Have You Ever Called 911?

sviato said:

Called it once to get an ambulance for a family member. I can see why people in the States wouldn't use it for that considering how expensive it can be

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A long time ago, my fiance at the time (my wife now) and I were in a play, and she slipped on something, fell and bumped her head a bit too hard. So, she was a bit dazed, but I was sitting with her. One of the theater managers called an ambulance to take her to the emergency room against her and my will. So, the ambulance came, and took her to the hospital. I followed in our car. She was in the ER for a total of twenty minutes before she was released with nothing wrong with her. There was no concussion like they had feared; she was just dazed.

The ambulance was not covered by our insurance, and ended up costing $1600 out of pocket. Not to mention the emergency room costs. Granted, some of it was covered by insurance, but not all of it. The total bill put us over $2000 in the hole. Lesson: Never call an ambulance unless you literally have a severe problem, and never call for someone else without their permission.

vulcanvillalta said:

A long time ago, my fiance at the time (my wife now) and I were in a play, and she slipped on something, fell and bumped her head a bit too hard. So, she was a bit dazed, but I was sitting with her. One of the theater managers called an ambulance to take her to the emergency room against her and my will. So, the ambulance came, and took her to the hospital. I followed in our car. She was in the ER for a total of twenty minutes before she was released with nothing wrong with her. There was no concussion like they had feared; she was just dazed.

The ambulance was not covered by our insurance, and ended up costing $1600 out of pocket. Not to mention the emergency room costs. Granted, some of it was covered by insurance, but not all of it. The total bill put us over $2000 in the hole. Lesson: Never call an ambulance unless you literally have a severe problem, and never call for someone else without their permission.

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Horrible horrible "advice."

The better lesson is that medical services can be refused via a medical release.

You didn't know that at the time, but you know it know.

smithrh said:

Horrible horrible "advice."

The better lesson is that medical services can be refused via a medical release.

You didn't know that at the time, but you know it know.

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If those had been filled out, I would have agreed. We were young and stupid. But the situation of the story is unique: If it happened in our backyard, it would be different.

The ambulance sign-off's will no doubt save you an expensive taxi ride, if you don't need it. Most ambulance companies are 'for-profit' and if they don't transport, they don't make any money. So they may not have wanted to even tell you that you could sign-off as patient refusal.

SandboxGeneral said:

The ambulance sign-off's will no doubt save you an expensive taxi ride, if you don't need it. Most ambulance companies are 'for-profit' and if they don't transport, they don't make any money. So they may not have wanted to even tell you that you could sign-off as patient refusal.

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This varies tremendously across the country - where I am, 95% of prehospital care is Fire Department ALS, and they're happy to take refusals (RMA/AMA). Most don't charge anything even close the $1600 figure mentioned, and there's no profit motive involved.

Other parts of the country have private ambulance services running 911 calls and what you mention can play a role.

Depends on where you are.

smithrh said:

This varies tremendously across the country - where I am, 95% of prehospital care is Fire Department ALS, and they're happy to take refusals (RMA/AMA). Most don't charge anything even close the $1600 figure mentioned, and there's no profit motive involved.

Other parts of the country have private ambulance services running 911 calls and what you mention can play a role.

Depends on where you are.

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Yep, that's 100% true. In my county, none of the fire service run EMS calls, except as medical first responders; they are non-transporting.

Part of the issue here is that the $1600 bill wasn't covered by insurance.

I suspect that's no longer the case these days.

smithrh said:

Part of the issue here is that the $1600 bill wasn't covered by insurance.

I suspect that's no longer the case these days.

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It's covered now. But, we thankfully haven't needed a ride for quite a few years.

smithrh said:

Horrible horrible "advice."

The better lesson is that medical services can be refused via a medical release.

You didn't know that at the time, but you know it know.

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100% agree, it costs nothing to get a Advanced Life Support assessment. the money you pay is for the transport.

as long as you can answer 3 questions, name/date/place, you can sign out AMA (against medical advice) which releases us of any liability should the person get worse upon our departure.

for example, we have give dextrose 50% (sugar) to diabetic patients on scene, once they are coherent enough to answer those questions above and refuse transport, we are gone. no bill to person.

i am a firefighter/medic, and always suggest a person to contact 911 if they feel the need, thats why we are around.

rick snagwell said:

100% agree, it costs nothing to get a Advanced Life Support assessment. the money you pay is for the transport.

as long as you can answer 3 questions, name/date/place, you can sign out AMA (against medical advice) which releases us of any liability should the person get worse upon our departure.

for example, we have give dextrose 50% (sugar) to diabetic patients on scene, once they are coherent enough to answer those questions above and refuse transport, we are gone. no bill to person.

i am a firefighter/medic, and always suggest a person to contact 911 if they feel the need, thats why we are around.

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Same here in Canada.

Three times- 2 for car accidents (was not involved), once for prowlers at neighbors house, turned out to be teenagers pulling a prank.

Huntn said:

Three times- 2 for car accidents (was not involved), once for prowlers at neighbors house, turned out to be teenagers pulling a prank.

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Car accidents are always interesting to witness. It's like slow motion.

Remember once I was walking along a sidewalk when 2 cars smacked into each other. Right before I was like "they are gonna hit" then *smack* and a chunk of one of the bumpers flew across the road and landed about 5 inches from me.

I find it odd you guys have to pay so much upfront, for an ambulance??

jeremysteele said:

Car accidents are always interesting to witness. It's like slow motion.

Remember once I was walking along a sidewalk when 2 cars smacked into each other. Right before I was like "they are gonna hit" then *smack* and a chunk of one of the bumpers flew across the road and landed about 5 inches from me.

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For one of them, I was in a left turn lane at a light and for this particular light it was unusual in that there was a green arrow at both the start and end of the light. From the other direction the light went from green-yellow-red. The person coming from the other direction in a pickup either was not paying attention or thought he could go through they yellow-red before cross traffic started to move. Well it was not cross traffic, but turning lane traffic. I saw him coming, saw the first guy in the turning lane start to turn and not even look at oncoming traffic, I honked my horn to no avail and the truck hit the rear of the car doing about 50 mph. The car hit spun around multiple times before stopping. The truck ended in a ditch. The guy in the truck emerged asking, "why does this happen to me?" Duh. The guy in the car looked like he was in shock, just sitting there after spinning around about a couple of times. Other cars stopped to help, so I called 911 and advised them that an ambulance would be needed. I had worked at a volunteer fire department and knew that with this kind of collision and shock, a hospital checkup should be accomplished. I've seen a person walk on a broken leg and not know it while in shock.

thatoneguy82 said:

As an aside, I do miss the show "Rescue 911". I used to love that show when I was younger, though sometimes the dramatization of the event was way over the top.

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The intro is so nostalgic for me. Great show to watch.

vulcanvillalta said:

A long time ago, my fiance at the time (my wife now) and I were in a play, and she slipped on something, fell and bumped her head a bit too hard. So, she was a bit dazed, but I was sitting with her. One of the theater managers called an ambulance to take her to the emergency room against her and my will. So, the ambulance came, and took her to the hospital. I followed in our car. She was in the ER for a total of twenty minutes before she was released with nothing wrong with her. There was no concussion like they had feared; she was just dazed.

The ambulance was not covered by our insurance, and ended up costing $1600 out of pocket. Not to mention the emergency room costs. Granted, some of it was covered by insurance, but not all of it. The total bill put us over $2000 in the hole. Lesson: Never call an ambulance unless you literally have a severe problem, and never call for someone else without their permission.

Click to expand...

I see where you're coming from, really I do. But what if it is a serious problem that doesn't look serious right away. What if they are unconscious, they can't give you permission (obviously)?

I would say the lesson was to be grateful you're wife/finance was ok and yea it cost you over $2000, but...she was ok. That's far more important.

LifePak 5 spotted!

Nope, I live in Wales

So fortunate to live in a country where calling 999 won't cost you anything. It's bad enough when you are in an emergency situation, without having to think about the cost.
As a first aided at work we had to call them a few times, but I was always the one administering treatment.

A few weeks ago I was chocking at work and my colleagues had to call. Fortunately someone else knew first aid so was able to clear my airway. They were still on the phone so they never got dispatched.

For those of us old enough to remember dial phones, I always thought it strange that the number chosen was 999, it would take an age to dial.

I could be wrong but I believe 911 will also get you connected in the UK.

Apple fanboy said:

So fortunate to live in a country where calling 999 won't cost you anything. It's bad enough when you are in an emergency situation, without having to think about the cost.

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But how many people are really thinking about the cost? As far as I'm aware, our taxes pay for the service. Calling costs NOTHING. The only charge I could see being incurred is an ambulance ride. When my mother-in-law was treated at my house after a 911 call, there were no charges, since she didn't ride in the ambulance.

Tomorrow said:

But how many people are really thinking about the cost? As far as I'm aware, our taxes pay for the service. Calling costs NOTHING. The only charge I could see being incurred is an ambulance ride. When my mother-in-law was treated at my house after a 911 call, there were no charges, since she didn't ride in the ambulance.

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Sorry if I didn't make it clear. In the UK if you ride the ambulance, go to the ER, have an operation there are no charges. Yes we pay tax and National insurance, but at least it's there for us to use without worrying about the cost.

tech4all said:

The intro is so nostalgic for me. Great show to watch.

YouTube: video



I see where you're coming from, really I do. But what if it is a serious problem that doesn't look serious right away. What if they are unconscious, they can't give you permission (obviously)?

I would say the lesson was to be grateful you're wife/finance was ok and yea it cost you over $2000, but...she was ok. That's far more important.

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Oh, no doubt, I'm glad she's alive and well. You are competely right- better safe than sorry.

SandboxGeneral said:

Don't get me wrong, a standard number across the globe is a good idea, but I don't ever see it happening.

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There is: 112. The number redirects to the local emergency number in 81 countries, including the U.S. It's unfortunate that barely any people know about it.

noodlemanc said:

There is: 112. The number redirects to the local emergency number in 81 countries, including the U.S. It's unfortunate that barely any people know about it.

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Interesting. I didn't know it was spread across that many countries. That's pretty cool.

Apple fanboy said:

For those of us old enough to remember dial phones, I always thought it strange that the number chosen was 999, it would take an age to dial.

I could be wrong but I believe 911 will also get you connected in the UK.

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999 was chosen because on the old rotary dial phones the number 9 was right next to the dial stop so could be easily found correctly in the dark or in a smoke-filled room.

Originally 111 was proposed because it was quicker to dial but they found that they got a number of false calls from telephone wires touching each other in high winds, birds pecking on the line and other weird things. 999 was a more complex series of tones that was much harder to reproduce accidentally.

911 won't get you connected in the UK but as another poster pointed out 112 works almost anywhere.

Not in the US, never had to call Emergency Services in Australia or 000