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

81–90 of 424 posts

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

#81

Post by 2muchcoffeeman »

mmooss wrote: post #47
nritchie wrote: post #13

As a bicyclist, I'm constantly told how dangerous bicycles are. Usually, I get a blank look when I explain, bicycles are very safe, it is the cars that are the dangerous part of the equation. Now I'll have to add fast billing ambulances to the list of dangers.

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.

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

#82

Post by bluSCALE4 »

mmooss wrote: post #47
nritchie wrote: post #13

As a bicyclist, I'm constantly told how dangerous bicycles are. Usually, I get a blank look when I explain, bicycles are very safe, it is the cars that are the dangerous part of the equation. Now I'll have to add fast billing ambulances to the list of dangers.

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…

The ground is inevitable. Cars and people in a rush are not.

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

#83

Post by BytesAndGears »

treyfitty wrote: post #64
alpaca128 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you think bicyclists have the de facto right of way and everyone should adjust to your presence They think that because that's how the law works, yes. Also many roads aren't designed for cars either, at least not in terms of safety or efficiency.

What law? Bicyclists do not automatically have the right of way. They are users of the road and must follow the same road laws as cars. You say many roads… if you go by miles, you think major interstates weren’t designed for cars? How about rural roads… who do you think those long stretches of roads are designed for if not cars?

Slight tangent, but when I lived in a country in Europe, this was the way the law worked for car-cyclist collisions.

1. The car driver is assumed to be at fault. In absence of other evidence, the car driver is always 100% at fault for the accident. Including all consequences for hitting/killing someone. 2. If it is proved that the cyclist broke the law and acted negligently, the car driver is still 50% at fault for the accident, since they’re driving a more dangerous vehicle and should’ve actively prevented the accident.

People were extremely respectful to cyclists there, and gave a ton of space when passing

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

#84

Post by Lance_ET_Compte »

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 insurance VERY expensive. I did that when living abroad before. I never thought about it covering me as a cyclist or pedestrian. God willing, I'll never need it.

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

#85

Post by wpollock »

osrec wrote: post #78

The American healthcare system scares the living daylights out of me.

Daylights scared out of you? Try our new pill, Daylights Restoration OTC! Guaranteed to work or no money back.

Offer void in areas with active consumer fraud laws.

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

#86

Post by kylecazar »

jimt1234 wrote: post #46
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…

> If you get a moving violation on your bicycle and show a driver's license to the police, it seems you get points in your license ... Can confirm. A friend got a DUI while riding his bicycle. He was guilty as hell, just didn't realize it would affect his driving record.

And the penalties are the same as if he's driving a motor vehicle?

Here in NY, a DUI can really mess with your life for a while. While drunk cycling is probably penalty-worthy, I'm conflicted about it being a proper DUI

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

#87

Post by Someone1234 »

shiroiushi wrote: post #17
D-Coder wrote: post #14

"An Oregon cyclist who was struck by an ambulance that made a right turn into him — fracturing his nose and leaving him with scrapes and other injuries across his body — has filed a $997,000 lawsuit against the ambulance provider after it scooped him up, drove him to the hospital and then billed him for the service, according to the suit." $47K for current medical costs, $50K for expected future medical costs, and $9…

Don't forget the cost of repairing or replacing the bicycle. He should have added an additional $3k to make it an even million.

It is likely below $1M because that is a common insurance cut-off, which is believed to increase the chance of a settlement.

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

#90

Post by ThunderSizzle »

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.

Every suggestion I've seen was to make car infrastructure significantly worse in order to add a bike lane to an existing road, while also making that road significantly slower and worse for cars.

I don't think I've ever seen real suggestions to make a seperated infrastructure grid for pedestrians and bicycles that isn't just a sidewalk or bike lane on an existing road.

Post reply on HN