The snake's venom may be sufficient to induce suffocation.
Best to dance with that snake in a nice glass case on the other side of the room or something.
We have both kinds show up around here ~ Appalachian snake handlers and those from South Asia. Every now and then one of the breeders lets something loose ~ and that does get the police to pay attention.
Best thing that ever happened was the small snake handler church down the way was taken by the highway. No idea where those folks went ~ maybe Woodbridge.
Actually, it is pretty rare to die from a rattlesnake bite. Envenomation does not occur in about 30% of the cases. I doubt there are more than 20 deaths/year.
The face probably isn’t a good location for a bite though. The venom is a neurotoxin, and it is impossible to tourniquet the area. I can’t tell from the article whether the hospital is negligent or not. There isn’t much they can do except start a saline line and wait for antivenom. Most of the stuff in the lawsuit sounds like it is written by someone who knows very little about EMS protocols, and is hoping to get lucky on something. It is hard to be sure, without more information.
As for all the freepers who think that because she did something stupid, the hospital isn’t liable, you are wrong. As a paramedic, I spent a majority of my time with victims/patients that have done something stupid. They deserve help and care as much as everyone else. We could all be there one day, and the stupidity is sometimes only recognized after the fact.
The hospital and EMS are used to this, and are expected to treat all patients the same. If they don’t they are liable. I suspect this lawsuit has more to do with making fun of the religion than it does with medical malpractice.