Montana Code Annotated
Part 22. Detention Centers
7-32-2224. Payment of medical costs by entities other than inmate

7-32-2224. Payment of medical costs by entities other than inmate. (1) The detention center administrator shall forward to the appropriate arresting agency all charges for medical treatment for which the agency is responsible.
(2) When the inmate is in the custody of a county detention center and the detention center administrator determines that the inmate requires medical treatment, the county or the arresting agency is responsible for medical costs associated with:
(a) conditions that are not preexisting;
(b) injuries incurred by the inmate:
(i) while in the custody of the detention center if the injuries are the result of an accident, an assault by another inmate, or negligent or intentionally torturous acts committed by the detention center administrator or the administrator's staff;
(ii) during the arrest of the inmate by the sheriff or the sheriff's staff if the injuries were not incurred while unlawfully resisting arrest; or
(iii) while on a work program or while the inmate is performing duties assigned by the detention center administrator or the administrator's staff;
(c) infections or contagious or communicable diseases that the inmate contracts while in the custody of the detention center; or
(d) medical examinations that are required by law or court order unless the order provides otherwise.
(3) In order to determine which entity is responsible for medical charges that are not the responsibility of the inmate, the following applies:
(a) If the arresting agency is a law enforcement agency whose jurisdiction is limited to the county boundaries of the county or a municipality in the county where the detention center is located, then the county is responsible.
(b) If the arresting agency is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction or whose jurisdiction is a county or municipality in a county other than the county where the detention center is located, then the arresting agency is responsible.
(c) If a municipality commits a person to the detention center of the county in which the municipality is located for a reason other than detention pending trial for or detention for service of a sentence for violating an ordinance of that municipality, then the county in which the municipality is located is responsible.
(4) For the purposes of 7-32-2245 and this section, "preexisting condition" means an illness or condition that began or injuries that were sustained before a person was in the custody of county officers.
History: En. Sec. 3, Ch. 579, L. 2003.