An unemployed man has been given a $44 million medical bill after being treated for pneumonia in the hospital.

Alexis Rodriguez received the bill from Bronx-Lebanon Hospital last week and had the shock of his life after seeing what they claimed he owed.

The 28-year-old described: “I almost had an asthma attack,” according to New York Daily News.

However, it now appears that he was just one of several hundred patients to have received ridiculously inflated bills from the hospital, as a result of a “system error.” In reality he only owed $300.

Rodriquez has said he panicked initially as he had spent three weeks in the hospital for treatment, and had been told that he’d have to contribute to the $40,000 total bill. However, following the initial shock he soon realized the numbers still did not add up and called to complain.

It turns out that the billing firm, PHY Services, has put the invoice number into the amount due box.

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According to the NY Daily News Rodriquez said, “It was a big error. I think they should have somebody look over the bills before they send them out.”

He concluded: “I understand manpower may be down, but to send out a lot of bills with numbers that big - someone could have had a heart attack.”