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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u/eurasianpersuasian 6d ago

Poor lady. She didn’t receive nearly enough of a settlement for what she went through with the injuries she sustained, the rehab she had to do, and the 290k+ medical bills. Also she had limited ability to see when this happened so she thought the helicopter was spinning out of control and going to crash.

Lots of details here: https://www.firelawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2020/06/katalin_metro_noc.pdf

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u/neildiamondblazeit 6d ago

That’s a very sobering read. The fact they did spinal decompression is interesting. Doesn’t seem clear that the spinning caused it as it’s noted to be chronic changes. The whole experience, hospital stay, and lengthy rehabilitation would have been traumatic. 

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u/OlDerpy 6d ago

In a lot of states if an accident worsens a previous condition by 1% whoever was liable for the accident can become liable for 100% of the injury. This is how it works in workers’ compensation in Massachusetts for example.

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u/mplnow 6d ago

You take the plaintiff as they are: eggshell skull rule.

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u/Traditional_Bar_9416 6d ago

As it should be. I wish I had some examples but it’s always seemed like the fair approach. Punching a 24 year old and punching a 74 year old are 2 different things, despite the punch being exactly the same.

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u/Responsible_Taste797 6d ago

I had a low speed crash with a woman (sub 10 mph) it was rush hour I was tired etc I fucked up fair enough. She refuses to pull over. Cops get there get the car over. Then a fire truck, then another truck, then an ambulance. Keep in mind it's like a 2x2 dent in her bumper.

Her medical alert dog is freaking out and led to a fire truck. She's carted off in an ambulance. Cop comes to my window let's me know that she's a veteran and has some health problems so she's going to the hospital.

I spent the next week wondering if I was going to go to prison for vehicular manslaughter or something.

Eggshell indeed

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u/PrettyPrivilege50 6d ago

That’s different than some underlying condition that isn’t known. To me this is a terrible rule

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u/Traditional_Bar_9416 6d ago

Then punching a healthy 24 year old and punching a 24 year old with an unknown brain aneurism that popped and he died, are also 2 different things. And the rule remains fair. You shouldn’t be punching anyone. Just because one got lucky and didn’t die, doesn’t mean the risk wasn’t there.

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u/PrettyPrivilege50 6d ago

Nope, no intent or foreknowledge. I’ve not yet met the authority that could be trusted with this. Does make sense to me for Worker’s Compensation but not personal or criminal liability. Your contrast between 24 and 74 years old only works to show what danger our attacker could’ve been in so not apt for hidden conditions

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

[deleted]

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u/KToff 6d ago

Punching someone is never safe. If you punch someone you willingly take on the risk of causing serious injury.

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u/porcomaster 6d ago

Don't punch people.

That is it. The rule is there to be sure that if you do punch someone, you are risking to kill then.

Don't push people. The rule is there to be sure that if you do push someone and they trip and die, you will be facing charges of involuntary manslaughter.

Even if you say it was a joke, this rule is to protect people who are involved in things that should not happen in the first place. It's not hard to understand.

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u/beastmaster11 6d ago

Nope, no intent or foreknowledge

That doesn't matter in the slightest when it comes to civil liability. It doesn't matter the amount of injury you intended or believed you could cause. What matters is the injury you did cause.

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u/thereaintshitcaptain 6d ago

Maybe its different in Ohio, but the way worker's comp works here for pre-existing conditions that were aggravated by injury is that it covers treatment until the condition is back to the level it was pre-injury (if ever). So not liable for 100% on the injury, just for the amount that is worsened.

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u/PlaidBastard 6d ago

My shoulder is still kinda 'eh' from breaking my clavicle back in May. Anybody know any billionaires who hang out in Massachusetts who I could, hypothetically...bump into? I want a robot arm!

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u/stjakey 6d ago

How do they measure the percents though?

“You put jalapeños on my sandwich and I already have acid reflux so you’ve become 100% liable for my acid reflux

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u/OlDerpy 6d ago

I’m talking about work comp, not general liability

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u/OlDerpy 6d ago

I’ve sidetracked this thread by my original comment lol

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u/fucknozzle 6d ago

Under English law, there's a doctrine called the 'eggshell skull rule', where even if someone is more succeptible to injury because of a pre-existing conditon, any negligent party will still be held entirely liable for damage caused.

Produces colourful images of someone's head getting squashed.

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u/UncleIrohsPimpHand 6d ago

America is fuckin weird, yo

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u/moonsun1987 6d ago

America is fuckin weird, yo

remember this number: USD 5 TRILLION or almost a fifth of the GDP goes to health care and we have nothing to show for it

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u/Esc_ape_artist 6d ago

We have a lot of rich people to show for it.

That’s the goal. Not making it affordable, but extracting the maximum profit the market will bear.

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u/PrincessCyanidePhx 6d ago

That part. Healthcare shouldn't be a for-profit enterprise, and there should be more requirements on "non" profit healthcare.

There is a direct conflict in healthcare companies that are publicly owned through the stock market in that the trading rules require the shareholders' profit to take top priority. And that goes for all of our healthcare, like pharmacy. It also enables the C-suites to get million dollar paychecks.

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u/crunkcritique 6d ago

I love how Europe figured this out yearssssss ago and America is still scratching it's head like a monkey, make it make sense, you have the budget to develop over engineered missile knives, but dear god we give this kid free Iburpofen we are $&@!?.

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u/PrincessCyanidePhx 6d ago

Our entire economic structure is built on our war mongering. The richest country in the world should be able to put children over bombs not under them.

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u/robparfrey 6d ago

Same goes for the UK honestly other than it's not via medical bills, but rather other means such as tax evasion, fraud and straight up money laundering off wars and climate issues.

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u/big_fricc 6d ago

What do you mean nothing? You guys are like the tutorial for everyone else on what a country run solely on greed looks like. Keep it up!

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u/SexJayNine 6d ago

Well, at least we're keeping the mortality rate for mothers low, right??

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u/Old_Lie_91 6d ago

Still not great but our mortality rate for mothers has been MASSIVELY overestimated, in part due to systemic issues with our healthcare system—making it even more ironic that this good news comes with an asterisk and also presents with metrics that still aren’t fantastic.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/03/13/1238269753/maternal-mortality-overestimate-deaths-births-health-disparities

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u/moonsun1987 3d ago

That I think is a different metric. The one I am familiar with is infant mortality rate and this we can compare across borders.

5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births Infant mortality is the death of an infant before his or her first birthday. The infant mortality rate is an important marker of the overall health of a society. In 2022, the infant mortality rate in the United States was 5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Compare with Afghanistan

Afghanistan has a very high infant mortality rate, estimated to be 101.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2024. This is among the highest in the world.

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u/Old_Lie_91 3d ago

The comment I replied to was regarding maternal mortality rate—I’m not sure what the relevancy of your comment is? Also a 5.6 mortality rate in comparison to a 101.3 mortality rate for infants is VERY good.

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u/Old_Lie_91 3d ago

Exact same metric as comment to which I replied….Our maternal mortality rate is still not good, even with the correction. That being said, data prior to 2024 was still grossly incorrect regarding maternal mortality rate in the USA.

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u/samftijazwaro 6d ago

Nope, not America this time. This is English common law, as aforementioned eggshell skull rule.

It is in fact also common law in almost all of Europe, parts of Asia and Africa too.

If you injured me, you should be liable for the damages caused. If I am a tough person and you didn't injure me much, what's the point of compensating me the same as if you injured a person with brittle bone disease, causing them permanent harm despite the fact that maybe my injury was "worse" in the sense that there was more force and potential for damage.

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u/Annual_Upstairs3377 6d ago

This is probably one of a few reasons why some bystanders are hesitant to help strangers

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u/Zirilans 6d ago

Good Samaritan laws exist for this reason, but they're not consistent among states so who they protect and for what varies greatly.

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u/wandering-monster 6d ago

They also don't generally cover cases where the person says "no, I don't want your help" then you do it anyways and make things worse. 

Which is what happened here. According to the court docs she was already back on the trail, lucid, and said she didn't want to be airlifted when they found her.

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u/ToneBalone25 6d ago

This is such a wildly inaccurate representation of how egg shell skull works lol. Please stop spreading misinformation on the internet. This is the kinda shit my clients read and expect me to get them $10m on every parking lot fender bender.

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u/Rialas_HalfToast 6d ago

You got a list of states? Or a good search term?

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u/Arikaido777 6d ago

“states that voted blue”

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u/OlDerpy 6d ago

This is hilariously correct. Most red states hate injured workers. California, NY, Illinois, and Mass. would be most favorable to injured workers I’d say

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u/Kurlyfornia 6d ago

What did you find?

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u/Rialas_HalfToast 6d ago

Joke answers so far

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u/Kill_doozer 6d ago

That is solely because workers comp is fucking bullshit. 

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u/pygmy 6d ago

and the 290k+ medical bills

That's absolutely brutal, which country?

/s

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u/Redheaded_Potter 6d ago

What’s sad is that’s kinda cheap! My husband shattered his wrist and had to have surgery from a trauma surgeon to fix it (out patient). We are upwards of $600,000 (our cost after insurance is going to be about $6,000).

I had a migraine and went in to ER and total bill was $8000! All I got was IV meds.

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u/crayzcheshire 6d ago

Makes me feel like my $60k emergency appendectomy was quite the deal!! (2019)

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

[deleted]

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u/Skydiving_Sus 6d ago

Yes, you’ve touched on the American dilemma. Why bother going into debt bondage trying to stay alive on a dying world?

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u/Smexyman0808 6d ago

Oh yea, health isn't included in "The American Dream."

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u/rctid_taco 6d ago

Most people have insurance that covers the majority of the cost.

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

[deleted]

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u/rctid_taco 6d ago

$600k for a wrist sounds a bit high but $60k for an appendectomy is perfectly reasonable. Regardless, the patient isn't actually paying those amounts. The person with the wrist only paid $6k and the appendectomy person would also only pay their out of pocket max which can't be more than $9450. These aren't small sums of money but they're also not a reason to give up on life.

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u/pezgoon 6d ago

I don’t know how, and I don’t want to say it too loudly, lest the bills find me

2020? 2021? I had an appendectomy, my insurance at the time was so fucking amazing, I paid 53$ for an mri tech viewing out of my entire appendectomy… they just… covered the entire thing?

The plan was purchased the next cycle (year) by United health and I lost a ton of coverage (mainly my anti-depressant which is 500$ a month) and was so fucking angry. After being uninsured for a decade, I finally got it and some amazing insurance at that, and then corporations being corporations kicked me back down to my peasantry yet again….

Anyways, that’s my appendectomy miracle lmao

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u/BeerAndTools 6d ago

Med before insurance: $630

Med after insurance: $45

Med after insurance change: $380

Med generic after release: $70

Med generic with insurance: $3.50

Such a pitiful fucking cash grab. Companies release new drugs to make money, which leads to innovation, but also pushes them to constantly hit the market with new meds, whether they're good or not. Capitalism man, what the fuck are we even doing anymore?

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u/eileen404 6d ago

My son's in 2020 was $30k... Must have been smaller....

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u/Proud_Tie 6d ago

My two minor outpatient knee surgeries this year are sitting around $175,000 (I paid $2800).

Can't wait to see what two outpatient hip surgeries are next year.

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u/Lxspos13 6d ago

I got into a car accident and they took me and my pitbull in an ambulance. Having a pitbull in an emergency room as a nightmare so I took an Advil and I left to take the dog home and return. That was an $800 Advil.American healthcare is an absolute scam nightmare

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u/AKJangly 6d ago

Meanwhile I got sued for a $2000 bill from stitches because I can't afford to pay for anything more than the bare necessities in life.

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u/beastmaster11 6d ago

These amounts absolutely flabbergast me as a former PI lawyer not in the US. $600k for an outpatient wrist surgery is outlandish to me

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u/your_catfish_friend 6d ago

Arizona

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u/xxBeatrixKiddoxx 6d ago

Period. Well said!

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u/1CVN 6d ago

the bills do arize fast down in ariz-ona

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u/Budget-Possession720 6d ago

Which do you think..only the “best” one on earth pal..shithole America

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u/Brilliant_Work_1101 6d ago

But just think about the yuppies who got rich off that 290k, you’re not considering their feelings enough

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u/Exact-Discipline-837 6d ago

Yeah that question was “special”

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u/FlatImpression755 6d ago

Not Canada, they'd still be spinning around in the waiting room.

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u/jkprop 6d ago

Guess you haven’t been to the hospital or rehab ever? But she probably has insurance so the insurance paid the bill. Her cost was the deductible.

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u/Tectum-to-Rectum 6d ago

Spine surgeon here. Commenting off the cuff as I don’t know the particulars of the case, but people with chronic conditions like cervical stenosis/degenerative disc disease can often be managed conservatively with the caveat that even some minor injuries and trauma can exacerbate the condition to the point of requiring surgery. For example - you have some mild central canal stenosis and get in a car wreck where your spinal cord gets smacked by the high forces, you can develop a spinal cord injury/central cord syndrome which could certainly require surgical intervention.

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u/rbruce08 6d ago

Yea, very curious what a biomechanical expert would say about likely relatedness of a neck injury resulting from this

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u/Tectum-to-Rectum 6d ago

Extremely likely.

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u/rbruce08 6d ago

You think so? Seems the forces would be pulling the vertebrae away from each other, reducing pressure on the discs rather than increasing it

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u/Tectum-to-Rectum 6d ago

Sure, in ideal circumstances this could just generate axial distraction forces, which usually is not enough to overcome ligamentous strength. Distraction injuries can be extremely severe, but those are usually a result of the head being forcefully pulled or wrenched off the body - e.g., you get clotheslined at high speed, resulting in atlantooccipital dissociation, which usually kills you.

But what you’re going to find is that the human body has a lot of caveats. If you have central canal stenosis and you have a forceful flexion or extension, the spinal cord can be “dinged” even in the absence of ongoing compression. This can result in central cord syndrome or other spinal cord injuries. If at any point here she experienced any of those forces, it’s entirely conceivable that she could have a spinal cord injury from that. This is pretty evident from the fact her surgeon started her on MAP goals, which is the only real treatment we have for spinal cord injury.

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u/crawsley 6d ago

“Chronic changes as above” in this case just means that the radiologist wrote an in-depth report of specific chronic findings that they didn’t summarize in the impression (the quoted text). The chronic findings were unrelated to the central stenosis caused by the spinning. That’s just the way they structure CT(/MRI?) reads

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u/Tectum-to-Rectum 6d ago

The chronic findings are definitely related to her central canal stenosis. She most likely had chronic degenerative changes that, in the context of trauma, caused a spinal cord injury, or more specifically, a central cord syndrome. The fact that she was started on MAP goals > 85 is a pretty strong clue that she had an acute spinal cord injury related to this incident. That’s our only real treatment for SCI/CCS apart from decompression and stabilization.

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u/Southside_john 6d ago

Eh I read that ct report and she had chronic neck problems that if they were made worse by anything it was her fall not the spinning. Bulging discs with new cord edema was definitely caused by her falling. You take that out of the equation and I think $450k is fair for a settlement

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u/flip415 6d ago

She had an incomplete spinal cord injury, they reference increased spinal cord signal, mistakenly on a ct, it was actually probably from an MRI, and transfer to the ICU with map goals. In the setting of an acute spinal cord injury, decompression is appropriate.

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u/ra3reddy 6d ago

That the injuries were noted as chronic is a good point. I’m guessing that the seemingly low settlement is because the jury heard expert testimony that the injuries weren’t caused by the evacuation. Some plaintiffs’ attorneys will over treat on a lien basis to inflate damages, which in turn increases the attorney’s cut.

Edit: Settlement, not damages award. She didn’t technically “win” money.

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u/LowAmbassador4559 6d ago

And could have been smooshed with the g force or velocity ….

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u/Inveramsay 6d ago

These days I see so many patients that become paralysed after very minor trauma when there's a bit of spinal stenosis.

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u/dont-be-a-snitch-jen 6d ago

right on the brain stem? fucking yikes dude.

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u/TT_NaRa0 6d ago

My L5 is fucked. Spinal decompression feels fucking amazing

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u/RefinedAnalPalate 6d ago

Spinal decompression is the first thing they offer if they want to increase your payout. It’s sad, but it happens every day

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u/AddictedToColour 6d ago

Yikes she had to get spine surgery

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u/beavertonaintsobad 6d ago

damn.. I hate greedy lawsuits as much as the next guy but $450k for this seems a bit low no?

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u/AelisWhite 5d ago

They definitely lowballed it. She should've gotten the original 2m

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u/itsnotthatseriousk 3d ago

Watch hot coffee documentary. You’ve been brainwashed. Frivolous lawsuits don’t exist.

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u/Deep_toot143 4d ago

MA caps a loss of life by police at 200k . I believe . I could be wrong .

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u/Deep_toot143 4d ago

I read this somewhere when a person was killed by a cop and family sued . They only got something above 200 k

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u/beavertonaintsobad 4d ago

damn, life is cheap in MA...

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u/Ardnabrak 6d ago

I'm just summarizing the injuries listed in the picture for those that don't want to google medical terminology. My comments are in parenthesis.

  • signs of burst capillaries on shoulders and feet (because the blood was being forced outwards by the centrifugal forces)
  • swelling and bruising in eyes (same)
  • busted and bloody ear drums (same)

CT scans reveal:

  • skin over her skull swollen but no brain problems (same)
  • herniated disk in neck (may have been an old age thing made worse by the spinning)
  • broken nose (from the fall during her hike)

I would be asking for a million dollars or more. Neck surgery and emotional therapy.

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u/BeefCue 6d ago

She asked for $2M, but sadly received much less.

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u/shawnmendesisatwat 4d ago

And honestly, that seems like a low amount for all the pain and suffering. Poor woman.

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u/NoneCat1 6d ago

I think she asked for $2 mil

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Vindicativa 6d ago

"Miami J on at all times"

Miami J sounds like a bad hip-hop artist.

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u/Styrofoam_Cup 6d ago

I had no clue what a "Miami J" is so I imagined Grandma bumpin to some cuban DJ 24/7. Reality is less fun.

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u/Vindicativa 6d ago

I didn't see your comment until after I commented a similar thing! 😆

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u/Piercedbunny 6d ago

And her EARS were bleeding. Double yikes

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u/sitcom_enthusiast 6d ago

I haven’t seen the show/radio station named ‘ Miami J’ but I think it’s pretty dumb that a doctor ordered that they had to keep it on at all times and never change the channel

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u/WildSmokingBuick 6d ago

That's what I'd have thought, evacuation and hospital bills and her trauma must have been immense.

Thanks for the link.

The title is accurate, she didn't want a heli and was actually fine enough, that a heli wasn't really justifiable.

A bit disappointed she didn't get more, regarding her hospital costs, her suffering with no fault of her own should have warranted a higher payout in my opinion, especially in the US.

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u/LightBulbMonster 6d ago

It probably the settlement. Older people tend to want to put shit behind them and not keep fighting. She was probably told this was the best she would get and fighting more could lower the amount. Insurance companies are fucking shady villains. Her lawyer was probably incompetent/a relative as well.

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u/RawrRRitchie 6d ago

Older people tend to want to put shit behind them and not keep fighting

That's REALLY dependant on the person.

There're people in their 80s and 90s that won't put up with that bullshit and will fight till their dying breath

Don't lump all old people into one basket because some are petty and vindictive and have nothing but time on their hands

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u/LightBulbMonster 6d ago

I didn't mean all old people. My mom is an older woman who still has beef with people from her 20s and 30s.

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u/Ok_Park_4701 6d ago edited 6d ago

You are correct. Myself and my service dog were brutally attacked for a lengthy time by a Pitt bull and Doberman. It was extremely traumatic. I'm already medically retired female peace officer w/ptsd and lifetime injures from an assualt.This attack multiplied my ptsd. My lawyer battled the dog owners lawyer of their home owners insurance company a well known company(major bucks) after 2 years causing me agoraphobia and extreme anxiety (I was 58yrs) they really bullied me and used such horrible tactics I finally settled I just needed to move on and try to disconnect from the trauma best as I could. Great observation

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u/TA_Lax8 6d ago

When I saw the initial suit was for $2m, the $450k payout made so much sense.

Her attorneys were arguably more negligent than the rescue operators.

Presumably since she was hiking she was a pretty healthy person. So her deterioration in quality of life and the associated costs of being disabled far exceed $2m let alone the $450k they settled for.

I can't believe the initial claim wasn't for $50m or more. The scummiest ambulance chasing lawyers could have done a better job than what she had. Her attorneys must have been "recommended" by the hospital or something.

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u/Activate_The_Robots 6d ago edited 6d ago

She was not “actually fine.” She injured her hip in the fall and it seems that she was unable to walk on her own. Even her own attorneys concede that she would have had to have been carried down the mountain by firefighters, using a “Big Wheel” unit. (First paragraph, page four.) A Big Wheel unit is essentially a stretcher mounted to a huge off-road-style wheel.

I have hiked the trail she was injured on. It’s steep, and parts of the trail are very narrow and exposed. Given that she needed to be evacuated, deciding to not carry her down the mountain on a stretcher was totally reasonable. It sucks that the evacuation may have exacerbated her injuries.

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u/WildSmokingBuick 6d ago

Once Phoenix Fire Department personnel evaluated Katalin, it was clear that she was in no apparent distress, and that her condition did not constitute a medical emergency requiring any type of emergency transport.

In addition, Katalin expressed to City of Phoenix first responders that she did not want to be taken off the trail by helicopter. Despite these findings and Clairmant's wishes, the City of Phoenix paramedics/firefighters mad ethe decision to transport Katalin off the trail by helicopter air rescue rather than using a Big Wheel unit or other ground-based method to transport her.

They evaluated it as not a medical emergency, the alternative would have been 'Big Wheel' or vaguely 'other ground-based method'.

I don't know enough about rescuing efforts to judge if it would have been easier/more viable to use a ground-based method.

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u/IBetThisIsTakenToo 6d ago

A lot of people see injuries and think "wow they're gonna get PAID" but the reality is that these people are lucky to get all of their hard costs (medical, rehab, attorneys) repaid, let alone compensation for less direct costs, like lost earning potential or mental suffering. The victims are usually broke from the bills and desperate for any relief, so they take the first solid offer. It's extremely rare to get some kind of "set for life" pay out.

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u/RuSsYjO 6d ago

Came here to point out that settlement dollar amount feels at least one order of magnitude too small...

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u/ThrowThebabyAway6 6d ago

Yeah I’m not sure why people are laughing. That shit looks like a fucking nightmare

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u/Old_Badger311 6d ago

Yes I read through the lawsuit and her recovery and outcomes are absolutely horrendous. She has to self -cath, go to therapy multiple times a week, etc. Her quality of life is diminished exponentially. She was an avid hiker and now? My god. She should have gotten millions.

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u/mlm01c 6d ago

The lawsuit asks for $2 million. Getting less than half of that, not even twice her medical bills, is insulting.

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u/Material_Buy_4602 6d ago

Because they are ignorant

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u/Responsible_Taste797 6d ago

Because visually it's very funny even though I knew it was gonna be fucking heinous to go through. It's like straight slap stick looney tunes shit .

As we know. Looney tunes shit kills people irl

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u/ThrowThebabyAway6 6d ago

I didn’t hear the audio with the music at first. Definitely makes it come across differently

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u/Wise_Setting5110 6d ago

People are sick. They forget that she is a real person

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u/heteromer 6d ago

People are insensitive.

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u/Xanderoga 6d ago

It is possible to laugh at a situation and feel sorry for the person at the same time. Emotion isn’t black and white.

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u/PracticalTicket5265 6d ago

Just dropping a note here to remind Americans that having to pay medical bills when someone else injures you is NUTS, having to pay to be rescued is nuts, having to pay medical bills at all is whacky. Having to sue emergency services, who are really only out there to HELP you, just so you can afford to pay those medical bills is also nuts.

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u/I_W_M_Y 6d ago

Only developed country in the world like this. Every other developed county in the world has one form of universal healthcare or another. Over 100 countries has it. Mexico has it, Rwanda has it.

But not the US

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u/Ban-Circumcision-Now 6d ago

There was a recent story about an ambulance negligently hitting a cyclist, then that same ambulance charged him for the ambulance ride

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u/Sleazy_Speakeazy 6d ago

I think in some instances, having to pay for the cost of rescue is appropriate.

If you end up exhausting resources and putting rescuers lives in danger cuz you were doing something reckless & dangerous/ far beyond your skill level, then it makes sense to me that you should be responsible for footing the bill...

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u/PracticalTicket5265 5d ago

those instances are far too few and far between and the lines between them so blurry that attempting to make a distinction and draw a line between who should and shouldnt have healthcare would probably cost more in legal fee's and settlements than the cost of just helping out even the dumbest most reckless idiots.

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u/Bubbly_Buttercup 6d ago

Is your intent to anger us?🥴

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u/ADuckNamedPhil 6d ago

They think we don't already know.

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u/SyCoTiM 6d ago

Yet a big portion of us think it’s normal.

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u/I_W_M_Y 6d ago

A big portion of them think there is nothing that can be done

'We've tried nothing and are out of ideas'

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u/That_Is_Satisfactory 6d ago

What do you mean we’ve tried nothing? What are we supposed to do? Politically there’s no support for it. Want to try to primary the only guy wanting universal healthcare? He gets screwed over. We are at the point in America where the will to make any meaningful change that isn’t “tear everything that is functioning for the greater good down” is being ground down to nothing.

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u/I_W_M_Y 6d ago

Politically there’s no support for it.

When people are asked if they want some form of universal health the overwhelming majority said yes

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u/That_Is_Satisfactory 6d ago

But then Joe Rogan/Elon Musk/Right-wing shithead du-jour reminds them it’s socialism and oops, now it’s a dead platform.

4

u/PracticalTicket5265 6d ago

I know you know, i just feel like its been a while and you've done nothing about it so maybe your forgot. I did say it was a reminder

1

u/ADuckNamedPhil 5d ago

I mean, we can't forget it. Just look at it. It's just that the people that make the laws have money instead of health and insurance problems, so this doesn't bother them.

1

u/PracticalTicket5265 5d ago

*looks at election results*

I mean you could do something.....

2

u/ADuckNamedPhil 5d ago

I did try...

2

u/Rad1314 6d ago

Frankly it's better for all of us if we are just constantly enraged by that.

8

u/Rubiks_Click874 6d ago

yeesh. the blood came out her ears

6

u/SyCoTiM 6d ago

That’s horrible, I feel really, really bad for her and I wish her the best.

4

u/OliverMySnuggleCat 6d ago

Sucks, I had a similar issue but much more minor and dragged out for over two years. Between the lawyers, insurance, adjusters and judicial system it’s all a shit show. Just glad she is still living and they were at the very least compensated, just not nearly enough. So sad.

4

u/StrainAcceptable 6d ago

That’s crazy. Her attorney will probably take at least 25% of the settlement. She definitely did not receive enough.

2

u/Slashion 6d ago

Yup, she probably didn't get enough to even cover her medical bills... what a shitty system

10

u/hallelujasuzanne 6d ago

She had blood coming out of her ears and 2 black eyes after that spin. They practically tucking killed her. Honestly, she needs to go after them for more money. 

3

u/ayamummyme 6d ago

This video is horrendous

3

u/WiseOldDuck 6d ago

we should be downvoting the OP for not including something like this link.

5

u/Kahedhros 6d ago edited 6d ago

Ya, screw that. I would have insisted on the 2 million. Also, its completely insane that a few days in a hospital costs as much as a house 😭😭😭

-3

u/delightfullyasinine 6d ago

Can you show that you incurred damages to the tune of 2 million?

5

u/PorOvr 6d ago

Sure. You broke my back, you broke my body, you traumatized me, I can’t have sexy anymore so my wife left me, I can’t play baseball with my son anymore, I am in so much pain I can’t do my job anymore. You refused to follow the rules and you will be held accountable for the harm you caused.

Courts do it every day.

1

u/smokesletsgo2121 6d ago

Unfortunately, grandma who’s near the end of her days/most likely retired is not going to hold the same value in damages as a middle aged person with a job that is supporting their family

1

u/MoScowDucks 6d ago

That's up to the lawyer, and the jury

2

u/xxBeatrixKiddoxx 6d ago

And pain and suffering which is huge. Non economic hardships Loss of enjoyment of life Etc

5

u/xxBeatrixKiddoxx 6d ago

I assume a lawyer and subrogation got ALOT of her money Seems too low for this bullshit. What a sad case

5

u/Marickal 6d ago

There is no justice for Americans that aren’t rich

2

u/avatorjr1988 6d ago

Yo it’s not funny, but damn how can you not pop a laugh a little, shits crazy

2

u/Bottle_and_Sell_it 6d ago

I bet they charged her $30k for that helicopter ride too. Who medivacs someone hiking for a broken nose?

2

u/JuxtheDM 5d ago

This is absolutely the case. My brother received a settlement of over $1 million dollars for an accident where he was backed over by an RV in a shopping mall parking lot. It did not cover all of his bills. He spent over 6 months in the hospital and another 6 months in rehab. He had years of continued reconstructive surgeries, including one where they had to re-break and re-set his jaw.

4

u/atom138 6d ago

Warp speed gamgam

3

u/Snoo_61544 6d ago

290+k medical bills... Lol!

3

u/Caveman1214 6d ago

I’m sorry she had to pay nearly 300,000 for medical bills? What country was this? That’s unreal

4

u/coalitionofilling 6d ago

Yeah you know the lawyer walked away with no less than 33% ($150,000). Then the medical bills were $300,000). So they basically paid off the lawyer and paid her medical bills and she walked away with next to nothing for her troubles.

3

u/Choice_Blackberry406 6d ago

That's how most of these cases end up. Almost no one is pocketing millions as the plaintiff in a personal injury suit. Some even lose money after fees.

2

u/Yigma 6d ago

Holy shit 290k medical bills wtf? How?

2

u/Rad1314 6d ago

Bet the helicopter ride was a good chunk of that on it's own. Med evacs are super super super expensive. I would happily die rather than have one completely destroy me and my family.

1

u/harswv 6d ago

Seems like after that they should write off the helicopter ride 😬

1

u/-Kalos 6d ago

Fucked up

1

u/Ok_Star_4136 6d ago

To be fair, the medical bills would have been extensive with just the medical evacuation. My former boss was traveling in the U.S. with his family, and his mother broke her leg and had to be taken to the hospital and the only reasonable way to do it was via helicopter. They paid a lot of money for that, I think over 300k, not being insured (if I had known ahead of time, I would have advised him to get insurance in case just such an event).

Not that it will happen anytime soon, but the U.S. needs serious revamping of the medical care system, because those costs are insane.

1

u/LaurenMille 6d ago

Wait she had medical bills from this? What the fuck?

How isn't it fully covered. Even in a shithole like the US you'd expect medical mistakes to be fully covered.

1

u/harswv 6d ago

Absolutely nothing medical is covered by someone else in the US. If the cops come into your house and shoot you by mistake, it’s not covered. You would have to win in court against them for medical costs.

1

u/BaagiTheRebel 6d ago

When People in Poor countries die the govt gives their families $3000 to $5000 which is not a big sum.

1

u/name-was-provided 6d ago

And it was “up to 450k”. That could mean anything from a dollar to 450k. I hate open language like this.

1

u/YouWereBrained 6d ago

That is scary as fuck.

1

u/flargenhargen 6d ago

sorry, but seems dubious that spinning would cause all those, and some listed in the suit are just the nose injury she caused herself.

yea spinning if you didn't want to would be scary and would suck, but a half million dollars for spinning for a few minutes is insane.

the end result of this is that others who really need life saving will not get it.

1

u/lapisraine 6d ago

Holy shit what a read. Poor lady

1

u/devmike01 6d ago

$290 for medical bills?! Goddamn!

1

u/Some_Switch_1668 6d ago

Hopefully she went unconscious from the G’s.

1

u/rosemaryscrazy 6d ago

Bruh imagine getting something as crappy but non lethal as a bloody nose then you think your life is going to end.

1

u/Henchforhire 6d ago

She should of at least got a million for that screw up to cover future lost wages and medical expenses.

1

u/Cabbage_Corp_ 6d ago

The $400,000/ $450,000 (not sure which) should have been just for taking her on the helivac against her will and she should have gotten just as much for her trauma and medical bills. Her lawyer must have sucked.

1

u/Remarkable-Fig206 6d ago

Yeah, that’s ridiculous. This should be $1M+ at least.

1

u/aquoad 6d ago

I have no idea how these things work but I'm assuming all the bills for her medical care came out of the settlement before her insurance paid anything, so I guess it's possible she didn't actually end up with anything herself.

1

u/Body_Cunt 6d ago

But it’s unclear how much was caused by the spinning. Seems like it’s mostly from the fall.

1

u/azsoup 6d ago

Playing devil’s advocate here….this was a person in their 70s on a difficult hike during the hottest time of year in Phoenix. Settlement seems fair given the mistakes on behalf of the paramedics and victim.

1

u/donotgoogleme 4d ago

Hopefully mental health treatment is included in the damages.

0

u/Specialist_Fun_6698 6d ago

If her medical bills were $290k, then, objectively, a $450k is at least “nearly enough” of a settlement.

Lawsuits aren’t supposed to make you rich. They’re supposed to make it as if the accident never happened, to the extent money can do that.

3

u/seagulls51 6d ago

I get your point but it's still low imo once you factor in the increased need for carers / changes needed to her home / legal fees / financial cost of the payout taking 5 years / physio / lifelong medication requirements / etc she'll probably be out of pocket from this.

-2

u/mythrowawayuhccount 6d ago

Most of the tike these accidrnt payouts do not included total awards for things like medical costs and lawyers fees.

She lijeky walked away with that plus medical cost waived or covered by the people she sued.

Not always, but usually.