawsuit.

Ultimately, Insight Foundation is asking the court to throw out Roche's lawsuit entirely and make Roche pay for Insight's legal costs and other expenses.

Trumbull Regional and Hillside hospitals, which Insight Foundation acquired after Steward Health Care System's bankruptcy, suddenly halted most patient services in late March after Steward stopped providing funds. This led to the closure of the emergency room at Insight Hospital & Medical Center Trumbull (formerly Trumbull Regional) and widespread staff furloughs.