26Right of action against insured person by hospital etc

26 Right of action against insured person by hospital etc

26 Right of action against insured person by hospital etc

(1) Where liability at law is incurred in respect of the death of or bodily injury to any person caused by or arising out of the use of a motor vehicle, not being a motor vehicle in respect of which persons are exempted by or under this Act from the provisions of section 7 (1), then:

(a) if the person received, in respect of the bodily injury or the injury which caused that person’s death, treatment at a public hospital as an in-patient, the proper officer may, in the name and on behalf of the person, and notwithstanding that the person may be dead, recover for each day or part of a day of the treatment of the person, an amount estimated by the Minister for Health and last notified, as the daily average cost to that hospital of the hospital treatment of in-patients,

(b) if the person received, in respect of the bodily injury or the injury which caused that person’s death, treatment at a public hospital as an out-patient, the proper officer may, in the name and on behalf of the person, notwithstanding that the person may be dead, recover in respect of each separate treatment of the person, an amount estimated by the Minister for Health and last notified, as the average cost to that hospital, for each separate treatment, of the hospital treatment of out-patients,

(c) if the person received, in respect of the bodily injury or the injury which caused that person’s death, treatment (whether as an in-patient or as an out-patient) at a hospital other than a public hospital, the proper officer may, in the name and on behalf of the person, and notwithstanding that the person may be dead, recover an amount calculated in accordance with a scale to be prescribed by the regulations, but not exceeding a maximum amount (if any) so prescribed,

(d) if the person, as a consequence of any such injury, was conveyed in any ambulance vehicle the proper officer may, in the name and on behalf of the person, notwithstanding that the person may be dead, recover an amount calculated in accordance with a scale to be prescribed by the regulations, but not exceeding the maximum amount (if any) so prescribed, and

(e) if the person received, in respect of any such injury, reasonably necessary medical treatment by a legally qualified medical practitioner, or reasonably necessary massage treatment by a masseur, or reasonably necessary dental treatment (otherwise than as hospital treatment) by a registered dentist, or reasonably necessary nursing (otherwise than as hospital treatment) by a registered nurse, the medical practitioner, masseur, dentist, or nurse, as the case may be, may, in the name and on behalf of the person, and notwithstanding that the person may be dead, recover such amount as is reasonably appropriate to the treatment or nursing afforded, having regard to the reasonable necessity therefor and the customary charge made in the community for such treatment or nursing.