Just a dumb accident. My buddy has a boxing/kickboxing bag in his garage, and after a few drinks we were kicking it around. I went for a high kick, slipped, and since I had some left leg pain going on, made the decision in mid-air to protect it and landed all of my weight onto his concrete floor on my right hip. The femoral head of my femur jammed right into the socket and cracked it all over. Just bad luck.
So, the NHS did give me a bill. It's reasonable all things considered, in the US it would be a huge problem. But the insurance thing is murky and still something I'm working through. See, when I called my insurance from the hospital in the UK, they said they'd cover it as an out-of-network hospital stay since emergency services picked me up, and I was admitted through their A&E (British emergency room) for the stay in a trauma ward.
However, the complications are: the British hospital has not provided me an itemized list of what was done, which my American insurance wants. I just have a generic bill for a flat amount. Trying to get my insurance to communicate with the hospital is a pain not only because insurance sucks, but also because of the time difference,
and the crazy fact that the UK hospital
is blocked from calling out to international numbers. So they can't call me for any followups. Or call my insurance. Or anything.
What a cluster.