Bankruptcy and Cancer
In most bankruptcy cases, at the 341 hearing, the bankruptcy trustee will ask the debtor, “How did you get into this situation?” Our Boston bankruptcy clients are instructed to answer honestly, albeit briefly. The answers vary, of course. In Massachusetts bankruptcies, anecdotal evidence shows that there are not as many medical bankruptcies as reported nationally. However, in a fascinating academic study it was shown that there is a direct correlation between cancer and subsequent personal bankruptcy.
The study, presented by Dr. Scott David Ramsey, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, in Seattle, was conducted in Washington State. It linked the Western District of Washington bankruptcy court records with the National Cancer Institute’s SEER (Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results) for Washington State. The study was published by the Journal of Clinical Oncology and included examining 231,799 cancer cases.