Perhaps an even more terrible idea than trying to take a selfie with a 2,000-pound bison, a San Diego man named Todd Fassler recently spent a few days in the hospital after a rattlesnake bit him while he was attempting to take a selfie with it. According to Fassler’s account, he was bitten while trying to snap the photograph at the Barona Speedway located just outside of San Diego.
Of course, Fassler was rushed to the hospital after bitten. Due to the severity of the bite, the treatment completely depleted the supply of antivenom at two area hospitals. Video shot of Fassler in the hospital, broadcast by the local ABC affiliate in San Diego, shows deep purple bruising all over his left arm, likely the area where the rattlesnake originally bit him.
After he recovered from the bite, Fassler received a bill from the hospital for $153,161.25. The majority of the bill was attributed to the pharmacy, likely for the depleted stocks of antivenom.
The remaining bill was itemized out for time spent in the emergency room, time spent in intensive care, time spent recovering in a standard hospital room and laboratory work. The hospital assigned a due date of July 27, 2015 to pay the entire bill.
Assuming Fassler has insurance, it’s likely that this inflated bill is not representative of the actual cost to him. Of course, antivenom costs hospitals roughly $2,300 per vial, detailed by the Washington Post, and a typical bite requires four to six vials to successfully treat a bite victim.
Interestingly, Fassler also owned a pet rattlesnake, but decided to set the snake free after his bite incident. He had taken care of the snake for more than a year, but returned it to the wild as he thought “animal services would appreciate it.”