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[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Un-sticky as Brian is stable and the irony of an EV rider getting their ass kicked by a downed powerline is the kind of sticky-topic award no one should win ever again.

I was happy to at least make that remark to the EMTs in the helicopter as they transported me to the hospital. Although I had trouble saying it.

And yes it was deeply unpleasant.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I see it's getting  very close to ten grand. I am glad to see so much support, almost double what was expected, but I am hoping it actually gets to the ten grand mark.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

Wow. I had stopped looking in the last couple weeks. It feels like too much, maybe, but I’m grateful.

I have a reasonable (so far) insurance situation which admittedly I don’t know how it will end, but my out of pocket expenses might not break my savings. I will say that the bills we see from hospitals and the medevac service are eye-watering. If my insurance didn’t hold together for some reason, I’d be wiped out, personally.

I guess we’ll see how this goes. I just want my body back together.

[alko]

I see it's getting  very close to ten grand. I am glad to see so much support, almost double what was expected, but I am hoping it actually gets to the ten grand mark.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

Wow. I had stopped looking in the last couple weeks. It feels like too much, maybe, but I’m grateful.

I have a reasonable (so far) insurance situation which admittedly I don’t know how it will end, but my out of pocket expenses might not break my savings. I will say that the bills we see from hospitals and the medevac service are eye-watering. If my insurance didn’t hold together for some reason, I’d be wiped out, personally.

I guess we’ll see how this goes. I just want my body back together.

Is the city or electric company taking responsibility? I hope so.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Is the city or electric company taking responsibility? I hope so.

Short answer: no.

Long answer: no comment.

[Moto7575]

Wow...In France the maximum you can pay out of your pocket is 20 euros per day, even if you have no private insurance. At that price you can have the best hospital with the greatest specialists.

Just for my education, what is the order of magnitude of the amount tho hospital will bill you ?

Is the city or electric company taking responsibility? I hope so.

Short answer: no.

Long answer: no comment.

[DonTom]

Wow...In France the maximum you can pay out of your pocket is 20 euros per day, even if you have no private insurance.

You probably pay as much, but by a different method--  such as much higher taxes than here in the USA.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Oh, the amount I’ll pay out of pocket isn’t eye-watering.

The eye watering bills are more showing what they want the insurance company to pay. The helicopter ride alone was the price of a well-configured Tesla Model 3. Then there’s a few weeks of hospitalization with multiple surgeries and procedures, with outpatient nurse visits now and more surgery scheduled.

We get handed that bill as a matter of record, with a subtle threat that if insurance doesn’t pay it, they’ll pursue me.

I know it’s uncivilized, but this is the situation.

[Richard230]

Wow...In France the maximum you can pay out of your pocket is 20 euros per day, even if you have no private insurance. At that price you can have the best hospital with the greatest specialists.

Just for my education, what is the order of magnitude of the amount tho hospital will bill you ?

Is the city or electric company taking responsibility? I hope so.

Short answer: no.

Long answer: no comment.

I have a friend that fell over on his BMW GS on the highway while rounding a 25 mph curve. Although he was wearing a new top-of-the-line Shoei helmet, he apparently suffered a concussion. He spent 2 week at Stanford Hospital and another month in a rehab facility.  His medical bills totaled almost $1 million. Fortunately, his bills were paid by his workplace private medical insurance - after a year of continual negotiations. The cause of his accident was never determined, although his insurance company did everything that they could to determine if there was someone that they could sue to recover their expenses.

[DonTom]

I have a friend that fell over on his BMW GS on the highway while rounding a 25 mph curve. Although he was wearing a new top-of-the-line Shoei helmet, he apparently suffered a concussion.

Did you see the Harry Hurt Report on helmets back in the 1980's (IIRC)?  A big study on motorcycle accidents and helmets. The best helmet for MOST motorcycle accidents (most happen at the bike riding at 25 mph or less) were the cheapest ones, such as the one WalMart used too sell back then for $15.00.

Faster speed accidents  generally require a more expensive helmet.

His bottom line was "you tell me what type of accident you will have and I will tell you the best helmet".

But he also mentioned having the wrong helmet for your type of accident is always better than no helmet at all.

The problem with you friend's helmet could have been it was too expensive for the type of accident he had. Cheap helmets are softer and absorb more impact at slow speeds.  The more expensive helmets are usually better at higher speeds, but worse at lower speed impacts.

If this has changed with new helmet technology since the 1980's, I do not know.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

[Doug S]

That's not the way I remember the Hurt report AT ALL. The conclusion I remember is that ANY helmet provides about 80% of the benefit of the very best helmet. Helmet cost isn't very strongly correlated to how well it protects, but coverage is -- a good full-coverage helmet is better than an open-face helmet, which is better than those soup bowls the Harley guys wear. But the difference isn't all that great. First, WEAR ONE!!!! (I love those little stickers the Harley guys put on their helmets that say "I wear this helmet under protest." That's EXACTLY why we have helmet laws in CA. You're telling me that it's working!) Second, step up to a full-face helmet. Third....well, there isn't really a third. Get one that fits your head shape and size. And that, regardless of price, is about the best you're going to be able to do.

[DonTom]

That's not the way I remember the Hurt report AT ALL.

I don't see how you could not remember it as that was one of his main points.

Do you remember where he mentioned those cheap $15.00  Wal-Mart helmets?

Do you remember his line "you tell me what type of accident you will have and I will tell you the best helmet" ?

That most cycle crashes happen with the bike going less than 25 MPH at the point of impact?


Was there more than one report? I think the Hurt report  I read was in Rider Magazine, which I used to subscribe to.


I see there is  some info. on the web. I will do some more searching and see if I can find the exact words.

Edit: Here is the entire study. Obviously this is more than would fit in Rider magazine.   I think what Rider did was interview H Hurt and wasn't this exact study, but questions and answers based on it.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

[wavelet]

Wow...In France the maximum you can pay out of your pocket is 20 euros per day, even if you have no private insurance.

You probably pay as much, but by a different method--  such as much higher taxes than here in the USA.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

He probably doesn't. The US spends ~17% of its GDP on health (more than twice that of most developed countries), with far worse outcomes by almost any metric. The US non-system has a lot of admin overhead.

[Doug S]

The US non-system has a lot of admin overhead.

It's not just admin overhead. The US system is a FOR PROFIT model. Every entity from the insurance companies to the labs to the drug companies to the pharmacies to the doctors' offices to the hospitals demand, and receive, a "fair profit" for services rendered. (And we know what "fair" means when peoples' health is at risk.) Add them together and that's when the eyes start watering. It's staggering how much profit there is in something as relatively simple to build as a wheelchair.

Ours is truly a very broken system.

[Richard230]

Unfortunately, I have to agree with Doug S, here. Financially, our medical system sucks. But if you can afford it you can get good care most of the time and you rarely have to wait for it.

Regarding my friend's accident: I am pretty sure that he suffered a minor stroke as he had no knowledge or memory of what had happened that day and for a week afterward while he was in the hospital.  When the insurance company started grilling him about who or what caused his accident, he made up a story that he crashed because he was trying to avoid a deer running across the road. That story did get the insurance company off of his back. It took him about a year before he seemed to be able to carry on a conversation like he used to do. But almost 2 years after his accident, he still can't walk very well, or land his plane well enough to be able to fly it again.  While he still rides one of his 23 motorcycles every week, he doesn't seem to want to go on any long trips nowadays. I might add that he is 15 years younger than I am. 

[heroto]

Please Please Please keep this thread on topic.
Best wishes to our mutual friend and guide Brian.
The political and economic tangents are very worthy topics but mods please move them elsewhere. Let's keep this on Brian and his recovery. He deserves to be made whole.
Get in line forumites: If the slick lawyers for the opposition need some pressure, perhaps we can help in the court of public opinion.