Topeka ? The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Friday that the Highway Patrol must pay the Kansas University Hospital Authority more than $23,000 for the medical bills of an indigent defendant who was taken there for treatment.

The case involved Wayne Thomas, who was arrested for drunk driving in Wyandotte County after crashing his car into a tree during a high-speed chase. The hospital eventually sued both the county and the Highway Patrol for the cost of his medical care.

In a unanimous opinion, the court said a recent change in state law made it clear that the Highway Patrol was liable for the costs because Thomas was in the Highway Patrol’s custody at the time he was taken to the hospital.

It was the second time in a year that KU Hospital has asked the Supreme Court to decide who is responsible for paying the medical bills of indigent prisoners taken there for treatment.

In June of last year, the court ruled that the hospital itself had to absorb an estimated $140,000 in costs for treating an undocumented immigrant who was taken there after leaping out of a fourth story window at the Wabaunsee County Jail.

Alberto Contreras Gonzalez had been arrested in 2006 on drug charges but entered a diversion agreement with the Wabaunsee County prosecutor. He was released to the custody of Shawnee County, where he was wanted on outstanding warrants, and after being released there he returned to Wabaunsee County to pick up his personal belongings.

While at the jail waiting to speak with someone, Gonzalez reportedly panicked and leaped out of an unsecured window, suffering a broken hip and other severe injuries.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement had issued a 48-hour hold on his release because that agency wanted to take him into custody. But even though ICE was contacted following the incident, it never took Gonzalez into custody.

The Supreme Court ruled in that case that Gonzalez was not officially in the custody of the county or any law enforcement agency, and therefore KU Hospital could not recover the cost of his treatment.