Hi - my name is XXXXX XXXXX X'm a Personal Injury litigation attorney here to assist you.

Obviously, the claim is that you would not have incurred the charges for the second surgery, hospital stay, medication, etc. had the medical providers not been negligent with the first surgery.

What you have to look at is whether or not it is common for this type of infection to ensue after a surgery like yours, or is it something that should not happen or that rarely happens, but is caused by some failure of the medical staff.

If you can prove that the infection was caused by the negligence of the medical provider, you can dispute the bill on that ground. In fact, you would have the right to sue the medical provider for the injuries you sustained, future medical treatment, lost work, etc. if you can prove that their actions were negligent.

In order to do this, you will have to get a medical professional to review your medical records, and if the medical professional (doctor, usually) finds that the providers fell below the applicable standard of care at any point, you would have a right to sue.

The best way to get the ball rolling is to see a personal injury attorney in your area and have him/her get in touch with the appropriate medical professional to review your bills. If fault is found, you can discuss proceeding to file suit.

You certainly can write a letter stating that you dispute the charges and your liability for the debt based on the fact that the hospital's negligence is the reason you incurred the expense, and that you should not have to pay for mistakes they made. However, it is likely going to fall on deaf ears until you hire an attorney to go after them.