So much for Good Samaritan protections…
WTF?? Just… WTF??
Seems like “the system” would prefer that we just watch each other suffer…
No good deed goes unpunished.
Heard Rush (accidentally! I’m not a listener!) try to blame this on “Obamacare”. Thanks Obama!
I know, it’s so strange that we never hear stories like this occurring in Canada. They must have some complex system of “Good Samaritan” laws or something…
Can’t he just tell them to fuck off? What obligation does he have to pay? Could he not say he thought it was a gift/free?
Maybe he should send them a bill for pre-emptively doing the important part of their jobs for them.
Look, if he gets out of the rules simply by being a hero, then everybody will be a hero to get out of following the rules. Imagine the chaos! Why, an EMT won’t even be able to get to injured people through the giant pile of heroes covering them, and all you’ll see at a house on fire is a steady stream of heroes walking out the front door, carrying babies! Madness!
Plus, being Rush, there was a five minute drum solo from Peart in the middle! Thanks, Justin Trudeau!
That must be some water.
The lesson here is anytime a medical professional offers you something or even approaches you you should scream “STAY AWAY FROM ME!” and immediately flee.
Come on, now. This is just sound municipal management. I’m sure the $143 is a civic quid-pro-quo for giving one of its citizens the opportunity to enjoy the spritual benefits of helping someone.
Well, the good samaritan laws protect him from liability from the people he is saving - for instance, if he cut one of them on the arm while dragging them out of a burning car they couldn’t sue him for that, or if he failed to save someone’s life by giving CPR their family couldn’t sue him.
That doesn’t give you any protection from this, which is basically just being billed for his own “medical treatment”. Probably the best defense against it was that he didn’t authorize any charges (and was conscious and in a position to give informed consent).
The news report didn’t mention if he asked for the pulse check and the bottle of water. If they just started “treating” him without request or even official consent, it seems like they volunteered their services for free. And since they didn’t disclose their fee in advance of treatment for non-life-threatening injuries, it seems like they waived any right to collect. Had he known about the cost, he could have forgone treatment and found a more competitive rate (probably from a nice person who could give a hero a bottle of water for free).
The story reminds me of a number of years ago when my father was summiting Denali with some friends of his. They came upon an unconscious solo climber, who they resuscitated, and with the help of another party rescued. They missed their summit opportunity, but saved the guys life, and felt fine with that.
A few months later, Denali Mountain Rescue sent him a check for something like $25 in hazard pay. He never cashed it, and just hung the check on the wall.
This guy with the $143 bill should pay the bill, then invoice the city for $2800 in rescue hazard expenses since he did part of their job for them.
Free water and pulse checks for heroes…sponsored by Comcast
Hold on… let me get my pitchfork!
Rush missed a big opportunity here. This is the perfect use for a gun – shooting a few holes through that window will break it cleanly without risking scraping your knuckles.
No, he got charged 10 bux (or whatever bottled water costs + a small service fee) for the water and the rest was for a trained professional to asses if he was in need of further medical assistance. Presumably he gave them a name and address with which to bill them, so I can only assume he was fine with getting billed for services rendered.
It’s not like the EMTs do this kinda thing for free… and attributing the entire bill to the water just to spark moral outrage is disingenuous.
UPDATE: Instead of saying “It’s not like the EMTs do this kinda thing for free”, I should have said “It’s not like the people employing the EMTs send out said EMTs for purely humanitarian reasons.”
I’m pretty sure the EMT’s have to account for who they helped/examined and what they used/gave out from the inventory of their ambulance. Then someone unrelated to the incident decided to bill a dude.
Anyway! My main point is that the water wasn’t the only thing on that Bill if it was on it at all. He was charged mostly for being looked at by an EMT. Now, weather you think he should have been asked first before being examined or if he should have screamed “DON’T TOUCH ME I DON’T WANT TO GIVE YOU MONEY!!!” into the face of the EMT the instant they approached him with a bottle of seemingly free water is a different topic.
I would suggest that you call the Cosumnes Fire Department and express your opinion. There is a press release as of several days ago, where they seem to be trying to blame it on another administrative department, but it sounds like nonsense to me. The press release, which contains their phone number and address, is here.
They are also on Twitter for those who think that might help.
You wonder why superheroes wear masks. Not because of the villains exacting revenge, but to skip out on the bills!
