Physician accuses Pearland company of mishandling bills

A Houston-area physician is suing a billing services company over allegations its work performance caused him to lose money.

James Cao, M.D. filed a lawsuit on Sept. 29 in the Harris County District Court against Bill Smart LLC, with a location in Pearland, citing violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, breach of contract and fraud.

Cao says that on Sept. 1, 2010, he hired Bill Smart to accurately handle his medical billing needs, but the company used incorrect billing codes, which caused insurance companies to deny his claims.

Because of Bill Smart’s work performance, Cao ended his business relationship with it in July, requesting the return of all documents, records and confidential information he had supplied, according to the brief.

Bill Smart refused to return Cao’s records, the suit alleges.

Cao is seeking damages, attorney’s fees and court costs. He is being represented in the case by Houston attorney John Na.

Harris County District Court Case No. 2011-58779.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Harris County Courthouse. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.