EMMET COUNTY — A fatal single vehicle crash occurred on I-75 south of Mackinaw City early Monday morning.
The Emmet County Sheriff’s Office reports that 64-year-old Carl Norman Little, Sr. of Gladstone lost control of his vehicle while travelling southbound on I-75 around 5:30 a.m. Officials believe that Little left the roadway and struck several trees before landing in a roadside ditch. Emergency personnel arrived and pronounced Little dead at the scene.
via Fatal single vehicle crash in Emmet County : News : UpperMichigansSource.com.
Apparently the wheels of bureaucracy grind slowly and painful. It is obvious that Mr. Little no longer resides at his former residence nor he is among the living. His family is upset and quite so at the absolute lack of tact on this matter because you have to be some heartless sumbitch to send the bill to the deceased knowing that the family is gonna get it.
If I were a betting man, I’d say somebody forgot or lost the insurance information and finding him/herself in a bind, committed this act of sheer stupidity.
This is no act of stupidity. Chances are the family will feel an obligation to pay off the debts of the deceased, as opposed to letting the bill collectors squabble over whatever the estate contains. Also, charging off uncollectable debt is a good way to cook your budget.
Either scenario, the FD knew what they were doing.
stay safe.
Reading the work order, it makes no mention of the fact that the vehicle’s occupant was DOA. Furthermore, in cases such as this, news reports often withhold the name of the patient.
I don’t know how they handle their billing, but it is entirely possible that they use a subcontractor. In other words there is a possibility that the person who handled the billing wasn’t aware that the patient was deceased.
While it is a bit tactless to send the bill to deceased person’s family, it seems it is common to charge a rescue fee in circumstances which were completely avoidable. S&R charges per man hour in cases involving illegal or just plain stupid behavior, and I’ve heard of similar bills from Police and Fire. About ten years ago, a protester hooked a rope to a logging truck and jumped off the Orange Street bridge in Missoula during spring runoff. Removing him put numerous first responders in mortal danger (there were trees running down the river at the time, and they had to lower him into a raft held against the current). They charged him a LOT of money. $500 for a jaws call isn’t so bad. How much difference would it have been had he died en route, or at the hospital? I bet the ER and the ambulance service would still present the bill for transport and care rendered.
It’s been a long held practice that any fees incurred during life saving attempts where the target of the rescue dies, to pass that bill on to the next of kin. I’ve seen it done in the various states I’ve lived in when I was younger.
I’d be more offended at the lack of spelling prowess than the amount. though.
‘You can’t spell USING or RESCUE but you’re charged with saving lives?’
God help us… 😉
Bureaucracy in action – doing what needs to be done with the least amount of conscience or humanity.