This runs contrary to what we've always been taught about rattlesnake bites. I've been snake bitten twice in my life, but not by a rattlesnake. (Cottonmouth and copperhead) But, both times I never got to a hospital. We've always been taught that rattlesnakes leave a really nasty scar and their bite destroys tissue. However they were rarely fatal. I've heard from emergency room personnel that the danger from a rattlesnake bite is the person could suffer a heart attack from the fear of being bitten.
I got bit by a bat and the psychological effect of even the slightest chance of getting rabies is almost disabling. There is something primordial about the fear of rabbies.
With rattlesnakes the effectiveness of the strikes vary, which is why we get the nothing happened, or not so bad stories.
The snake may strike more as a warning or annoyance and not expend venom or much of it, or it may have just made a big kill, or it may be loaded up with plenty of venom and dump it all into you, and I assume where it’s fangs get you can make a difference as well.