Let me guess, you haven't done much work in public relations? Much worse for a company than doing some evil reprehensible shit, is doing such shit in a fashion that's an easy, emotional "narrative hook" for the media. A grieving mother clutching a tear-stained auto repair bill itemized with "child's-head-sized dent, one" is the easiest hook imaginable.

Maybe so. But Google for "parents of dead child sent bill for airlift" - if you want to be pedantic, you can even argue that in some of those cases, there may not have been any choice, only an implied consent by law that says that "a reasonable person would have wanted to be flown to hospital".

You'll find examples. And for every waived bill you'll also hear "well, regardless of the tragic outcome, a service was rendered, and we have the right to be paid for our work".

Please note that I am carefully avoiding passing any judgment on the morality of any of the above.

Unless I really misunderstand, the invoices to which you refer are for services intended to preserve the life of a child, not services intended to relieve a third party of certain trifling inconveniences associated with a child's death?