The Cost Of Getting Bitten By A Snake In America
BY Herschel Smith
3 years, 10 months ago
A 17-year-old was out collecting wood near his home in Hillsborough when he bent down to pick up a branch and a snake bit him on his left hand.
He knew almost immediately that it was a copperhead.
“He knows his snakes; he went to herpetology camp,” said Amy Carabetta, whose son Ian was bitten.
“I was scared,” she said. “His hand started to swell almost immediately.
Carabetta called 911 for an ambulance.
“My hand was really hard to move while I was in the hospital,” Ian said. “It surprisingly wasn’t painful.”
Carabetta was especially scared for her son because he wants to be a carpenter and his left hand is his dominant hand
“It was pretty scary the first night he was in the hospital,” Carabetta said. “I handed him a bottle, and he couldn’t unscrew it with his left hand.”
Ian got the treatment he needed, but when the bill came in the mail a few weeks later, Carabetta was shocked.
“I immediately got it out, put it on the hood of the car and took a picture of it and sent it to my husband,” she said. She then posted it on Facebook.
The bill totaled more than $225,000.
Ian’s hand healed completely, and his father’s insurance helped bring the family’s cost down to $175, Carabetta said.
“I don’t know if it would’ve happened that way if we hadn’t have had the treatment,” she said.
“The patient received 12 vials of antivenom, which cost about $200,000, including the hospital’s markup,” Duke Health officials said in an emailed statement to The News & Observer. “The patient’s insurance paid roughly half of the total amount billed based on its contract with Duke, which provides for a substantial discount. Duke has assumed the remaining balance, and the patient’s total out-of-pocket obligation is $175.”
I happen to know a little about this because I did some research when my Heidi-girl, the best dog ever in history, got bitten by a Copperhead.
The antivenom is made usually south of the border in Mexico. They make it by injecting a select bovine population with venom, and extracting the antibodies over time to formulate the antivenom for humans. By the way, this can cause stray bovine proteins to enter the human bloodstream if you have to be injected, and that itself can cause problems.
This antivenom is biological material and has to be refrigerated. The cost when I looked into it was on the order of $10,000 – $12,000 per vial, or treatment, and the cost of recovery depends on how many vials you need. Apparently the cost has gone up, and there is also a markup at the hospital (probably for simply investing the capital to have it in stock along with the shelf life of the material).
I don’t know how to advise, except to wear boots and watch your six if you’re going to be out and about in the summer and early fall. This is one reason I don’t prefer to go hiking and backpacking in the summer.
On June 23, 2020 at 11:22 pm, TheAlaskan said:
We ain’t got no snakes. Can’t step on no snakes up here.
But we do have swarms of mosquitoes and endless clouds of
no-see-ums.
And bears.
And moose….but no snakes. <[:-)
On June 23, 2020 at 11:46 pm, Jaque said:
Now had the child been an Illegal alien, or inner city minority, the bills would have been waived and the family showered with tens of thousands of dollars for the pain and suffering.
I’m glad to hear the boy recovered and the family had insurance. Duke showed some compassion as well.
I live on reclaimed Everglades land, and snakes and gators are an everyday companion. We keep the dogs leashed, and the brush cut back, but during extended wet periods the snakes climb up the chain link fence to get dry. But strangely here aint no BLM Communists or Antifa vermin around these parts.
On June 23, 2020 at 11:52 pm, BRVTVS said:
Yet another reason to always hike with a walking stick.
On June 24, 2020 at 5:54 am, penses said:
If you live in the deep South, even in urban areas, you are within ten feet of a snake. If you are hiking or working the brush and carrying put a couple of shot-shell rounds in the chamber. Defending yourself from a snake with bullets is not a good idea unless you’re Wild Bill Hickok.
On June 24, 2020 at 7:30 am, Fred said:
It is a common misconception that most snake bites occur on the foot up to calf/shin area. By far and away, the most snake bites occur on the hand. This little tid bit can save your hand or even your life. Snakes feel vibration and an adult man or woman is very large indeed to a little snake. They most often skedaddle out of there or hide hunkered down when somebody is walking nearby. But put you hand down near them, and they’ll strike. Remember this behavior is not wrong. They are doing the exact correct thing when they strike a hand. Adjust your behavior if you want to keep the use of your hands. The boy did the exact wrong thing. Don’t put your hand into or near a bundle of sticks or pile of wood. Mice and moles like these places, therefore that is were snakes go. Use a long stick to disturb the area where you will be gathering wood.
BLM don’t like no swamps. Carry a walking stick. Yes and yes.
On June 24, 2020 at 7:31 am, Jack said:
We go hiking in Hillsborough all the time and I wear boots and long pants. This is a good reminder to insist my wife does the same.
@penses, it’s much easier and safer to just back away from the snake.
On June 24, 2020 at 8:55 am, penses said:
Jack
Or, in the case of that cottonmouth water moccasin, run fast enough to climb that six foot bank like it wasn’t there. A snake that will not hesitate to challenge anything on its turf and whose cousin is the copperhead. Glad I was young and stupid and fast and saw it first. “Quit playin’ in the creek,” Daddy yelled.
On June 24, 2020 at 9:57 am, Fred said:
Yep, cotton mouths are the only snake I know of that will chase a man.
On June 24, 2020 at 12:08 pm, Bill Buppert said:
I live in AZ, Fred, and Mojaves (Crotalus scutulatus) will chase you if you screw with them (which you shouldn’t with any dangerous animal); sometimes green and always muscular and always in a bad mood. No recorded snake over 48″ among the Mojave clan.
On June 24, 2020 at 12:20 pm, Herschel Smith said:
@Bill,
If my wife and I ever get out to AZ again I’ll have to drop in on your place and pay you a visit. We’ve been to Sedona and stayed for a few days, flown out of Tucson.
On June 24, 2020 at 1:18 pm, Jack Crabb said:
If I’m not mistaken, anti-venom can be purchased in Mexico for about $100 vial. Now, that may only be for scorpion anti-venom, but it is stall all one needs to know to realize what crooks the “health care” companies are.
On June 24, 2020 at 2:10 pm, 41mag said:
@Herschel-
Make a visit in February at BEN AVERY shooting complex, for their cowboy shooting event. Weeklong. It’s on my list of things to do now that I live here in AZ.
BTW, any word on Remus at Woodpile? He’s been silent for weeks…
On June 24, 2020 at 2:10 pm, Hudson H Luce said:
Perhaps wearing a pair of leather work gloves when gathering wood might lessen the danger.
On June 24, 2020 at 3:46 pm, TRX said:
$225,000 sounds like a lot of money, but it’s Monopoly money. Hospital billing makes “Hollywood accounting” look downright conservative.
You can think of it as “suggested retail price.” But nobody pays that price; the settlement they negotiate with your insurance company is 1/10 to 1/100 of what’s on the bill. Each insurance company gets its own deal.
There are various reasons hospitals inflate their figures; one of them is how they write off bad debts.
On June 24, 2020 at 3:49 pm, Wilson said:
Its not just basic costs, something else is going on with medical costs. Probably some sort of billing scam.
I went to the ER a few months ago, the bill should have been about $2000 outside of the ER, in the hospital ER I double it to $4000. The hospital bill was $27,000 and change – an utterly ridiculous amount. Insurance knocked it way down to a little over $4000 which I paid due to HSA deductible.
There is some sort of billing game going on between insurance and hospitals.
On June 24, 2020 at 4:17 pm, Wes said:
@Wilson
That scam has been going on for a long time. A price to you, a price if Medicare or other Fed program picks up part, another price that reflects if there is also additional or state insurance that lessens the bite to you, but guarantees them more overall recovery. When you are sent the vaunted “Explanation of Benefits – Thiis is not a bill” you can see it in action. It’s what they would charge you cash, versus what they’ll settle for. Except to you.
@Jack Crabb: Thanks, my curiosity had me about to ask that question RE anti-venin cost south of the border. We give away so much to other countries and do you think we can get “most favored nation” treatment from them? And Big Pharma pays big tribute to both political parties. They don’t care which side the bread is buttered on as long as they get to eat it.
On June 24, 2020 at 7:38 pm, Elmo said:
It was about 10 years ago an acquaintance was bitten by a juvenile rattler.
3 days in intensive care, 4 week hospital stay, $280,000 bill.
No sympathy, as he had picked it up.
He is a state biologist and an idiot.
On June 24, 2020 at 7:58 pm, Ned2 said:
When we moved to the upper Rockies, knowing we were at 7,500 feet and above the rattler zone sealed the deal.
Even the water snakes back east would chase you; nasty but not venomous. You can keep them.
On June 25, 2020 at 9:24 am, Fr. John+ said:
Nothing bites as badly as usury- the inflation of currency by debt manipulation, debasement of currency, and charging interest, making slaves of a populace. And who were the first usurers? Every Single time.
On June 25, 2020 at 1:07 pm, Jack Crabb said:
@Wes and @Fr. John+: While both of your comments are true, the really insidious part is that this is part and parcel of the “health care” scam. (Really sickness scam.) Without the government and insurance companies getting between docs (providers) and patients (customers) everything health related would be approximately 20% of what it “costs” now.
If you are interested Karl Denninger has tons of information on his blog at http://www.market-ticker.org
On June 25, 2020 at 1:55 pm, Herschel Smith said:
@John+,
Yes, usury is awful. R. J. Rushdoony spends a lot of time on it in “Institutes of Biblical Law.”
Who was first? IDK. The Scriptures do not contain all of history, just select parts. I do know, as a Calvinist, that any and every man would do it if not for grace and redemption. See, I believe in the doctrine of “total depravity,” contra the Council of Trent. I’m not trying to start an argument here, I’m just lending my perspective. I know, Trent and the WCF are complicated and I’m boiling it down to simplistics for the sake of a comment on a blog, but there is a difference.
And I did extensive studies in Trent. My professor wanted us to know as much about Trent as the RC students down the road did. I have to write papers on Trent. So while I follow the WCF, I know Trent.
Now. Back to snakes.
I actually got bitten by a Copperhead when 14 years old. The story I could tell you about that syringe and needle and antivenom injection … !!!
On June 25, 2020 at 2:44 pm, s said:
I live in the South and hunt, fish, and frequent the woods, swamps, fields, and marshes in my area. I wear simple waterproof shin-high boots for most of my hunting and bushwhacking. I don’t have snake boots, and I don’t plan on buying any. I see venemous snakes from time to time. Thankfully I’ve had no serious encounters. I make sure to look where I step when I’m out and about. That means I have to slow down and take more time, keeping my eyes on the ground ahead of me while still trying to scan my surroundings. Even then, snakes can be so well camouflaged, that I sometimes wonder how many I pass right by unknowingly. In thick brush or grass with limited visibility, I often use a walking stick to roust/poke in front of my path, hopefully causing a snake to either reveal itself or hit the road. The stick could also be pressed into service as a snake whacker or mover. Never put your hands into debris piles or other places where you cannot see what is there. When crossing a log or similar object, don’t blindly step across, planting your foot right over the object and into the blind spot. Most of what I do involves just slowing down and paying more attention to the ground and where I place my hands and feet. I don’t walk around paranoid, but snakes are always in the back of my mind. Away from home and out in the woods, I give them their space if I can. The only ones I’ve killed have been around dwellings or places I frequent.
On June 25, 2020 at 6:33 pm, TheAlaskan said:
I take that back about no snakes in Alaska. We do have snakes, but they all live in Juneau.
On June 25, 2020 at 7:13 pm, TRX said:
“I went fishing this morning but after a short time I ran out of worms. Then I saw a cottonmouth with a frog in his mouth. Frogs are good bass bait.
Knowing the snake couldn’t bite me with the frog in his mouth I grabbed him right behind the head, took the frog, and put it in my bait bucket.
Now the dilemma was how to release the snake without getting bit. So, I grabbed my bottle and poured a little whiskey in its mouth. His eyes rolled back and he went limp. I tossed him into the grass and carried on fishing using the frog.
A little later, I felt a nudge on my foot. It was that same snake, with two more frogs in its mouth.”