I don’t agree with the rest of your comment, but I was wondering about that; they wouldn’t have gotten any personal info from me.
4 Likes
LOL.
If Comcast provided it, he would have gotten 2 oz of water in a 12 oz bottle, and their report would have recorded the pulse at between 1 and 80 BPM.
And they would have showed up at the crash site from Noon to 6pm.
23 Likes
@beschizza @frauenfelder this video autoplays when I load http://boingboing.net/blog
3 Likes
Firefighters and medical staff charge people for helping them? Seriously, US, you’re one of the wealthiest countries in the world, get a grip on yourself.
15 Likes
I get an autoplay video to. WTF?
1 Like
The Fire Dept released a media statement about this
http://ca-cosumnescsd.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/4087
3 Likes
Jinx!
1 Like
I gave my name and address to a CHP officer when I came across an accident and I gave one of the victims my coat. My guess is this is how the county rescue got the guy’s information because when I spoke to the Newport Beach FD, they never asked me who I was.
Nobody believes that emergency personnel should be doing their jobs for free, but this sounds like bill-padding to me. Also, I’m guessing the gentleman assumed the water was just a “thank you” and taking his pulse for 60 seconds was a courtesy. It’s the duty of the FD to tell the guy this if not.
18 Likes
Wasn’t the fine for autoplaying the video on a webpage?
If so, it is well deserved!
2 Likes
silly me…I thought they were already being paid by your taxes…
11 Likes
Hate to tell you, this happens all the time here in Alberta. You get in a car accident, the cops, fire department, and EMS all show up of course. The cops and fire department do their thing to your car for free. Then the EMS guy asks if you want to be checked out. If you are not actually in pain or something, and don’t have a benefits plan, say if you are a student, say NO! Otherwise you are looking at a $300+ bill. If you are a senior or on welfare it gets covered, and if you have a nice employment benefits packaged. But if you are self employed or on contract or something, tough luck. They will actually send it to a collections company.
I have a child with epilepsy, so have faced this again and again. She has learnt, when she comes out of seizure, groggy as hell, she has learnt that the first words out of her mouth should be “No EMS!”
8 Likes
Nah, that all went to the banks that gambled away your life savings.
17 Likes
well…I guess the jokes on them.
15 Likes
3 Likes
Which implies that the gentleman knew he was being asked for his address so the city could send him a bill. Because that’s always the first thing that comes to my mind after such an event.
13 Likes
No video at work…
1 Like
Ah, sorry. Here are the lyrics.
And of course my bank balance is negative; whose isn’t?
That’s why I need your 20% money laundering commission.
And I’m wishing I could talk about this further with you but I can’t.
I just got an email from DR. UBUGU of Chad.
He’s got a hundred and seventy-seven million in a bag.
I feel I got to help him ‘cause his story is so sad.
2 Likes
Do the fire departments not get tax money anymore? Do the EMT’s they employ now work on a commission? Or for tips?
They are being paid the same whether there’s a “service fee” or not. There is a real legal principle that obligates people to pay for necessary medical services, but the emphasis is on “necessary”. He should have been advised on potential charges. When someone with a badge (even a firefighter’s badge) asks for your name and information, you tend to give that information without the expectation that it obligates you to pay anything. For all you know, it’s investigational in nature.
Finally, is this how taxes are supposed to work? As a partial subsidy for firefighting departments that can’t recoup costs without charging the people they help? Fuck me.
19 Likes
link ?
“Based on state and county policies governing the obligations of firefighter/paramedics to offer care to injured persons, Mr. DeAnda received medical treatment at the scene. This established a patient-provider relationship, triggering the parameters of the “Fire Responder Fee.””
There’s the problem right there. By policy they’re required to treat “injured” persons and then they’re required to bill for their services. If they’re required to bill, they should be required to disclose costs if the injury they’re treating isn’t life-threatening and if their services are not covered by anyone’s general medical insurance. You can’t have a policy that essentially obligates people to pay for a service the terms of which weren’t disclosed to them prior to the service. It’s like the window washer at the stop sign who expects a tip even though you didn’t ask him to wash your window. The service provider is creating the obligation.
19 Likes
