Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.
Posted on 08/25/2010 8:16:29 PM PDT by LibWhacker
Say family does not have insurance to pay cost of precautionary check-up
The family of a 17-year-old Zion teen credited with saving a drowning boy on Monday in Kenosha, Wis., say the good deed has unfairly saddled them with more than $2,000 in medical bills.
“He did what the lifeguard should have done — Trevor saved the boy,” Nicole Bollinger said Tuesday of her cousin, Trevor Hall.
“Now the hospital phones me this morning to say that they’re sending off the bill for Trevor being taken to hospital as a precaution afterwards.
(Excerpt) Read more at suntimes.com ...
Ummmm....exactly who should pay the bill? The hospital? From the sound of the story, the hospital is probably going to eat the bill anyway...but that doesn’t make it their obligation to do so.
People expect ER’s and hospitals to ‘be there’ when needed, then publish crap like this when the dare to ‘send a bill’.
Not directing this at you, just commenting about the title of the article.
Rule 1) Never sign anything.
Rule 2) Never allow them to take your clothes.
These medical tests are bullshit. I was a lifeguard and though I never had to save anyone in danger, I did pull a few out to prevent something from happening.
Blood test? for what - chlorine? Yep, it’s in the water, stupids.
EKG - why? The kid’s heart is find. He rescued someone without having a heart attack.
Ridiculous. The ambulance crew could check his pulse and breathing, and then thank him for his efforts.
WTF?
Hall was taken just for precautionary measures,” Benn said. Hall had swallowed some water in the incident. The hospital later released them, but not before Hall had undergone a battery of tests, including chest X-rays, an electrocardiogram and blood work.
The hospital was covering its behind with such a huge battery of tests. In the good ole days, he would never have been transported to the hospital in an ambulance and certainly not given all those tests. Somebody pool-side would've said "You're wet, but you'll be fine" and that would have been the end of it. This is the handiwork of too many lawyers and the pussification of the US.
I was billed close to this by a Wi Hospital for my kid getting 7 stitches.
They were most persistent.
BTW my insurance conveniently dropped him at 19.
Quite a racket. 7 stitches?
Good thing he didn't have a nose bleed. They could have used every piece of equipment they owned for that.
He wasn’t in need of medical care and his mom didn’t order the battery of tests. Who do you think should pay the bill?
Heck...In today’s society, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the hero get sued by the “almost” drownee as well...
“This is the handiwork of too many lawyers and the pussification of the US.”
I agree 100%...it’s just cover-your-behind, thoroughly unnecessary testing. Patients have the right to refuse treatment and in this case the kid should have done so.
“These medical tests are bullshit.”
“The ambulance crew could check his pulse and breathing, and then thank him for his efforts.”
Maybe this is an example of how everybody (not just MDs) but everybody is following orders to protect themselves from potential lawsuits.
The “officials” (ambulance crew, police, potential responsible parties of property, business — whatever — )urge kid to go to the hospital so they won’t be sued by the lawyers advertising on day-time TV.
$2000 for a quick ER check-up means 10 illegal immigrants can get free medical!!!
too many lawyers and chickenshit litigation
Yep. There is a lot of churning by “emergency services” nowadays. I’ve seen fire, police and ems called on the report of fender benders where no one was hurt, then the people are billed.
Government as squeegee guys.
If he shows up in a hospital, for whatever reason, they are obligated to make sure he is OK. There is nothing else the hospital can do. Who sent him there? Ever aspirate lake water? Ever have negative pressure pulmonary edema?
If the hospital did nothing, sent him home and the kid died from something he aspirated, are they not going to be sued?
Did the hospital direct that the kid be taken to their ER?
Things always look clear through the 180 degree retrospectoscope after the event, to people that have no freaking idea what legal liabilities are faced by those actually involved in patient care. If his Mom didn’t order the ‘battery of tests’ and the kid died or suffered injury, legally it doesn’t matter...they are still potentially liable in a court of law.
Who do I think should pay the bill? Not the hospital who was doing their LEGALLY mandated diligence, and protecting themselves as appropriate. Unless the hospital coerced whomever to bring the kid to the hospital so they could rip him off, they were only doing their job.
Why don’t you re-write the expected article headline if they had done nothing, sent to local hero home, and the kid then died. Go ahead...I’d like to see it. Also, try to estimate for me what the likely lawsuit would have been settled for.
Bump!
Screw this hospital... this is complete bullcrap... They basically kidnap the boy and force him to undergo their “evaluation” ... Why? Because the hospital staff figured him AN EASY MARK, to soak his insurance company for the cost. This exemplifies the reason to have walked away and let the dummy in the pool drown... I would have said too bad for him, and walked away. Maybe he should learn to swim before entering a pool.
I got an even better one for ‘ya....
Rewrite the expected headline if the hospital sent the local kid hero home without tests, and the mother complained.
Was it because the evil hospital knew he had no insurance?
Please explain how the hospital ‘kidnapped the boy’.
This will be good.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.