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Am I obligated to pay a bill for an ambulance that I did not request and refused trea

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mitch8

Junior Member
Am I obligated to pay a bill for an ambulance that I did not request and refused treatment?

I had an auto accident a block from the ambulance service in upstate New York. The accident didn't even trigger the airbag to be deployed. When the EMT arrived I told him I didn't require or want his services. I got a bill from the ambulance service for $190. Am I obligated to pay bill?

tia,
Mitch
 


mitch8

Junior Member
Thanks for the replies. It just seems wrong to charge me almost $200 when I declined to be looked at by the emt at the time. They even noted that I declined to be looked at on their paperwork....bummer.

Merry Christmas guys!
 

You Are Guilty

Senior Member
I have neither the time nor, to be honest, the inclination to spend the time needed to track down the authority, but I would certainly start my search here and work my way down the list of statutory "suspects":
http://www.health.ny.gov/nysdoh/ems/policy/98-05.htm

(One could also just call the DOH and ask them directly, although the quality of that answer will likely depend on just who answers the phones there).


And for interesting side reading, I recommend:
www.iaff.org/tech/PDF/Monograph4.pdf
 

mitch8

Junior Member
to You Are Guilty - thanks so much for the links - I will certainly look into them - I didn't even know they existed.
 

swalsh411

Senior Member
You are likely obligated to pay for unordered emergency services and the reason is that it's generally held that ambulance drivers and EMTs have a legal duty to assist a person in need if they see it. If the opposite were true (that you only had to pay for an ambulance if it was requested) then ambulance drivers who witness a person in need may pretend they didn't see it and not stop because they would be worried about not getting paid.
 

xylene

Senior Member
If you did not receive any treatment and you did not request any services, and were not medically incapable of refusing treatment or otherwise required emergency or emergent treatment....

Then you are not legally liable to pay a bill just because an ambulance showed up and took your license plate down.

Nonetheless, ecmst12's idea is the best.
 

xylene

Senior Member
You are likely obligated to pay for unordered emergency services and the reason is that it's generally held that ambulance drivers and EMTs have a legal duty to assist a person in need if they see it. If the opposite were true (that you only had to pay for an ambulance if it was requested) then ambulance drivers who witness a person in need may pretend they didn't see it and not stop because they would be worried about not getting paid.
Under your theory ambulance drivers could poach bills from otherwise uninjured motorists in fender benders.

Which of course is not the law.
 

swalsh411

Senior Member
Under your theory ambulance drivers could poach bills from otherwise uninjured motorists in fender benders.

Which of course is not the law.
A person involved in a minor fender bender is not one that is clearly in need of assistance. I believe the OP's accident was more serious than this.
 

HighwayMan

Super Secret Senior Member
Often ambulances are dispatched to where they are not needed.

Very often in the case of motor vehicle accidents they get dispatched automatically if there is little information provided about the nature of the accident by the reporter.

There are also accidents that get reported by an involved party or witness as being more serious than they really are in order to get a faster police response.
 

xylene

Senior Member
Often ambulances are dispatched to where they are not needed.

Very often in the case of motor vehicle accidents they get dispatched automatically if there is little information provided about the nature of the accident by the reporter.

There are also accidents that get reported by an involved party or witness as being more serious than they really are in order to get a faster police response.
And simply having an ambulance dispatched does not confer financial liability, particularly for services not rendered.
 

HighwayMan

Super Secret Senior Member
And simply having an ambulance dispatched does not confer financial liability
No it does not. An ambulance will arrive, I'll tell them they're not needed, they take my name and shield number for the ACR, and then leave without getting anyone's else's information.
 

HighwayMan

Super Secret Senior Member
Actually, I was involved in a car accident over the summer. An ambulance was dispatched for whatever reason. They arrived and I told them I'm fine and then they left. No bill.
 

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