Scared and Angry — Spent Hours in Emergency Room

[connorkimbro]

why was there a nail there?

[Gatekeeper]

Hmm. This thread is quite interesting, and my thanks to MtG, Lefty, and others for contributing their thoughts to it so far.

I certainly will try to tread a balanced line when it comes to dealing with this. I'm not one of those types who gets a kick out of sucking the money out of an entity that's done me wrong by accident, but, like MtG said, I don't want to be a weenie, either, and just roll over. So I shall take it day-by-day.

I know I'm going to miss at least one day of work (maybe two) while recovering and keeping an eye on things, but my 234 hours of accumulated paid sick leave will cover that. I'm also saving the receipts for the bandages and anti-bacterial stuff I've had to buy (and will have to buy again, in order to cover the entire 10-12 day period the sutures will remain in place).

Lefty, I didn't know that my insurance would have control of any legal action that's taken, if it goes to that level. The insurance is through my employer.

**sigh** I wish I could just go to sleep for 10 to 12 days and wake up healed, albeit with a scar. Folks say that Neosporin is a good triple-action anti-bacterial agent that can reduce scarring, though. Any truth to that? Right now I'm using some greenish gunk as an anti-bacterial agent.

Gatekeeper

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Spiffor
This theory I accept. Unfortunately, you're always talking about ambulance chasers, and I think these people show that something is very broken with your system.

Ambulance chasers are a blight, but they're really not that effective. Mostly they screw their own clients, but taking a large fee for little work - this bit about "we fight hard for your rights" is blatant fraud - an ambulance chaser would much rather do 100 quick settlements for $10,000 each, than all the case prep work (for which they're often incompetent) for one case for $1,000,000.

The fact that you suggest to Gatekeeper to exaggerate his pain or to lie outright about it, simply so that he's not on his own if the wound complicates itself later, shows that something is wrong in America. At least in my worldview.

The legal system is adversarial here - so you have to exaggerate up, because they'll spin down. Tell the exact truth, and they'll still spin down. Exaggerate a reasonable amount, and the reported view of reality will be more accurate. Exaggerate too much, and they'll know you're full of ****. They're not out to find the "truth" - they're out to present a credible rendition of the "truth" that is as favorable to their position as possible. Their perspective is "risk management" - in other words, doing anything they can to reduce their exposure to damages after the fact. Real "risk management" means trying to prevent the problems before the fact, and that's the sickness in the system.

Don't take this personally: I think you have given good advice to Gatekeeper given his environment. It's not you that I criticize, it's said environment.

The difference is that there's actually a sort of balance here. Most people are used to (and accept) an environment where negligence and even reckless acts are beyond any real punishment.

[Gatekeeper]

Connor:

I wish I knew. If it hadn't been there, I still would have stumbled and fallen, but it would've just been a scrape and nothing more.

Gatekeeper

[Kaak]

no offfense gatekeeper, but you sound like you've never had stitches before. It isn't rolling over not to sue someone for something that insurance will take care of anyway. when I was about a year old, i got pretty much eaten by a dog. almost three hundred stitches later, the dog was dead, but there were no lawsuits. Too many lawsuits are immoral

[Imran Siddiqui]

This is not a friendly, "Gee, we're sorry, how ya doin' ol' buddy?" chat, despite any pretense to the contrary. This is a "spin anything this dumb greedy mother****er says so you can use it as evidence he's not in pain, hasn't suffered, won't have any losses, so if the dumb bastard does get some ambulance chaser, we can stick his statements up his ass later" chat.

MtG is 100% right. Don't say anything that could be beneficial to their case, because that is what they are looking for.

Don't give an inch . These people should at least pay for your medical bills, and I'd also take a few day's pay, even though you had lots of sick leave, you had to use it because of them.

[Gatekeeper]

Originally posted by Kaak
no offfense gatekeeper, but you sound like you've never had stitches before. It isn't rolling over not to sue someone for something that insurance will take care of anyway. when I was about a year old, i got pretty much eaten by a dog. almost three hundred stitches later, the dog was dead, but there were no lawsuits. Too many lawsuits are immoral

I've had stitches before — I was five years old, and had 'em above my left eye. So I'm not completely unfamiliar with them by any means.

That said, I'm not the one who brought anything up about lawsuits. **shrug** It was just an angle brought up by others and we went from there. But I think MtG has pertinent points that shouldn't be glossed over — especially so in regards to signing release forms. Besides, if any legal action is taken, it will probably be my insurance company vs. their insurance company. I have no control over that.

As it stands now, I'm perfectly satisfied to heal up and be reimbursed for any up-front costs incurred. After all, I've got better things to do than ruin somebody else's life.

Gatekeeper

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Kaak
Too many lawsuits are immoral

How is a suit either moral or immoral?

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Dissident
lawsuit time

don't be ridiculous. You gotta prove two things: liablity & damages. Sure, you might be able to show they didn't keep the place tidy and so they're liable. But how much are you gonna collect??

A scar on your leg isn't worth much. Now, if you'd have ripped open your face or you ballsack, or you lose a leg to infection, then you're talking.

[Gatekeeper]

Infection is my biggest fear right now, but the doc said that wasn't likely to happen as long as I change the bandages, apply anti-bacterial stuff and keep it dry. **shrug** So that's what I'm doing. About the only time the wound is going to get wet is when I shower, and I won't do that until tomorrow. Even then, it will be covered by bandages that will be replaced as soon as the shower is done.

Gatekeeper

[pchang]

Hmmm

I find it very ironic that a vocal supporter for suing has a nick with Comrade in it. As for ER stories, I was in there because my wife was in a real bad way when they wheeled in a gangbanger with multiple gunshot wounds to the chest. After my wife was stabilized, I needed a walk. I saw the room where the gangbanger was. At an intellectual level, I know the average human body has 5 or 6 liters of blood in it, but it is quite another thing to see 5 or 6 liters of blood covering every square centimeter of an ER room.

[Gatekeeper]

^^^Stuff like that makes you wonder how ER staff keep it together intellectually and emotionally.

Besides the woman I mentioned in the opening post to this thread, there were at least three screaming children — one no more than a newborn — in the ER, along with several other adults. The doctor and nurses looked drained, to say the least, but were quite courteous and professional, if not always open to having conversations (a tactic I use frequently in an attempt to make a situation, no matter how chaotic, a bit more laid back).

Gatekeeper