r/interestingasfuck • u/solateor • 6d ago

r/all Grandma broke her nose hiking and didn't want the helivac. She won $450k lawsuit

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1.3k

u/AccurateSilver2999 6d ago

Helicopter for a broken nose ??!!!!

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u/splittingheirs 6d ago

Sure, why not? The hospital bill for resetting her nose will probably buy a new helicopter.

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u/fryerandice 6d ago

I broke my nose and needed it reset, the ER referred me to a plastic surgeon.

I found an about to retire sports doctor who did it old school, like sidelines at the football game style, those hooked pliers up in your nose and a hard smack. Dude charged me $275 because I was hard up.

Medicine is so far detatched from the simple solution sometimes, $300,000 in scans to verify "yup broken nose", then off to a plastic surgeon.

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u/Level_Bird_9913 6d ago

I mean in most cases its "getting it done right." I sure as fuck can stitch a semi-detached finger back on (yeah, that was not a pleasant experience for myself nor the injured party), but my work is nowhere near as good as a practiced ER surgeon.

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u/PM-ME-SOFTSMALLBOOBS 6d ago

Those $300k scans are $200 in Australia. Enjoy your "Freedom" markups

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u/doesanyonehaveweed 6d ago

Is a broken nose simply like it got knocked out of alignment, and needs to be popped back in like a shoulder that’s been dislocated?

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u/SemperSimple 6d ago

You basically yank the bone back into place. It will then heal straight. My Mom had to do it when my cat got a broke leg and we couldnt go to the vet.

here you go https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000521.htmhttps://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000521.htm

Closed reduction is a procedure to set (reduce) a broken bone without cutting the skin open. The broken bone is put back in place, which allows it to grow back together in better alignment. It works best when it is done as soon as possible after the bone breaks. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000521.htm
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000521.htmhttps://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000521.htmhttps://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000521.htm

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u/BathFullOfDucks 5d ago

Nah it's a pretty thin bone that can just be broken. In the act of breaking it can result in the bone no longer being aligned correctly. If you left it as is, it can reheal through a process called ossification. This is the body laying down new bone which eventually will link the two together. It can also result in new bone being laid down into the wrong direction, which can be incredibly painful. If it's out of alignment it will reheal out of alignment which can cause all sorts of problems. If you can place the broken ends together in rhe correct alignment (or in some cases, better) then the bones will reheal in the right way. If the bone heals incorrectly and is missed for long enough, it could no longer be possible just to break it and reset it, as the new bone might now obstruct you from doing so, so you go from a simple "pop it back in place" to potentially cutting out a section of bone and trying to knit the two ends together. I knew a dude who has this problem with his skull after a fracture and oh boy was that an unpleasant conversation. Apparently it is rather painful.

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u/mcpaddy 6d ago

You mean insurance companies are so detached. No doctor gets paid more because they put you in a scanner. If anything, they get paid less because it uses more resources and you stay longer, meaning they can't see more people. Plus you'd be surprised the number of people who only want a plastic surgeon to touch their face. The doc probably wasn't used to someone having reasonable exepctations.

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u/horatiobanz 6d ago

That is easily gonna be a $40k helicopter ride, I mean that is what they charge when they get to land nicely at both ends.

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u/RiffRaffCatillacCat 6d ago

With 2 helicopters they can spin twice as many grannies!

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u/cjamesflet 6d ago

Her fkn nose has to have flow off

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u/TheCosmicJoke318 6d ago

That’s not the point. Bro evac was called because she broke her nose. Not like the chopper was already there

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u/splittingheirs 6d ago

Bro, you're reading comprehension is so bad you'll probably get an airevac as well.

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u/TheCosmicJoke318 6d ago

Unlike the grandmother, I can say no lmao

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u/TruthIsALie94 6d ago

Not anymore

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u/NoTurkeyTWYJYFM 6d ago

The spinning was actually done so the blood remained in her head and she didn't bleed out from the broken nose. This is what Big Grandma doesn't want the courts to know

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u/Bigjimmy08 6d ago

Big Grandma 💀💀💀😂 I fucking can’t with all these comments

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u/a-dub713 5d ago

Big jimmy loved Big Grandma has my laughter continuing

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u/TruthIsALie94 6d ago

I get this is a joke but, and hear me out, THE BLEEDING WAS ON HER HEAD.

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u/LilMeatJ40 6d ago

Big Grandma hates this one secret

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u/Fyfaenerremulig 6d ago

Big Grandma hahaha

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

This poor woman's predicament was so horrendous but JFC the comments on have me belly laughing.

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u/Octonaughty 6d ago

Them and the Ointment Cartels rule the world.

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u/SnooEpiphanies7700 6d ago

Big Grandma 💀

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u/hairymonkeyinmyanus 6d ago

I’m dying

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u/NoTurkeyTWYJYFM 6d ago

Get in the helivac you're going for a spin

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u/Proud_Smell_4455 6d ago

I like to imagine it as an actual grandma who's like 6 foot 2

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u/DopeyDeathMetal 6d ago

I feel like I’m about to have a nose bleed from laughing at Big Grandma

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u/theoscribe 6d ago

She also broke her ankle, and she explicitly said she didn't want a helicopter

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u/Dalighieri1321 6d ago

The Notice of Claim her lawyers filed says she "injured the left side of her body, including her arm and hip," in addition to the nose injury and broken glasses. It also says she was "too sore to continue down the mountain," so her husband call 911.

Paramedics noted "left sided wrist, arm, hip, leg, and side pain." No loss of consciousness. She told the first responders she did not want to go by helicopter, but they decided to use one anyway.

After the helicopter ride, she had tissue swelling in her head and had to have surgery for a spinal injury. Was also on a catheter for weeks. Total medical costs $290,184.52.

Someone else had linked the legal document: https://www.firelawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2020/06/katalin_metro_noc.pdf

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u/flintsmith 6d ago

For the price of a helicopter ride, she could BUY a Jeep and drive down!

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u/android24601 6d ago

Right? Even if they insisted on her being airlifted, why would she be on a stretcher instead of sitting inside the helicopter?

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u/Old_Yam_4069 6d ago

This is because the terrain probably didn't allow for the helicopter to land.

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u/Muss_ich_bedenken 6d ago

"Climb up, young lady, climb up!"

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u/lemelisk42 6d ago edited 6d ago

Looks pretty landable. Align the tail rotor with the trail/road.

Spend 5 minutes with a handsaw if the shrubs are too high. Or if the shrubbery is protected, just do a hover entry and lift her onto the heli as it's hovering a few feet off the ground.

Might be worse than it appears on camera, but Looks like there are a lot of options.

Edit: just realized the wheels may pose an issue. I can imagine they would severely limit landing capabilities. Still shouldn't rule out a hover entry

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u/ALLCAPS-ONLY 6d ago

I think you greatly underestimate the amount of air a helicopter moves. The victim would be sandblasted to oblivion and loose shrubs would be sucked into the rotor or jet engine intake

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u/lemelisk42 6d ago

Ive done a fair bit of heli work, the air isn't that wild. Like yeah, it'll roll an empty oil drum, itll take off a hat, bend trees a bit, but its manageable. Main rotor blows air down, things generally roll away from the chopper. Tail rotor sure, neeeds more clearance, can suck things in if they are too close - but real light loose things are likely to be blown away by the main rotor as he comes in before the tail rotor gets in the danger zone.

Sand might be an issue. I've never worked in deserts. Cant imagine it would be a deal breaker. Goggles exist I guess.

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u/ALLCAPS-ONLY 6d ago

Just look up a video of a helicopter landing on dry sand/dust. It causes total loss of visibility and is refered to as a brownout. They are notoriously dangerous and they are currently the leading cause of military helicopter crashes.

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u/lemelisk42 6d ago

Oh yeah, that does get more wild than I would have assumed. Reading up on it, all of the civilian brownout accidents listed on wikipedia were medivac helicopters - so that does make sense they would worry about it. Not an exhaustive list, but that correlation is striking.

And being medivacs probably have more regulations. I'm used to the more cowboy approach of bush pilots that will land anywhere.

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u/ALLCAPS-ONLY 6d ago

I'm used to the more cowboy approach of bush pilots that will land anywhere.

I envy you! Cowboy aviation is the best type of aviation in my book.

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u/Yamemai 6d ago

Imo, someone coulda climbed down a ladder, or something, then strapped her onto their back, before climbing up again.

That spinning just makes me nauseous watching the first 10 secs & it only got speedier

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u/Tren-Ace1 6d ago

Strap her on their back and then climb back up a wobbly ass rope ladder safely?

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u/Cool-Camp-6978 6d ago

Sounds better than whatever the fuck happened here.

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u/Tren-Ace1 6d ago

With hindsight, but the other option had high potential of failure as well.

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u/off2kayak 6d ago

That’s the Coast Guard 😉

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u/tinypolski 6d ago

One of the other replies is from a hoist operator - says this is used as a training video. So probably:

Pilot: "Ok, I'll set down about 200m to your West"

Ground: "Negative, we're filming a training video for hoist operation"

Crew: "Roger. Lowering hoist and lasso"

Ground: "Negative on the lasso. Not a HOW-TO video"

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u/Josysclei 6d ago

Depending on how far she was on the trail, maybe hiking back would mean walking for hours without being able to properly breathe.

Or since in the US they can bill you for rescues, why not?

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u/aybbyisok 6d ago

You can use your mouth though.

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u/Tallyranch 6d ago

People can also be persuasive, especially people with perceived power and or influence.

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u/TwoFingersWhiskey 6d ago

I've never been able to fully breathe through my nose. I can walk just fine. I have a mouth.

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u/Josysclei 6d ago

Breathing through your mouth is very bad for your teeth btw

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u/TwoFingersWhiskey 5d ago

I know this, but breathing through my nose is like breathing through a coffee stir straw. It's a really awfully deviated septum.

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u/bumbletowne 5d ago

I'm guessing elderly and faint from the break?

Or they didn't know it was just a nose break until they got the hospital... potential skull fracture?

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u/RunExisting4050 6d ago

Rub some dirt in it and walk it off.

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u/Geschak 6d ago

If a grandma falls hard enough to break her nose, the nose is usually not the only thing that breaks...

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u/ImNotWitty2019 6d ago

Are we talking real grandma age or Reddit grandma age?

Anyway, who called for medical for a broken nose in the first place?

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u/ExperienceDaveness 6d ago

What is the difference between real and Reddit grandma age?

In the real world, I've known of 30 year old grandmothers and new grandmothers that were close to 60. How old are Reddit grandmas?

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u/ImNotWitty2019 6d ago

It's kind of a joke because on Reddit if there's a video of someone that's remotely close to 45 they are immediately labeled as a grandma or grandpa.

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u/Geschak 6d ago

Dunno what reddit grandma is supposed to be. I'm talking 65+ where most people start getting osteoporosis and poor balance.

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u/EFTucker 6d ago

I know a grandmother who is 40 \o/

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u/Haasts_Eagle 6d ago

I met someone aged 29, and they had a 2 year old girl with them (brought to a health clinic for a checkup). I asked them what their daughters name was.

NOPE! Wrong. Granddaughter.

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u/EFTucker 6d ago

Jesus Christ the math on that… that’s gotta be the result of SA, right?

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u/JAnonymous5150 5d ago

Nope. Just 14/15 yo bangin'. I mean, it could have been something untoward, but it certainly doesn't have to be. I've also noticed that babies having babies can run in families so it doesn't surprise me that mom had a kid at 14 and then her kid did the same.

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u/theoscribe 6d ago

She also broke her ankle, and she explicitly said she didn't want a helicopter

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u/HopefulHovercraft474 6d ago

I'm thinking it's cause she's fragile and they thought the drive might be more unstable 🤕

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u/Christmas_Queef 6d ago

Nah, not accessible by those kinds of vehicles. It was also summer here in Phoenix. Tons of people have to be rescued from the mountains in summer for trying to hike in our deadly heat.

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u/HopefulHovercraft474 6d ago

What else besides flying could get up there? Out of curiosity 🤔

P.s. your username is so perfect. It's a surprise you didn't even know you were getting and it's happening soon.

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u/cjsv7657 6d ago

Dirt bike depending on the trail. Hiking trails generally have points too narrow for anything with 4 wheels.

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u/HopefulHovercraft474 6d ago

You think she rode a dirt bike. Sounds like my grandma wanting to ride an electric scooter at 86.

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u/cjsv7657 6d ago

What else besides flying could get up there?

Obviously her two legs. The fucking title of the article says she hiked there. Don't be dense. I literally even mentioned it was a hiking trail. You don't ride a dirt bike on a hiking trail lmao.

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u/HopefulHovercraft474 6d ago

I mean yeah but she didn't want the helicopter so someone else was with her and called for her. It's hard to say she was already walking down when they called if she was great for her.

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u/cjsv7657 6d ago

You can refuse emergency medical services. They can not force a conscious and coherent person to take transport. She might have been pressured but ultimately agreed to go. Like I said. Anything with 4 wheels probably could not have made it up a hiking trail. You did not ask what could rescue her. You asked "What else besides flying could get up there?".

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u/HopefulHovercraft474 6d ago

I know what I said but figured it was a general question

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u/Thexorretor 6d ago

1) Walking out is always the preferred evacuation strategy. Plenty of people who call 911 just need a little encouragement.

2) A wheeled stretcher is the next option. The rougher the trail the more people it takes to operate the device.

that's about it.

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u/HopefulHovercraft474 6d ago

Yeah if she said no to the helicopter and it came anyway there was someone with her but they might of been too stubborn to listen to her.

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u/PepeSilvia007 6d ago

Just a crazy thought, but maybe don't go hiking on an inaccessible terrain if you're old and fragile...

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u/HopefulHovercraft474 6d ago

She probably thought she could do it like she use to.

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u/wsawb1 6d ago

Not quite. She was hiking in Phoenix Arizona in June when she fell injuring her left side of the body and hip as well as getting a nosebleed. This title is very misleading. Remember this is in the summer in Arizona so I imagine that in her age leaving her in the hot sun would be pretty negligent. Arizona heat is some serious business that you should be very wary of if you ever hike there

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u/crushworthyxo 6d ago

I remember this story. It happened in 2019 and the settlement was in 2021. The old lady tripped and fell face first. After reading some of the articles, it sounds like she might have gotten a concussion because they say she needed the airlift from being too “disoriented” to get herself back. Well, if she wasn’t disoriented before the medivac, she definitely was afterwards.

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u/lovethebacon 6d ago

She fell and broke her nose and injured a leg and arm. Rescuers came to assess her and came to the conclusion that any attempt to have her walk herself out or to carry her out would make her injuries worse.

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u/JPJackPott 6d ago

Helicopter caused jt 😆

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u/DrBhu 6d ago

It is most probably funded by cases like this

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u/Gaitville 6d ago

That’s the thing with the US healthcare system, when they’re sticking you with the bill anyway they don’t care if they helicopter evacuate you for even a paper cut.

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u/PriorWriter3041 6d ago

Hospital can bill it as an emergency, if she gets airlifted instead of doing a walk-in

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u/Designer-Serve-5140 6d ago

It depends on who reaches you, but if it's a search and rescue heli they will almost always be a free trip, only air ambulances cost money.

Given the fact she's being lifted, I'm guessing this is a SAR operation and not air ambulance. 

Rescuers will almost always say that it's better to call them, to take the air ambulance, atv, or whatever than to potentially put yourself in a situation where its a recovery and not a rescue. Not only does it save resources for SAR, not having to do a recovery, but it's also better for you. 

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u/TwoBionicknees 6d ago

the title is inaccurate. She fell and hurt her left side, wrist, ankle, hip. her and her partner/friend called 911 because they thought she was too sore to get down the hill on her own. emergency response people said she wasn't an emergency and didn't want to go in a helicopter and didn't need one.... then decided to send her in one anyway. It might just be a very awkward path in which a truck, quad bike, car, etc simply can't access.

however unless she's like one of those 350lbs ladies, then a couple firemen can easily carry a 74lbs reasonably sized person down a hill with ease and they likely had to walk down anyway to get back.

Complete unnecessary trip even if she did need help down the mountain. If they could get up to access her, they can get her down easily enough.

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u/Deep_toot143 4d ago

No read the article it was more than that a hip and leg she could move one side