thanks

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Hi all,

Yesterday afternoon my 3-year-old daughter was bitten on the face by a dog outside JP Licks in Davis. I just wanted to say a general thanks to all the Davis Square denizens who came over to help us out, calling 911, bringing napkins to try to stop the bleeding, water, ice, and so forth. I didn't catch any names or, honestly, see any faces since I was so focused on my daughter, but I know there were a lot of people offering help and I appreciate it.

FYI, she needed nine stitches and will have some scarring, but she's doing fine. It remains to be seen whether she'll ever want to go near a dog again (or whether I'll let her!). We didn't get home from Children's till midnight so we're pretty wiped today.

Comments

[docorion.livejournal.com]

From here the owner gets to talk to the Animal Control Officer (April Terrio, she's very nice). The dog goes into 10 day quarantine (essentially house arrest with walkies privileges-stay away from people and other dogs), after which April comes back and evaluates the dog; if she's rabies free (most likely), that's it from the legal standpoint (for now).

Don't ask me how I know this.

And as you mention below, I feel pretty sure the dog owner is feeling pretty down right now. Also-if you're on any kind of insurance, the ambulance ride is totally medically justified (I'm an ER doc, and I Say So; if they give you a hard time, feel free to ask me to say so in my Official Capacity), as is all of the care your daughter received (obviously, but it bears saying). I hope your daughter heals well (and any scarring is likely to be impossible to find by the time a few years pass)

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the input. I just got a message from the Animal Control officer so it will be interesting to hear what she has to say. I wonder what they do about the "stay away from other dogs" part when the family has another dog?

As far as the medical insurance stuff I am sure it's medically justified and so forth, it's just that I don't have a huge level of confidence about what MassHealth covers. But if I have to go after the dog owner to pay some of it back, I will.

[cutieperson]

if you're on MassHealth proper i wouldn't worry overmuch. their coverage is fantastic. i've never had to worry about ambulance trips or ER visits, and i've had a lot of them.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I hope so. Right now we're not actually on anything (long story, sigh) but my MassHealth application is processing and I have every reason to believe that it'll be approved and made retroactive to Aug 1st. Fingers crossed.

Just a head's up...

[blackdove24.livejournal.com]

If your plan/her plan winds up falling under MassHealth (or Commonwealth Care Plan Type I... I think), then you should be fine, since the point of it is that you don't have to pay anything for medical care--even if a provider tries to bill you (which they shouldn't!), you're not liable for it. However, if your plan/her plan winds up being Commonwealth Care Plan Type II or III (the ones that involve paying a monthly premium), then I don't think retroactive coverage would apply. Coverage doesn't kick in until after your application is approved and you choose one of their insurance companies.

(While I am no means an expert on this stuff, I did work as a temp in the customer service department last year for an insurance company that only works with Masshealth and Commonwealth Care, so I remember this much!)

[anyee.livejournal.com]

Really? I was taken (against my requests) to the hospital in an ambulance when my ex decided I was suicidal and called the cops. For a less-than-2 mile drive, I got charged 800 non-negotiable dollars. Sheesh. We could have walked and it would have been pleasant.