Case Name: Collins v. Lucas County
Court: Iowa Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Iowa
Decision Date: 1879-04-09
Citations: 50 Iowa 448
Docket Number: 
Parties: Collins v. Lucas County.
Judges: 
Reporter: Iowa Reports
Volume: 50
Pages: 448–449

Head Matter:
Collins v. Lucas County.
1. Services: physician: pauper. Where a physician rendered services to a pauper at the request of the township trustees, it was held to be-competent for the board of supervisors to waive a certificate from the trustees that the services had been rendered, and that the physician was entitled to recover against the county.
Appeal from Lucas Circuit Court.
Wednesday, April 9.
Action to recover for medical services rendered by plaintiff' to a pauper. The services were rendered at the request of the trustees of the township where the pauper resided. The- plaintiff’s bill was presented to the board of supervisors, who refused to allow the same. The defendant, for answer,, denies the rendition of the services, and further says that the defendant has a poor-house, and has always been able, ready and willing to care for all indigent poor applying for aid; that application for aid was never made in this case; and defendant further says that it has a physician employed by the year to treat all indigent poor of the county. There was a trial without a jury and judgment for the plaintiff. The defendant appeals.
J. N. McClcmahan, for appellant.
Mitchell & Penick, for appellee.

Opinion:
Adams, J.
Section 1866 of the Code provides that "all claims and bills for the care and support of the poor shall be certified to be correct by the proper trustees, andpresentedto the board of supervisors." The plaintiff's bill was not so certified. It is insisted, therefore, that he should not be allowed to recover.
Conceding that this case is within the purview of the section above cited, we think it was competent for the board to waive the trustees' certificate if satisfied of the truth of all that the certificate would show, and in our opinion they did waive the certificate in this case. The record not only fails to show that any objection was made to the bill on the ground that it was not properly certified, but the defense is placed expressly upon other grounds.
Affirmed.