LONG story short. I did not receive any care from the paramedic. My friend called 911 because we thought I was having a heart attack. I had massive chest pain, pain in my left arm, and I could BARELY breathe. The paramedic just put me on the ambulance and wrote down my information. Once we arrived at the hospital, she told the nurses I had "minor back pain" and that's it. I could not stand, so they picked me up and put me in the waiting room. I sat in the waiting room unable to breathe for 45 minutes before I passed out due to the lack of oxygen.
The doctors determined I had a collapsed lung. They had to perform an emergency operation where they shoved a metal tube in between 2 ribs and into my lung to re inflate my lung while I was AWAKE and with NO MEDS.
Now, they are calling EVERYDAY about the ambulance bill. What can I do?
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
They did not treat you and did not properly inform the peeps about ya injuries so yeah.... SUE DEM
You were transported to the hospital by the paramedics. You received the service. You are required to pay for the service.
If the hospital didn't treat you as efficiently as you would have liked, you can/should communicate this to the hospital. But the paramedics did everything they were required to do - they made sure you were stable and they got you to the ER. The paramedics are not responsible for diagnosing you. If you disagreed with the paramedic's description of your physical condition you could have spoken up. If you were having trouble breathing, you could have contacted a nurse before you passed out.
If you have insurance, they should cover the ambulance. I don't know why but ambulance companies seem to have problems properly billing insurance.
The details of your ordeal, while horrifying, have absolutely nothing to do with the needs of the ambulance company to get paid.