Wednesday 19 August 2015

Woman To Pay $30K For Air Ambulance Ride

Toronto Personal Injury Lawyer Albert Conforzi: A frustrating story from up north:
An Alberta mother says she is scrambling to pay a bill of up to $30,000 after a premature birth forced her to use an air ambulance in Northern Ontario. 
Amy Savill, from High Prairie, Alta., was visiting with family when her water broke — nearly two months early. 
She says she and her family jumped in a truck and rushed to the Timmins hospital, where they say staff weren’t equipped to deal with premature births before 32 weeks gestation. 
With the baby coming and no other options, an air ambulance was called in to transport Savill to the hospital in Sudbury, about four hours away. 
Before the helicopter arrived, Savill was told the flight would come at a price of up to $30,000. She said she didn’t have a choice.
Let me see if I have this right. A pregnant woman from Alberta is in Northern Ontario when her water breaks 2 months early. The hospital hasn't been given the resources to handle a high risk birth situation. They decide that this woman must be rushed to Sudbury for specialized care and that an air ambulance must be called in.

The province of Alberta *would* fund the trip if it had been in Alberta, but won't pay for any of the trip because she's in Ontario. Ontario, meanwhile, wants its money back notwithstanding that the mother had no choice but to follow the Ontario doctor's advice and get in the helicopter. Perhaps Ontario can use the 30 grand to update their Northern Ontario hospitals?

A pox on both their houses.

I am a personal injury lawyer with Pace Law Firm in Toronto, Canada. Please contact me if you have questions.

No comments:

Post a Comment