25 Of The Most Unhinged Things People Have Seen In An ER

If you ever have to go to the ER for some reason, keep your eyes peeled because you never know what you’re going to see. Some scenes are truly popcorn-worthy sitcoms, while others are eye-poppingly good drama. It’s almost like watching an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, except you’re straining to hear the dialogue and you mostly have to piece the plot together based on bits and bobs that you overhear from various sources related to the incident. But the tea is usually worth it, as respondents on one Quora discussion will confirm. Scroll below to read the craziest answers received on the platform, when one user asked, ”What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever witnessed in the waiting area at the ER?”

#1 I had to take my GF at the time to the hospital for some issues she was having.

Image source:  Michael Ferreira, Pixabay

They drained her issue and stitched her up. She didn’t have great insurance at the time so she was just going to pay out of pocket. When we got finished we were led to discharge. They said it would be $1500 and they would bill her. She wasn’t excited. I asked if there were any self pay discounts. The administrator said yes, if you pay right now its AN 87% DISCOUNT. I wasn’t sure if I heard her, so I asked how much. $195. No s**t, I am not making this up. Paid with credit card.

That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever witnessed in the ER.

#2 I had fallen the day before this incident, and had broken my arm; it wasn’t a bad break, I didn’t even realize how badly I had injured it until the next morning, when I went to the ER of what was supposed to be the best hospital in our area.

Image source: Evelyn Metzger, Marcus Aurelius

As I was sitting, awaiting my turn, the other people in the waiting room were with children with the sniffles. No likely fevers, the kids were all playing with their toys or looking at books.

Then the REAL injury came in. This was a boy, about 10 years old. He had scrapes on his arms and legs, had obviously broken an arm, and looked as if his ribs were likely broken as well. The front wheel had come off his bicycle as he was coasting down a steep hill in his neighborhood…the town was in the foothills of a mountain chain. Not naming it deliberately, btw. The boy’s mother got a wheel chair from the ER to bring him in, since he could barely stand.

A few minutes later, an elderly lady walked in, and the ER nurse kicked the boy out of the chair because “this lady needs it more than you do!”

At that point, I was called to the admissions desk for my turn; I asked why they were not checking out the boy who was obviously seriously injured. The reason: it wasn’t his turn!

I gave him my space over the objections of the ER nurse, and I spoke to the hospital administrator about their nonexistent triage team.

#3 That had to be me. I was suddenly panting and so out breath while going up the stairs. I became increasingly weak, and my heart was rapidly pounding. We took my oxygen level with an oximeter. 83%. So my husband hooked me up to his oxygen tank, and my oxygen levels went up to 91%. I rested. He called his doctor-son to describe my symptoms. “It’s a pulmomary embolism!! ER NOW!!”

Image source: Barbara Anderson, RDNE Stock project

We should’ve called 911 right then. I needed professional medical transport with EMT care. Tick, tick, tick…I literally had minutes, if not seconds, to live. We piled into our car and husband drove us to the ER 20 miles away. Stopping for traffic lights.

We get to the ER and it’s packed. My husband had grabbed a wheelchair to wheel me in from the car, as I could no longer stand up.

We went up to the admitting desk. My husband told them urgently that I was having a PE. The admitting clerk just looked at me passively and told me, basically, to take a number. No kidding.

Half an hour went by, and I’m slumping over in the chair, literally turning blue. When it became my “turn” to be taken back for examination, the whole ER team back there exploded with action, consternation and incredulity. They couldn’t believe I was left to sit out there without even being given oxygen. They also couldn’t believe I was still alive, as Xrays and scan showed I had thrown multiple PEs. They called in a special surgical-strike team (literally called up outta their beds that night) and whisked me off to surgery, leaving my husband to stand there slack-jawed. Fortunately for me, this clot-busting team functioned as precisely and quickly as any NASCAR pit crew. !!!

If you have a medical emergency as I did, or even suspect that you do, call 911 and go to ER by ambulance!! I would’ve been in surgery and care an hour sooner if we had done that. Geez, talk about stoopid. But it was ridiculous that I was left out in the ER waiting room slumped over in a wheel chair, actually turning blue. Duh.

#4 When my daughter was 7 she and her sisters got it into there heads that bushes were green fluffy clouds and they should jump in them. Well 2 of the girls were fine the 3rd got a branch stuck in her leg…in the er we were in line behind a man who looked like he was having a heart attack…were all in the waiting area as they made him take a number too…

Image source:  Odie Smith, Laura James

and she’s bleeding quite badly a nurse comes up and says she’s getting blood on the floor can’t you do something about that?…she walks past the guy clutching his chest and calls the next number…he dies flopped on the floor about 10 mins later …we waited over a hour after that and no one came for him I complained and was told to go wait for my number to be called and not bother the desk…when we finally went back I again complained about the man on the floor but to the head nurse this time and they finally sent somebody out to the waiting room to check on him…. So the nurse that complained my daughter was bleeding in the waiting room complained that she was dripping blood all over the hall and into the room…I finally said I know she’s bleeding this much that’s why were here….

shortly after that the hospital was under new management and is a much nicer place. My daughter got the branch and splinters removed and they got the wound packed and put her on antibiotics…today she barely has a scar…I herd the guys family sued the hospital…

#5 I took my husband to the ER about 7 weeks ago in the midst of a stroke. It was his second stroke, I knew what it was and that time was critical. An ambulance would have cost us time we didn’t have.

Image source: Marsha Jackson , Towfiqu barbhuiya

While I was driving, I called the hospital ER and told them we were less than 10 minutes away, he was having a stroke and I would need help getting him into the hospital. They said to pull up and let them know they would take him. I pulled up, put the car in park and ran into the ER waiting room. Then I stood in line for 5 minutes behind an obviously high woman who was pestering the admissions clerk about whether she could call her mom again. When I got to the admitting clerk, I identified myself, said I needed a wheelchair for my husband, and that I was prepared to fill out all his paperwork, please just get him into the hospital. 7 minutes later, someone came and rolled the wheelchair that I wasn’t allowed to touch out to get him. We had to wait in line again behind the same woman to get the wristband put on him. When they came out to get him a few minutes later, a young woman said rather loudly, “they always take the white people first”.

We missed the window for the clot busting drugs by 5 minutes.

I know hospital workers do the best they can. But there needs to be a way for an emergency room to treat an emergency.

#6 Actually, three of my girlfriends and I were the sideshow in an ER waiting room.

Image source: Ellen Wolf, Kevin Bidwell

We were with about 200 people doing a medieval re-enactment when a friend of ours accidentally ate something with cinnamon in it – and he is deathly allergic to it. One of us was a nurse, and even with her quick action with an epi pen, he still needed to go to the ER. So, one guy in Viking clothes and armor, and four women in varying outfits from India (mine) to early Celtic, to Imperial Roman, to 14th century French, all troop into the closest hospital ER – and it was in a really, realllly rural area of Georgia.

Being the only hospital within at least fifty miles of anything, they were predictably busy on a Saturday afternoon. We were there for hours and bored out of our minds. We’re all gifted with warped Monty Python humor, and so we started riffing on it. I started talking about how “our husband” was doing, and that I hoped he would be alright, because I wasn’t prepared to jump on his funeral pyre. (Mine was also the “blingiest” outfit, so I was First Wife by default. We referred to each other as First Wife, Second Wife, etc.) The other people in the waiting room were gawking at us like we’d all grown third eyes and horns.) It was just too good to pass up – we had SO MUCH FUN with it. By the time our friend got sent back out, we had all jumped up and started fawning on him – our beloved husband! Alive! What joy! I didn’t have to burn myself up! He didn’t skip a beat, got two of us under each arm, and we all left, rejoicing – and probably giving the locals a bizarre story to tell.

#7 When I broke my arm, I was on my own, and called a friend, who is great in a crisis, but otherwise, shall we say eccentric. She turned up in the E.R. dressed like Morticia Adams. People noticed.

Image source:  Jean Martin , Orion Pictures

#8 I was waiting in the ER. I broke my right hand and this was a trauma hospital so you immediately know if a trauma comes in he is first. Well, there was one person in front of me – a guy with a cut on his finger. When he got called back for his vitals he had a towel on his cut now he has a Band-Aid on it. So here we go – you can hear and see the helicopter landing on the landing pad. it’s called out: “multiple gunshots!” It’s a 17 yr old male. They get him and wheel him to ER.

The guy with the paper cut on his finger is complaining because he was next and what’s the point of being in line when you take people off the street first? 95% of the time I ignore people but this guy got under my skin. I asked him “Were you born an a**hole, or did you grow into it?” I yelled at him, told him “that’s someone’s child, and you want your papercut looked at first? Just shut the fu**k up or you will need them to look at more than your finger.” Well, I must have made him angry; he left and never got his finger looked at.

Image source: Thomas Dolt

#9 It would be hard to rank them, but here’s an example from over 30 years ago. A man walked up to the desk and announced,” I have a extra hole in my a** I sat on a auger.” And to prove it, he dropped his overalls for everybody to see.

Image source: Wilk Dedwylder, [deleted]

#10 At a major city’s public hospital, 1974. A construction worker from nearby came in the ER waiting room to use the pay phone. The worker was wearing bib overalls. He dropped a coin on the floor. When he bent over to pick it up, a small .25 cal automatic pistol fell out of the bib pocket. When the junker pistol hit the concrete floor, it discharged… And the bullet hit the worker, so in effect he shot himself, and the bad news wasn’t over. After the ER patched him up, the police arrested him on a gun charge and took him to jail.

Image source:  Lewis Moseley, Mikael Blomkvist

#11 How about Saddest?

Image source: Wendy Crow, Rene Terp

The day I rushed my husband into the ER, it was swamped – every bed was full and the hallway too. We were lower priority, and he was stable, so we waited.

We happened to be right across the Isolation aka contageous room. For 2 hours I listened behind our curtain of baby after baby crying and coughing with Whooping Cough. I lost count at 20. I found out later, our city had an epidemic of cases. It was by far the most devastating sound one can ever hear. Vacinate your babies.

#12 Cuss words are used in my following account! ER not waiting area, she couldn’t wait.

Image source: Kelli Saiz, PenelopeHast

So one Sunday morning I was doing an audit & happened to be in a satellite hospitals ER . A motorcyclist was brought in. Wide awake but mangled. A lady ran a stop sign in front of him & he collided with her minivan broad side at 45mph. Leathers were cut off & the blood started flowing, dudes just chatting, worried about his bike. The Dr is yelling for supplies not on hand in the ER ( surgery yes, but not ER) ( rural hospital). Well I had master keys to the facility, so I take his order & grab everything from the warehouse( basement) as I’m handing over the supplies … Oh this absolute B**ch comes screaming into the trauma bay.

Because she f**king chipped a fake nail & her nail lady was on vacation! This c*nt was standing over a guy that looked like a fly after getting hit by a magazine. Demanding the Dr fix her fu**ing broken Fake nail! Her husband is rich, her husband is on the hospital board…. Let’s just say I was extremely rude when I escorted her out the door ( oh she tried to sue because she got bike dudes blood on her shoes…) I knew her father in law (dude that actually earned the family money & respect) she now must get health care 132 miles up the road now. Karma bitch!

Motorcycle dude, ended up with a lot of nasty scars, bones healed. He was/is a champion. Pretty bummed his Harley was a total loss, but he wasn’t offended over what I said to that nail bitch. By the time he was released insurance bought him a very handsome new chromed out Harley. Fake nail damage is not an ER visit. Moron

#13 In purely the ER waiting room area, the area where triage and pre-admittance is done but after admission/reception area.

Image source: Ross Pettit , RepentAnd SeekChristJesus

Would have had to have been a little old grandma having a three way armed standoff with taser armed hospital police, her knife wielding bogan family and her handbag swinging self.

She didn’t want to go into a nursing home but also didn’t want to go back with the bogan family. Her family didn’t want her to go anywhere lest they loose her government payments. And the hospital was like, calm down and we will talk this out.

In the end she was admitted for a broken wrist, eventually moved into a respite house. Family was not happy.

#14 After being treated I was waiting in A&E as we call it and a man rushed in with a paper bag and said to the woman “I have Mr +++++ Fingers here” The woman searched the cubicles and returned saying “We don’t have Mr+++++ here. Mr+++++ had gone to one hospital and the fingers to another!

Image source: Bob Coombs, Mathias Reding

#15 Ok. Urban myths aside. I was genuinely sat in A&E with my daughter after she broke her arm skiing. Ambulance crew wheeled a gentleman through in a wheelchair with a blanket over him. But you could clearly see the vacuum cleaner attachment hanging out of the bottom.

Image source: Robert Bone , Anete Lusina

#16 When my oldest was a baby he had a febrile seizure and had to be rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. So freaking scary. How Scary? I had 4 gorgeous firemen in my bedroom and I didn’t care about anything except my baby!

When we got to the hospital E.R. the staff was amazing; wonderful and caring. I did hear the lady in the next bed arguing with her nurse. The nurse had asked her if the baby she brought in had been given Tylenol. The mom said “no” and then after they gave the baby the dose, the mom claimed she had told the nurse that she HAD given her baby Tylenol. When the nurse told her that isn’t what she said she tried to PHYSICALLY FIGHT HIM! She kept screaming: ”Are you calling me a liar?” I was sitting next to my baby thinking, Wow lady the important thing here is your baby’s health not if anyone called you a liar or not. I couldn’t believe the nurse’s patience around this nut job!

Well, the next day my son and I baked cookies and took them to the E.R. nurses station to say “thank you”. I walked up to the nurse’s station with my baby on one hip and a plate of cookies on the other hand. When I walked up to the head nurse and explained why I had come, it was like a movie moment with the scratch record sound. EVERYONE stopped and stared at me. I thought perhaps I was breaking an E.R. rule by bringing in food or something. But the nurse told me that she had been working there for over 20 years and it was THE FIRST TIME anyone had thanked them!!! She said that often after they got folks under control and shifted them to the hospital upstairs that those wings would get thank yous for the staff but that in all her time in the E.R. they had never been thanked- not even once!

So please be kind to doctors but especially nurses. They work so hard and are NOT celebrated nearly enough.

Image source:  Dyanne DiRosario

#17 A man walked into the ER with a non-emergent complaint and after being evaluated by the triage nurse was reassured and asked to take a seat in the busy waiting room.

Image source: Ralph Croskey, Ian Taylor

After a brief wait he walked over to the pay phone on the wall (pre cellphone era) and dialed 911. The ambulance soon arrived scooped him up and drove around the corner of the building to the ambulance entrance. Here he was unloaded placed in a hallway ( all beds being already occupied) where a separate nurse evaluated his presentation and complaint. Agreeing with the triage nurse he was ushered back into the waiting room and asked to take a seat and wait his turn. Now he had an additional $300.- ambulance bill.

#18 This is one of those “It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad,” stories.

Image source: Jon Meyer, Muskan Anand

I was working as a chaplain at a hospital in the Chicago area. This was before young doctors got much training in making death notifications, at least in the hospitals where I worked. This particular evening, a young doctor was making his first solo notification. I waited with the family in the ER “Family Room” for someone to tell them what was happening with their 80-year-old grandma.

In comes the young resident. We can see from his face it’s not good news (I already knew she’d died, but I wasn’t allowed to say anything). Most people these days have seen TV or movie scenes where a doctor tells a family something like, “We utilized all of our capabilities, but her heart was too badly damaged and we were unable to save her.” Well, this poor resident must have really wanted the family to know they’d done all they could. He described in great detail every place they’d tried to insert an IV, cut into her, inserted catheters, etc.” The family was sitting there looking increasingly horrified as he described what they heard as the ways Granny had been tortured in her last minutes.

I finally spoke up and said, “Thank you, Doctor. I’ll let you know if the family has any questions,” and opened the door for him to leave. Later, after the family left, I spoke with a nurse friend of mine who made sure the doctor received a little more coaching.

I really felt sorry for everyone involved, including the resident. He was trying to make things better for the family. He really just tried too hard.

#19 Unfortunately, as someone who has both been there for myself and my family, I’ve seen a lot of weird stuff.

Image source: Goldie Medick, Anna Shvets

I was there for a visibly broken arm, patiently waiting (even though I was soaked in sweat from pain), because you know it’s an ER and more life threatening cases go first.

There was a couple there, I’d say mid 30’s. A big guy was moaning and groaning about his chest and stomach hurting. His wife kept yelling her head off about how he was dying, having a heart attack, and he needed help immediately. But they’ve been waiting 25 minutes, she’s gonna sue, she’s going to call the cops, she’s going to fight the staff to get him seen.

I sat there concerned, as he had been triaged but he was waiting for a bed to open up and admittedly, for someone having a heart attack, time is of the essence.

Suddenly, he threw up all over the floor of the waiting room… then let out the biggest belch I’ve ever heard. After that, he said he felt fine and wanted to leave.

Next, they called both him and me back. We ended up sharing a double exam room.

The doctor explained to the man that the EKG was fine, all his blood work was normal. They wanted to keep him overnight anyway, to monitor his condition. He refused, saying he knows it’s not his heart, but wouldn’t say why. His wife shouted them both down and got him admitted. Then she went home because they had little ones that she had to pick up from the neighbor’s. When she left, he told the doctor what he did. On a dare with his friends, he swallowed a bunch of seltzer tablets and chugged a 2 liter of cola.

His problem was he had bad gas. The doctor recommended he didn’t do that anymore, then washed his hands and came to my side of the room with a look of disgust on his face he couldn’t hide.

Me on the other hand, arm broken in 4 places. Went home 30 minutes later.

#20 The most ridiculous thing that I saw in the ER waiting are was a guy who had slipped his wedding ring onto his manhood and it was apparent that he was in great discomfort from having an erection that he couldn’t lose because the wedding band was still at the bottom of his manhood locking all the blood in his p*nis.

Image source: Larry Eliachar , cottonbro studio

#21 It was Halloween… Some of the staff got permission to wear silly costumes, as long as certain regulations held up. (Understandable since no one wants a doctor dressed up as a killer clown to treat them)

Image source: Matthew Rodriguez, Lukas

I was checking on patients waiting in the ER, trying to make sure they have their insurance cards, water and some medicine if they needed it.

There was many people wearing costumes as well, some were funny, others were sexy, all around it was a crazy Halloween for sure.

Then I noticed a man sitting alone by himself. He probably came in with a friend and is waiting for news updates. So I went to visit him. He looked like your average butcher accident costume. White apron woth fake blood sprayed all over, molty hair and the obligatory big plastic butchers knife in the head.

I asked who he’s with or what he’s waiting on, and he replied “I’m waiting for this to be removed.” He said pointing to the prop sitting on top of his head. Some of my associates giggle. And I smile. “Yeah we will get that removed.” I say as I check his skull. I noticed that his costume does seem better dressed, he even applied fake blood to where the butchers knife curves along his skull so it sat on his head. Then it slowly dawned on me, it was not plastic, it was pure metal, that was real blood that was on the side of his head and the knife was indeed lodged in the top of his skull.

I reported this to the head nurse who came to use a metal detector wand and sure enough it was real, he was pushed up for next in line and was treated. The blade cut into his skull but not fully, still a millimeter and it would have been in the cranium.

#22 Once an inpatient wandered through the ER waiting area, pushing his IV stand, and he tripped on the cord. He was recovering from major abdominal surgery and when he tripped, his sutures tore. Out came his entrails!

Image source: David Cannon, Marcelo Leal

I have no idea how a person in that condition was up and about, but the poor guy was elderly and may have wandered out of bed.

There is nothing to prepare you for the sight of spilling entrails. Nothing; it was ghastly. Someone passed out; people were vomiting. I’ve seen a lot of stuff and I got lightheaded.

#23 I’m sorry to say that once while applying for a Physicians Assistant at (un-named hospital in Los Angeles) very Good and hard program to get in too! I witnessed patient care at its most EVIL & lowest spot on Earth!

Image source: Mark Kram , billow926

A frail homeless woman had been waiting to be seen in this ER for a ridiculous amount of time, something in the neighborhood of 20 hours. No reassessment! No kind words! No looking to see if she was ok! FINALLY….she hadn’t moved for a while and Another patient told the staff and they did nothing! So….some security officer Dialed 911! Are you reading this? Because as a Paramedic also. I too have been called to an emergency room on a 911 call (separate yet equally ridiculous reason!).

Anyway back to our story. When the Fire Department arrived they pronounced the lady DEAD! Yes she was dead and had been dead for a long time in the emergency room while waiting for care!!! This really causes sensation the hospital ended up closing losing its charter and I chose not to go there for my training. In fact it was a pivotal point in my career because I became a fireman and a paramedic! Lesson learned? People should not die if they go to the emergency room from waiting!

#24 Here I was minding my own business keeping pressure on my hand, as I just got my finger stuck in an immersion blender (long story for another time), blood running down my arm, waiting my turn. A rather snooty proper woman sitting nearby approaches me and says “Do you mind – you are getting blood everywhere?”. OK so if I can not bleed in an emergency room, where am I allowed to bleed?

Image source: Denise Cicchella

#25 This is a memory that warms my heart a little. During my last pregnancy I had a sickness bug which cancelled out my anti sickness medication – I suffered with hyperemesis so without my drugs I couldn’t even keep down water. After I recovered from the bug my hyperemesis had kicked back in and without an injection I wouldn’t be able to keep my anti sickness medication down so I asked my brother and his wife to take me to A&E so I could get the injection.

Whilst we were waiting about ten members Of the security team came and stood outside the door of this one side room where a woman could clearly be heard screaming and shouting and trashing the room. Everyone was looking a bit alarmed and then everything went quiet. Then she began to sing. Loudly. But here’s the thing- she had the most beautiful singing voice ! All the staff and us went from looking alarmed to smiling awkwardly and looking awed by her singing. It was beautiful. I heard them saying she was going to be sectioned under the mental health act and they were waiting for a transfer but me my bro and his wife certainly enjoyed our little outing together. I don’t know any thing else about her but her family members seemed well and sane and I’m sure she would have made a good recovery at the hands of our fantastic NHS.

Image source:  Jade Tyler