71–80 of 225 posts
> "[At the hospital", they wait for somebody to give them assurance that they will pay the bill." How can such low levels of humanity be reached at a hospital?
Well, if the person doesn't have money who is going to pay for the bills? Medicine costs money.
> "[At the hospital", they wait for somebody to give them assurance that they will pay the bill." How can such low levels of humanity be reached at a hospital?
When first visiting the US many years ago I was warned always to carry with me proof of insurance, for otherwise a hospital might not treat me until I could provide some proof that I could pay. I wonder if that was true, whether it's still true, and what the situation really was or is.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
India's Caste System is very rigid, apparently. I asked an Indian friend in college to explain it to me before the interwebz. After the rage she showered upon me for asking I never followed up. Perhaps I will now... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste_system_in_India
Caste system is not the same as Racism. However, it has nothing to do with accidents. When you see a person involved in an accident in India you won't be able to make out his/her caste by looking at them (unlike race where the racial features are apparent).
Tragic. I, personally, could not sit idly by and watch, or record, anyone suffering without attempting to assist. Consequences be damned, I would hope for the same assistance if I were injured & needing aid. This is something I have spent a lot of time contemplating lately as I watch people texting while operating multi-ton vehicles at any speed, let alone at 80mph(130kmh)down the highway. I have witnessed a notable…
What if a close personal friend had done so in the past to horrible consequences for themselves? What if time and again, you hear stories of good Samaritans reaping life destroying "thanks". What if you are a parent, and know that helping may risk putting you in jail, and unable to provide for you very poor family?
A little tangental. Indians are insanely good drivers given their actual traffic conditions. I just spent two months there and as (fucking annoying) as it was to walk through the crowds with motorcycles whipping by, inches away from me all the time, I wasn't very concerned with them hitting me. Anecdotally, everybody appeared to be watching everyone else on the road—otherwise it would have been sheer insanity because…
This is a crazy thought but the government or charities could award a random lottery to good-Samaritans? Then suddenly everyone will want to help. The only problem is this will also cause fake incidents for fraud purposes. Or people who purposely cause accidents to "help". But if they can solve that issue, might work?
Government/charities need not award us any lottery. All the Government needs to do is bring a law that protects the good-samaritans (remove all the unnecessary legal hassles and allow us to be anonymous). Heck I would even be willing to pay the hospital's initial deposit only if I don't have to be entangled in all sorts of legal issues. Currently if you report an accident or get the injured person to a hospital you'l…
sounds like FUD. why should a witness have to attend any time other than one time to testify (usually as a friendly witness, i imagine forcing hostile testimony is even rarer). court proceedings can include filing various forms which are done by one person or not done at all (causing delays). I don't see anyone dragging you to court to file papers that you have nothing to do with... Unless they are charging you with something and arresting you or making you serve on a jury (india doesn't even have jury trials), why would you have to be at the court multiple times just as a witness ?
> I don't have to be entangled in all sorts of legal issues.
The way to avoid being entangled in legal issues is 1. avoid doing things you know are illegal and 2. avoid pissing off someone (who will see that you get prosecuted for failing at 1).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What if a close personal friend had done so in the past to horrible consequences for themselves? What if time and again, you hear stories of good Samaritans reaping life destroying "thanks". What if you are a parent, and know that helping may risk putting you in jail, and unable to provide for you very poor family?
I'm not familiar with this phenomenon of being jailed for helping a crash victim. Can someone elaborate? (Is this as US litigation culture thing?)
> "The foremost reason was intimidation by police," he says.
> "Oftentimes if you assist someone the police will assume you're helping that person out of guilt."
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You're missing the section at the end about hospitals refusing treatment when someone's brought in by a stranger that won't be paying.
I wonder how does that even work? If someone drops in an injured person and leaves, will the hospital just let the injured person die on the floor? If bystanders doing nothing raises headlines in India, I'd imagine hospitals doing that would be an even bigger scandal.
A quick story in Pakistan: A brain surgeon had a lot of success doing brain surgeries and received much fame, award, and status worldwide, and even though he started out modestly helping the poor and less fortunate, fame and greed got to him, and he became more demanding in terms of payment.
Well, a man brought in a young individual involved in a car accident who had received a big blow to the brain to the hospital where the doctor worked. The young man was a passerby to the accident and a complete stranger. He begged and pleaded this world famous doctor at the hospital to operate, but the doctor wanted payment. He eventually offered his own car keys as a security deposit for the time being while he would try to raise money in other ways. The doctor accepted the security deposit and began to operate. It was too late, however, because when the doctor opened the curtain he found the injured individual to be his son about to take his last breath. The doctor went insane and died.
In California the supreme court has ruled that you can be sued by an accident victim for being a Good Samaritan: http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1871331,0...
http://www.metnews.com/articles/2009/bill080709.htm
http://www.montereysar.org/SARMembersDocs/Good_Samaritan_Lia...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Wang_Yue
context: "...the story of a man named Peng Yu in Nanjing who was sued by a woman after helping her. The old woman was successful in seeking damages from the man because the judge claimed that the man wouldn’t have helped her unless he was guilty of injuring her in the first place..."
-- https://chinachange.org/2011/10/20/the-good-samaritan-in-chi...