Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

oregonlive.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 424 posts

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#141

Post by rightbyte »

ks2048 wrote: post #131
rightbyte wrote: post #118

In stories like this... I assume the patient was billed due to some automatic bureaucracy?

In this question, how does "some automatic bureaucracy" differ from simple normal functioning of businesses?

In no way.

What I'm trying to understand is if the bill was written, 'knowing' that the same ambulance hit the patient.

I mean, it would be so absurd. Some sort of fraud.

I imagine the ambulance trip is registred at the hospital at arrival in some procedure and then billed the patient in some automatic manor.

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#143

Post by mmooss »

tagh wrote: post #116
mmooss wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could say that jumping out of a plane without a parachute isn't dangerous, it's the ground that's dangerous. Cyclists make mistakes, make bad judgments, take big risks, just like car drivers. They are human too. You could say cyclists have a bigger incentive to avoid problems, but no driver I know wants to hit someone and injure them, and cyclists I know become inured to the risks after riding for years without i…

I agree, the system is very badly designed. Cars and bikes don't mix without carefully designed roads that make the lazy/default decision and the safe decision the same thing, because eventual complacency is human nature. > You could say that jumping out of a plane without a parachute isn't dangerous, it's the ground that's dangerous. In that metaphor cars are a force of nature. I've also heard "the laws of physics t…

> When I choose to drive, I have the means to kill someone else and I'm damn well responsible for that risk.

I agree, and part of my GP point was, I think almost every driver agrees, even in different words: Drivers are very adverse to hitting humans, whether walking or biking.

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#144

Post by rascul »

bradleybuda wrote: post #112
ThunderSizzle wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People drive with a suspended license all the time. How else are getting to your job? Getting groceries? We pretend like driving is only a privilege, but it's more necessary than most rights that OSHA or other agencies have "discovered".

It’s hard to get your license suspended! You have to severely screw up, usually more than once. If you depend on a personal vehicle for your livelihood, you should avoid it!

Depends a lot on jurisdiction. Was pretty easy for me to get my license suspended twice in Maryland some decades ago.

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#145

Post by nextworddev »

2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #81
mmooss wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could say that jumping out of a plane without a parachute isn't dangerous, it's the ground that's dangerous. Cyclists make mistakes, make bad judgments, take big risks, just like car drivers. They are human too. You could say cyclists have a bigger incentive to avoid problems, but no driver I know wants to hit someone and injure them, and cyclists I know become inured to the risks after riding for years without i…

It’s not symmetric though. In a car your mistake has a much higher ceiling to the negative consequences. And with great power comes great responsibility. I’ve been honked for waiting for a safe way to pass a cyclist. The car behind me then just zooms past the cyclist after I make a manoeuvre. It’s not like all driver are out there trying to be responsible as much as possible.

Most roads aren’t even meant for cyclists but they feel so entitled as to take up entire lanes sometimes.

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#146

Post by sellmesoap »

AlotOfReading wrote: post #66
mmooss wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could say that jumping out of a plane without a parachute isn't dangerous, it's the ground that's dangerous. Cyclists make mistakes, make bad judgments, take big risks, just like car drivers. They are human too. You could say cyclists have a bigger incentive to avoid problems, but no driver I know wants to hit someone and injure them, and cyclists I know become inured to the risks after riding for years without i…

I don't think I've ever met a cyclist who's opposed to separated infrastructure for bikes and cars. Every local government project I've ever seen to build this kind of infrastructure runs into issues with drivers who don't think it's necessary or would somehow ruin their lives.

As a cyclist in vancouver I would say separated infrastructure is a mixed bag, I would have a car cutting me off (right hook as they say), many near misses when I had right of way several times a week on the dunsmuir bike path. I felt a lot safer biking in traffic in that area. OTOH I've enjoyed biking along the skytrain paths all the way out to surrey on occasion. The areas where the segregated path meet traffic have to be very carefully thought out.

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#147

Post by mmooss »

bagels wrote: post #140
mmooss wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could say that jumping out of a plane without a parachute isn't dangerous, it's the ground that's dangerous. Cyclists make mistakes, make bad judgments, take big risks, just like car drivers. They are human too. You could say cyclists have a bigger incentive to avoid problems, but no driver I know wants to hit someone and injure them, and cyclists I know become inured to the risks after riding for years without i…

All of the dangerous interactions that I've had while riding were caused by automobile drivers, and not myself.

Unless you have very little experience riding around cars, here's how I read that comment: 'I'm either too defensive/argumentative to tell the truth or I'm not honest with myself.'

Analogously: Since the the election, I've seen endless people blaming Biden, 'the media', etc etc. The only one I'll take seriously is the person who says: 'I failed; I should have done better.'

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#148

Post by slibhb »

Mathnerd314 wrote: post #139

This is one of the common accidents, the "right hook". https://velosurance.com/blog/how-to-avoid-most-common-riding... https://www.fcgov.com/traffic/pdf/bicycle-crashes.pdf I mostly walk these days but when I did bike I had these crash patterns memorized so I could avoid them.

I got hit by a car last weekend. It was the "left cross". Fortunately I wasn't seriously injured -- just a minor concussion -- and my bike wasn't badly damaged.

It's a weird situation. The guy who hit me stopped but seemed like a crackhead. There wasn't enough damage to require a police report or involve insurance. But maybe I should have just to create a record of this idiot causing accidents.

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#149

Post by rightbyte »

onionisafruit wrote: post #136
rightbyte wrote: post #118

In stories like this... I assume the patient was billed due to some automatic bureaucracy?

Their lawyer probably would have insisted they bill it like any other run. Not doing so could be construed as admitting fault.

Isn't there a risk for other charges though doing that? Like hitting him on purpose to earn money? I wouldn't want to explain this for a jury as a lawyer.

Re: Ambulance hits cyclist, rushes him to hospital, then sticks him with $1,800 bill

#150

Post by CaliforniaKarl »

Lance_ET_Compte wrote: post #84
rconti wrote: post #25

It sounds like what's actually happening here is that the cyclist's auto insurance is picking up the tab, and in turn suing the ambulance company to get their money back. I always find this intersection of the auto and cycling worlds so strange. If he didn't have a car, he wouldn't have auto insurance, so I guess his health insurance would be covering the initial tab, and then suing the ambulance company to get their…

I live in SF. I haven't owned a car in many years. I bicycle or take public transit when my destination is too far to walk. I still purchase auto insurance that costs me something like $15/month. It has been years since I've driven, but I do this because I might rent a car on holiday or might drive a friend's car on a roadtrip someday. If I ever needed to get a car again, a period without auto-insurance makes insuran…

Mind saying which insurance?
Post reply on HN