I just found this article from last week about the expenses of the Scalise shooting. There’s a Health Care Lesson for Republicans in the Shooting of Steve Scalise | The New Republic
Mr. Scalise is a Congressman, so the federal government pays for most, if not all, of his care. What happens when a victim doesn’t have such great insurance?
After a mass shooting, the perpetrator is usually dead on the scene, and the survivors may need very extensive care. Who usually pays these costs?
After the Portland train incident there was a fundraiser for the survivor. I believe the survivors are on their own. Even if the perpetrator survived, there’s no automatic assumption that they would be footing the bill. I think the survivor(s) would have to bring a suit in order to get expenses covered.
Many states have Crime Victim Compensation Programs. Here is the program in Virginia where Scalise was shot:
http://www.cicf.state.va.us/
Naturally the killer’s estate can also be sued. Otherwise it is the usual set of victim’s health insurance and other assets, government programs, or health care providers absorbing the costs.
It isn’t like a car accident. Individuals don’t have personal liability insurance.
Right, dead or not dead, the shooter is unlikely to pay medical bills. Very unlikely.
People often have umbrella coverage on top of their house insurance. This covers certain types of liability although not criminal ones. The most famous situation here is the Paula Jones lawsuit against Bill Clinton.
http://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/19/business/looking-at-a-lawsuit-check-your-insurance.html
Yeah, the community raised a lot of money for the survivor, as well as for the families of the victims. Then, after being brought to the attention of the head of the hospital system where he was treated, the hospital costs have been waived.
So yeah, if you’re the victim of some sort of attack, you’re on your own, but there may well be some support from the community.
If the survivors are insured then their insurance pays for it.
If not - collectively, we all do. Victims will be given whatever treatment required to preserve their lives and no more than that if they are uninsured and indigent. Meaning they’ll get surgery to close wounds, but not for post-surgical rehab, for example.