Docs to Shooting Victim: Come Back Monday

[Excaliber]

A man working in the Bronx caught a stray bullet in the back of his neck from a nearby shooting.

When he was examined at the hospital, the doctors determined the wound was not a medical emergency and told him to return to the hospital's clinic on Monday to have it removed.

What can you expect from a .25 you say?

One small problem: The x-ray photo in the article below shows a round that looks suspiciously like a .45.

Fortunately for the victim, this wasn't one of those one shot / game over situations.

How could that happen?

Isn't the .45 a devastating manstopper - or is it?

Why didn't the slug continue far into the man's neck, sever the spinal cord, and kill him?

Why did it produce a wound so "minor" that treatment could wait until Monday?

I've got a real good idea that I've got a high degree of confidence in, but I'm not gonna give it away just yet.

I want to give our member sleuths a chance to do a little detective type thinking and figure it out. All the information you need is in the article.

Here it is: Daily Mail Article.

[schufflerbot]

i have a theory as well and i'll offer this clue: McDonald's.

[Heartland Patriot]

Squib load wouldn't seem to be powerful enough...maybe a low powder charge?

[WildBill]

Acevedo heard three shots prior to being hit in the neck. After shooting Acevedo, the gunman went into the store and fired at least two more shots. So, a total of 6 shots were fired. The caliber was .45ACP. The gun was not necessarily a 1911.

The x-ray shows a bullet at a slightly upward angle to Acevedo's head, but he states he was up on ladder when he was shot.

[jocat54]

Not enough info for me to make a decision on. Did the bullet ricochet, did it pass thru some thing else first? Strange things happen sometimes.
He is a lucky man though.

[RPBrown]

Nearby shooting, loss of velocity before it hit him

[The Annoyed Man]

Not enough info for me to make a decision on. Did the bullet ricochet, did it pass thru some thing else first? Strange things happen sometimes.
He is a lucky man though.

That's my thought also. As to "passing through" something, maybe that "something" was his intended victim?

[drjoker]

If you don't have health insurance and it's not an emergency, New York City's Fund operates The Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic. They are trying to triage the situation and prioritize instead of getting the job done. Any Texas doc I know of will get 'er done. People in NYC will put off tomorrow what can be done today, UNLESS it is profitable. Since free health care for the poor isn't, they'll just sit on it until Monday, even though it will only take a second to remove the bullet. Judging from the X-Ray, it is a very simple procedure that only requires a set of tweezers, a bit of debriding, and stitching. It's a 5 min job in experienced hands. Thanks to Obamacare, you may expect triaging, delaying, and prioritizing for all.

Just another reason why I turned down offers in New York City. Thank God I'm a Texan.

Per the article, violent crime is up in NYC where there is gun control while crime is down in the South where there is concealed carry. Imagine that....

[puma guy]

Since he's going to a clinic associated with the hospital I guess it's not technically patient dumping, but close. Michelle Obama became a wealthy woman and got a big time executive position in Chicago as a result of her patient dumping plan being implemented. Fits right in with Obama Care.

[ELB]

Side point:

Daily Mail wrote: "...felt a burning pain in his neck. Severely wounded, he managed to stumble a block..."

but... "... doctors discharged Acevedo just two hours later and instructed him get the bullet removed at a clinic affiliated with the hospital on Monday."

So he wasn't "severely wounded." Scared maybe, but not severely wounded. Can you say "sensationalism?"

Break-break

DrJoker is spot-on. The docs at the hospital actually doubled the workload. The guy has already been checked on once with all the administrative processing that goes with that, plus having his vitals taken, medical history, and other patient assessment stuff. When he checks in Monday, most of this will (or should be) done again to do the administrivia and spin up the medical staff treating him. $$$$$

[Excaliber]

Okay, here are what I think are the relevant facts:

1. The victim is up on a ladder. We don't know how high, but he's working on a CCTV camera which is usually located out of reach to prevent vandalism. That usually puts the camera at a height of 8 - 12 feet.
2. The police believe the intended victim was standing on the sidewalk at street level.
3. Moments after the first shots the shooter charges into a store - at street level. So there's a strong likelihood he was at street level the entire time, shooting at people who were also at street level - not people on ladders. Of course, he could also just be a rotten shot.
4. If the shot had been a direct one from gun to victim, a round of that type would have fully penetrated the neck, assuming a full load, and the victim wouldn't now be worrying about treatment - or anything else.
5. The round did not penetrate the neck, a very narrow and tender part of the body. In fact, it barely made it beneath the skin.

and....

the one thing everyone missed so far.....

you're gonna kick yourselves......

6. If you look closely at the image of the projectile in the x-ray photo, you'll see that the base of the slug is deformed at the top and bottom edges.
7. Slugs don't deform like that in flight.
8.There's nothing in the victim's anatomy at that point that could have caused deformation of any part of the slug, let alone the base.

My hypothesis:

The projectile came from one of the 3 shots the victim heard just before he felt burning pain. It would take a second or two for this to register in the victim's mind because it came totally out of left field and his OODA loop would need to catch up. Of course the round could also have come from a 4th shot as well (people don't count shots accurately in these situations), but that's neither here nor there.

The slug lost most of its velocity when it impacted one or more surfaces (causing the deformation seen in the x-ray) before it struck and came to rest in the victim.

The intermediate impact was both fortunate - and not so much.

With it the projectile was slowed enough to just barely penetrate without doing major damage.

Without it, the shot quite likely wouldn't have struck him at all.

Does that makes sense to you folks?

[pinkpistol]

I must respectfully disagree.

Hospital ED's are for Emergencies-like the name says. Insurance reimbursement only pays for Emergencies. These policies were in place long before Obama got here.
That said, the average wait in Parkland or JPS is 24 hours. Why? Because of all the non-emergent, although very sick, people.
The shooting victim in NY did right to go to ED, because, who knew without the workup, whether the injury was life-threatening. The icing on the cake was he had to wait for the slug to get removed. People walk around with alot worse. Glad it didn't happen to me, though.

Tough times, tougher choices coming. Insurance doesn't want to pay more benefits. They make money by paying less. That's why bottom-line, standards of care have evolved. Is it perfect? No. But give me federal oversight to corporate profit margins everytime.

Disclaimer: I do not work for any hospital systems, nor do I receive any Medicare reimbursement.

[Skiprr]

I must respectfully disagree.

Hospital ED's are for Emergencies-like the name says. Insurance reimbursement only pays for Emergencies. These policies were in place long before Obama got here.

There was no mention of Obama in this thread until you said his name.

I'm just sayin'...

[jmra]

I must respectfully disagree.

Hospital ED's are for Emergencies-like the name says. Insurance reimbursement only pays for Emergencies. These policies were in place long before Obama got here.

There was no mention of Obama in this thread until you said his name.

I'm just sayin'...

Wasn't Drjoker the first to bring up Obama?
" Thanks to Obamacare, you may expect triaging, delaying, and prioritizing for all."

[WildBill]

Okay, here are what I think are the relevant facts:

1. The victim is up on a ladder. We don't know how high, but he's working on a CCTV camera which is usually located out of reach to prevent vandalism. That usually puts the camera at a height of 8 - 12 feet.
2. The police believe the intended victim was standing on the sidewalk at street level.
3. Moments after the first shots the shooter charges into a store - at street level. So there's a strong likelihood he was at street level the entire time, shooting at people who were also at street level - not people on ladders. Of course, he could also just be a rotten shot.
4. If the shot had been a direct one from gun to victim, a round of that type would have fully penetrated the neck, assuming a full load, and the victim wouldn't now be worrying about treatment - or anything else.
5. The round did not penetrate the neck, a very narrow and tender part of the body. In fact, it barely made it beneath the skin.

and....

the one thing everyone missed so far.....

you're gonna kick yourselves......

6. If you look closely at the image of the projectile in the x-ray photo, you'll see that the base of the slug is deformed at the top and bottom edges.
7. Slugs don't deform like that in flight.
8.There's nothing in the victim's anatomy at that point that could have caused deformation of any part of the slug, let alone the base.

My hypothesis:

The projectile came from one of the 3 shots the victim heard just before he felt burning pain. It would take a second or two for this to register in the victim's mind because it came totally out of left field and his OODA loop would need to catch up. Of course the round could also have come from a 4th shot as well (people don't count shots accurately in these situations), but that's neither here nor there.

The slug lost most of its velocity when it impacted one or more surfaces (causing the deformation seen in the x-ray) before it struck and came to rest in the victim.

The intermediate impact was both fortunate - and not so much.

With it the projectile was slowed enough to just barely penetrate without doing major damage.

Without it, the shot quite likely wouldn't have struck him at all.

Does that makes sense to you folks?

I did notice the deformation of the bullet. I wasn't sure if it was the bullet or an artifact of the x-ray. Overall you did a great analysis of the crime. You should be a cop.