So i passed out drinking at a friends house late in the morning. During my drunken slumber a fight broke out where i was and police were called to the scene. I had drank enough alcohol to moan unrecognizable when i police tried to wake me. The police decide to call the ambulance out to see if i was okay. they decide to take me in because i was passed out drunk. everyone at the house including there grandmother who was not drinking told them not to take me. the paramedics insisted on taking me and stating i would have no bill. I awoke at hospital where i was in a stretcher and nobody was there. i ripped the iv out of my arm and walked out not speaking to one nurse or doctor. I was confused how i got there and still could feel the booze in me when i walked home. Of course i get a bill weeks later, is there anything i can do to about this 1500$ bill that i cant pay, and have no insurance. Please any advise.
(reported for forum change)
Is the bill from the ambulance company or the hospital?
Does CA refer to California or Canada?
Teens and college kids die from alcohol all of the time. What usually happens (sorry for being graphic) is that their “friends” will plop them on their backs someplace, the kid will puke and choke on their own vomit.
I know of one person this happened to and have heard of others.
You can easily save someone’s life by simply NOT doing that.
Instead of putting them on their back, put them on their stomach with their face over the side of the bed. If the puke, they at least won’t die.
You have to shoot for what sometimes ***seem ***like the small victories sometimes.
I know that was off topic, but I thought it was worth it - good luck with your bill.
Moved from General Questions to IMHO.
samclem, moderator
[Animal House]You fucked up. You trusted us.[/Animal House]
Yep. Learn some grammar and spelling. It’ll get you far.
Even if the ambulance company didn’t charge you for the transport, the ER almost certainly charged you for their services. The responsible thing to do would be to contact the company that billed you, explain that you’re uninsured and can’t afford to pay it all at once, and set up a payment plan that you can afford. They will likely also decrease the total amount of the bill you owe, since they will process it as a “self-pay” rather than the inflated amount they expect insurance companies to pay. Then, you would avoid drinking to the point of nonresponsiveness in the future, so this never happens again.
Unfortunately, what’s more likely to happen is you’ll try to ignore the bill in hopes it will go away. They’ll send it to a debt collector, and you’ll get call after call for the next several years of your life. Eventually, it will be charged off by them and the negative impact on your credit will last for a *long *time. Or, they’ll set up a lien against you if you possess any property worth a damn (car, home). When you go to sell that car or house, they’ll be paid first (the full amount, plus interest and collections fees). Alternatively, they might even be able to garnish your wages until the debt is paid, if you have a job.
If I may: what evidence do you have that you wouldn’t be charged? You were passed out, so you’re going off the word of a bunch of drunk people. Do you realize that those EMTs are trained medical professionals who saw compelling evidence that your life was in danger? How do you even know you would have woken up that night without the IV the hospital put in your arm?
Pay the fucking bill or don’t, but don’t blame the EMTs who might have saved your ungrateful ass.
They have to get a judgement first, and that means a civil lawsuit and trial. If he has no assets, the likelihood of that happening is low for a $1500 debt.