The tab started before he got to the hospital:
On the other hand, what Palmer didn’t know is that as soon as the paramedics radioed ahead to say they were bringing in an accident victim, San Francisco General, as per the hospital’s procedures, issued a trauma alert to its staff.
Basically, that means a page was sent to doctors and anesthesiologists on call at the time. That page alone cost Palmer $4,659, and he hadn’t even set foot yet inside the hospital.
