104 Euro Hospital Bill
Discussion
Earlier this year i was on a stag do in Berlin. During the evening we wondered past one of these:
With little or no peer pressure i climbed to the top ready for photos. with a "few" beers in me i decided the best method for me to get down was to jump onto a dangling branch and land on my feet. The only problem was that in practice i landed on my head.
Off to A&E. In A&E i wasn't asked anything other than my address which i don't remember listing but i must have for the bill to have be posted out to me.
My question is do i have to pay it?
I have an EU medical card and travel insurance. What do i do now?
My first thought was not to pay... Then i thought i should contact my travel insurance company.. then i thought its much easier to not pay again....
With little or no peer pressure i climbed to the top ready for photos. with a "few" beers in me i decided the best method for me to get down was to jump onto a dangling branch and land on my feet. The only problem was that in practice i landed on my head.
Off to A&E. In A&E i wasn't asked anything other than my address which i don't remember listing but i must have for the bill to have be posted out to me.
My question is do i have to pay it?
I have an EU medical card and travel insurance. What do i do now?
My first thought was not to pay... Then i thought i should contact my travel insurance company.. then i thought its much easier to not pay again....
Mk3Spitfire said:
No idea what the answer is, but great story, and enjoy the reaction when you explain to the ins company exactly how the accident came about!
And my luck, well i say luck, if i had had some luck i would have landed on my feet..... it was maybe around 11pm when i [cough] "hit my head" and as soon as i hit the floor, 4 doctors on push bikes which were passing stopped and checked me out!So in summary you have "a few beers" in Germany, do something really stupid, get a head injury, passers by who are medically trained stop and help you (presumably smelling the alcohol on your breath) you get taken to hospital and treated then you moan about a bill for 104 Euros. Get a life and man up and pay or claim off your insurance and stop moaning.
I had to pay 10 euro in spain many years ago when I sliced open my hand and needed 6 stitches on the bottom of the villa pool. Thats even with a EU medical card and stone cold sober.
All things considered, pay it. And we should start introducing similar charges for drunks needing treatment in the UK - if you can blow that much on booze, you can pay a little extra to be stuck back again afterwards.
All things considered, pay it. And we should start introducing similar charges for drunks needing treatment in the UK - if you can blow that much on booze, you can pay a little extra to be stuck back again afterwards.
iandc said:
So in summary you have "a few beers" in Germany, do something really stupid, get a head injury, passers by who are medically trained stop and help you (presumably smelling the alcohol on your breath) you get taken to hospital and treated then you moan about a bill for 104 Euros. Get a life and man up and pay or claim off your insurance and stop moaning.
This.Its unbelievable that you can act like a drunk ahole, get completely patched up for the price of a decent meal, and then cry about it and look to scam them out of the money.
PurpleMoonlight said:
The EU health card doesn't entitle you to free care, it entitles you to care at the same rate as a local national.
I don't know what the German system is but if they, or their insurer, would be charged then so will you.
Indeed.I don't know what the German system is but if they, or their insurer, would be charged then so will you.
- The EHIC will cover any medical treatment that becomes necessary during your trip, for example because of either illness or an accident. (In an emergency you can dial the European emergency number 112 from any telephone or mobile phone).
- The card gives access to reduced-cost or free medical treatment from state healthcare providers.
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff