Man slapped with jaw-dropping medical bill after trying to take selfie with rattlesnake
Niamh Shackleton
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Image/HaggertyNews/Twitter
A man who tried to get a selfie with a rattlesnake ended up paying the price (literally).
Back in 2015, a guy in San Diego saw a rattlesnake and, instead of moving away from the venomous animal, he reportedly tried to take a selfie with it.
As you probably know, rattlesnakes aren't known for taking kindly to being approached by people and the selfie-taker ended up getting bitten.
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While being bitten by a rattlesnake is bad enough, after seeking urgent medical attention, the guy in question was slapped with a hefty medical bill.
It's possible to die from a rattlesnake bite if left untreated - but to treat such a thing comes at a cost.
Dr. Keith Boesen, director of the Arizona Poison & Drug Information Center, told CBS News in 2015: "The only effective treatment is anti-venom.
"There's blood tests we can do to determine the effect of the venom. Hospital bills can always be worked out or negotiated, but you can't really negotiate, other than prosthetics, the loss of part of your hand or your arm."
According to Boesen, one case he knew of involving a snake bite victim took 74 vials of anti-venom to treat.
It's unclear how much anti-venom the selfie-taking man needed, but it cost him a whopping amount of money.
As per a medical bill that was obtained by journalist Dan Haggerty, the man was charged over $83,000 for 'pharmacy'.
He was also charged $22,433.00 for lab services, $21,225.00 for intermediate care room, and $17,766.00 for intensive care.
With the additional bills listed, his total balance came to an eye-watering $153,161.25. Yikes.
Haggerty posted a snap of the bill on Twitter at the time, and people were floored by the large sum.
"US healthcare system is embarrassing," one person said.
Remember the Rattlesnake bite story I did Monday? Guy just sent me this pic of his bill. Uhhhhhhh..... pic.twitter.com/ahK2W9KxVg
— Dan Haggerty (@HaggertyNews) July 16, 2015
Someone else quipped: "Under pharmacy charges did the person buy shares in its store?"
"Healthcare is broken," added a third.
"It seems weird to me the hospital can charge this with any reasonable expectation of being paid this amount," ranted a different Twitter user.
"This is more than the average household earns in nearly 3 years, TOTAL."
Sadly, it's not uncommon for people in the US to be slapped with extortionate medical bills.
One woman was charged so much that she was forced to put her home up for sale to pay off the balance incurred, while her mom was in hospital before her death.
Alicia Wieberg's mother died in October 2023, and it wasn't long until the grieving daughter received a $81,739.40 bill.