Hello! Im a bit torn and would like outside perspective to know if I did something wrong.
Im french so pardon my english.
Im a (36F) emergency doctor. I was taking the train, it was FULL and it was about to depart when my car door opened.
There was a young lady (20 ish) fussing, carrying 4 plastic bags full of things ; behind her a young man who helped her carry her bags and then the inspector.
They were coming towards me so I had a clear view of the lady. While they were walking, the inspector asked her which seat number she had. At this PRECISE moment, she screamed "I DONT FEEL WELL" and fainted.
The thing is, she "fainted" right in front of me. It was the most obvious fake faint ive seen. She fell on the young man while screaming and shaking. Everybody panicked, they held her up and asked a man near them to give up his seat so she could sit. They sat her (she was "unconscious") and the inspector asked her if she was ok; she said in a feeble voice "I need a coke".
So he ran to bring her a coke and pulled up his phone. I saw him dial the emergency number.
I touched his arm when he passed me and told him quietly "dont call, im a doctor and she’s faking". He was like "are you sure" and I said yes.
He said well OK thank you, put his phone back, and left. The young man (I understood he was just a traveller and didn’t know her, just helped her to get her bags on the train) told her he was going to bring her water and also left.
As soon as they left she opened her eyes, took her shoes off,pulled out a cookie and began eating and texting. Like totally unbothered. Everybody saw her, they were just staring at each other with disbelief.
When the young man and the inspector came, she began rolling her head like it was hurting and she was just recovering. He asked her again which seat number and he said it was first class so she couldn’t stay here without a ticket, that he would help her get to her seat.
She said she couldn’t walk, she needed to stay HERE, she had nothing to eat for 2 days (hello cookie) and she would faint again if he forced her. The inspector was clearly torn.
This is where I may be the AH. I got up and said I saw her falling and it was fake, she was like "ohhh so you’re a doctor", I said YES in fact I was and we all knew she was scamming and it was disgusting etc etc. I was PISSED and I admit I raised my voice.
Well at the end the inspector let her here and told the man to go to 2nd class and that that would refund his ticket. He was pissed also but didn’t argue.
The woman gave me nasty looks during the ride (that she got free) but the young man came to me and he said I should be ashamed to assume somebody was faking.
I said im able to know a fake faint, and he said even that, it wasnt my seat, wasnt my problem and even if she was scamming, I couldn’t know her life and maybe she had no money and no choice. He called me an arrogant SJW who didn’t have any empathy. Now im questioning myself.
YTA for posting this made up crap as you stopped someone from getting emergency care (which wouldve removed her from the train and as a doctor would leave you liable if she really did have an issue), didnt step up to offer aid (and be like she seems totally fine and can go elsewhere), etc.
ESH.
She was an AH for faking her medical condition.
You were an AH for making this issue the hill to die on. Sometimes it’s okay to just be quiet and let karma play out.
Op is not TA for dying on this hill. The inspector is TA for letting the faker stay. The world is the way it is because people don’t speak up.
NTA. If she really had a medical emergency, you don’t get on a train, you go to the hospital.
Obviously it was a scam for a seat. Also, not the first time she’s done it.
Nta
I say NTA. I am originally from NYC and have seen such scams.
YTA. Doctors tell women everyday that they’re faking, you’re nothing new under the sun. Thanks for being part of the problem.
There’s absolutely no way to be 100% sure she was faking it unless you had medical records sur as bloodwork/glycemy etc. You can have low sugar and faint, its quick and eating sugar will fix it under 5 minuts and you’ll be back to normal. Happens to me all the time
NTA
You have the exact qualifications of the person who would have to see to her if they had called the emergency line. Instead of countless resources and time of emergency professionals being wasted on this scammer when our resources are already stretched thin in emergency services, you saved us all of that.
Thank you, seriously.
To the people who have a problem with this, please explain why it’s better to waste finite emergency services resources when a qualified doctor was right there and had all the evidence she needed to determine the best course of action (which was no further medical intervention)? We are not better off as a society for saying nothing and letting people take advantage of others while we just look on.
i swear if my train gets stopped over someone faking i’m throwing punches.
you did right, she’s a menace to society and it’s too bad she didn’t get fined.
You are a HERO! She’s the AH
Great job!
NTA. Where I’m from, the rule is that if you are feeling unwell you must get off the train to receive help.
YTA. You said yourself you’re a doctor, so if someone brought you a patient would you wave them away without even examining them and claim they’re faking? When everyone freaked out and was about to call 911, you should have volunteered yourself as a doctor to examine her. If she seemed stable after the examination then you could have just said so to the inspector.
Instead you just watched idly at the whole situation from a distance, made a health judgement from afar without even a proper examination, whispered your “diagnosis” in passing to the inspector, and then accused and screamed at her. The fact that the inspector let her stay clearly shows that the way you reacted wasn’t much better than how the lady reacted.
As a medical professional it’s pretty easy to assess if a seizure or faint is real without ever having to touch a patient. Most people have no idea how real seizure activity looks.
YTA mind ya business