WWYD? Concussion after suitcase fell on my head!

It's not

Why is it you're and not your? God this thread is confusing me on so many levels

A conviction for theft (and other criminal convictions) DOES have to be declared when applying for an ESTA:

• The Question:The ESTA application includes a mandatory question about arrests and convictions for certain crimes, such as those involving theft or serious harm.

*you're teenagers

Sue. You should be compensated for the awful treatment and injury. Also, they may improve or at least learn an expensive lesson so when it happens again the next person may be treated a bit better. Sorry you and your kids had to go through this.

This op won’t have insurance

I think there is possibly a more nuanced situation than it appears.

OP, I think I remember from your other posts ther you have some mental health issues. Were you mentally well when you got on the plane? Did you have travel insurance which covered you for those pre-existing conditions?

Did the US hospital know that you left the building or did you just leave at 1am like your Lyft screenshot suggests, without them knowing?

are you worried about being able to pay the hospital bill if your insurance didn’t cover it?

Ab ambulance in the States costs at least $8/900

The crew dont make any medical decisions they have to ring through to a company who make the final decision.

Sort of, but in flight the flight crew wouldn't be expected to comply with medical opinion if it conflicted with flight safety (and TBH the on the ground medics that work in this field know that and so usually only offer up recommendations, they don't make the decision).

That said certainly in circumstances described by the OP (States, on the ground, doors open,) the captain isn't in a position or have the authority to tell/order the local paramedics to make a passenger with an injury walk off...if the paramedics really thought a stretcher was absolutely essential for the OP's health they could have insisted on it...

And started a thread a few months ago about visiting America on an absolute shoe string budget

This is all very odd.

If as the OP says she is not out of pocket - her flights were rearranged at no cost, she was not charged for her hospital stay - what is the point of contacting her insurer? They won't care as there is no financial loss. Assuming that is that she bothered to get insurance...

Yes it was obvious she wanted an upgrade to be more comfortable which is why it’s confusing or even worse worrying that she’s gone from being coherent enough to post all over FB and write a clear OP to being confused and unable to communicate properly as the thread develops.

This has been posted a couple of times on Facebook. Have those posts been removed? Essentially the same response- why haven’t you phoned your insurer rather than posting on social media.

This does not need to be declared on a Visa.

OP I saw the post on FB and I think BA should have at least offered you upgraded seats on the way home so that you could have been comfortable. Deal with your health first and then worry about suing etc.

I'm not sure what to think of all this but there is a limit to how long a plane load of passengers should be made to wait whilst someone is seen to for a medical emergency which may lead to hospitalisation. As soon as a passenger has a head injury the airline is going to risk assess that as 'unfit to fly', especially on long haul as the alternative outcome mid Atlantic is much worse.

It sounds like the airline (BA ?!) took an uncaring attitude towards you but it sounds like it was quite a hoo-ha what with crying teenagers and a 'stunned' OP. They could have been nicer but you can't expect endless empathy from a few hundred people wanting to get home. Who's to say how long all that might take?

Contact the airline.

Yeah standard stretchers won't fit. The aisle is very limited on space. I had to look into it recently as a member of my family had to fly back with a broken leg and couldn't walk.
The paramedics did the right thing guided by the pilot and the airlines medical advice. The crew dont make any medical decisions they have to ring through to a company who make the final decision.

But the OP says she wasn’t asked any details, didn’t pass on her insurance details etc and couldn’t even speak coherently so how will they send on the bill?

I think most people are questioning this rather than suggesting that she would have to hand over cash there and then.

The reason Americans sue is because they also resist government regulation or interference as a point of principle. Rather than companies having to adhere to enforceable standards, as they would in EU, for instance, lawsuits brought by individuals are the mechanism for keeping big business in check.

This is the reason why amounts awarded seem stupidly high - it’s the court’s way of sending a strong message to industry. In reality, people don’t actually see anything close to those sorts of sums as it gets caught up in appeals, massively inflated insurance claims etc.

And then in turn, business uses the media to paint litigants in a negative light, to discourage lawsuits. The elderly woman who sued McDonalds for the medical costs of being scalded by coffee so hot it caused 3rd degree burns in seconds, after 700 similar incidents, is a case in point. She’s remembered for a frivolous lawsuit because they made her look ridiculous in the media.

In a society that doesn’t have in built consumer protections, suing can be akin to civic responsibility as it’s the way you prevent this happening to another person. Not because you’re a chancer but because that’s how the system works.

In your shoes I’d let the insurance company deal. But if you decide to sue, don’t feel you’re wrong to do so.

It’s likely that a standard stretcher would not have fitted along an aircraft aisle.
Be prepared for a bill from the ambulance too - ours took 6 months to arrive

They handled this badly. I’d be mad at that and if you can sue, why not?

I don't understand why people are surprised that she didn't have to pay anything at the hospital. You don't pay anything up front at the hospital in the US for treatment. You tell them you have insurance, or you tell them you're self-pay and then they send you a bill later. They don't lock you up until you pay. They treat you and then you leave.

If and when you have the energy: sue them. (When in Rome, do as the Roman’s do!) Really sorry you had to go through all that. How awful. I hope you’ll feel better soon!

Virgin Atlantic has an allowance of 12kg and that would hurt if it hit you! I was hit in the face by a 5kg medicine ball and that was bad enough.