Those of you who don't have sympathy, well, I can understand that based on what you've read! Regardless, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. A life was lost for crying out loud. FYI- The newspapers are always and will always be a tabloid. They are no different than the National Inquirer. I personally participated in the interview with the Daily News and not even half of the interview was in the paper or on the news. Joaquin Laguer did spend $ on trying to find out what was wrong with him. He previously had an MRI done less than a year and a half ago through a health care assistance program and they told him that nothing was wrong. He requested that other tests be done but they informed him that his medical allowance was over it's limit. There are many cases of people who know that they are ill but it's not until you spend enough $ and see enough doctors will you find out any answers. As far as the tattoo is concerned, He was not a devil worshiper and he didn't choose that tattoo over his daughters. Joaquin loved art. He did not get the tattoo because of it's meaning. He saw something in it. For those of you who can't understand that and still want to be insensitive, Like they say, " You think you know, but you have no idea." Your day will come too when you or your loved ones will be judged.

Although the issue of health care is real, the relevance of this article to the state of U.S. health care is non-existent.

Most young people, of every race and class, will not take proper care of themselves, and will not seek medical attention for something like this.

My parents were always baffled when I insisted on getting annual check-ups as a teenager. Yes, I was a paranoid freak - and this made me an exception.

But don't blame lack of health care for this death. There's plenty of insured teenagers who hide such conditions, or ignore them and, lacking parental coercion, will fail to visit a doctor until their head gets lopped off in a tattoo parlor.

there are lines everywhere, jack, especially if something is free, but bellevue is open 24/7. have you talked to any canadians about their lines for free healthcare up there? substandard is a judgement call, but bellevue is served by the same doctors as NYU private hospitals.

but the point is that this guy's death had next to nothing to do with our healthcare system.

Just want to add something regardin so-called 'free' healthcare options like the one hijiki mentions about Bellevue's program.

Yes, the healthcare is free. But the price you often pay is substandard service, and wait times that make it impractical for most employed people.

Now if you're shit-ass homeless and have no other choice, that might work out well. But what if you're a working person who juggles jobs and can't risk taking more time off than need be? Sure, you might have a 2:00pm appointment. But in real-time that can often mean you only get in to see the doctor at 3:00pm or 3:30pm.

There are intagibles in the rift between those with healthcare and those with public healthcare. And that often makes public healthcare a joke at best. And anyone saying that the U.S. healthcare system is great really needs to look at how other countries do it. I like the U.S., but our healthcare system is a joke at best if you're poor or uninsured. Heck, the fact that people have to think about getting their health looked after at all due to cost is an embarassment.

Something's got to change.

Our crappy healthcare system notwithstanding (and yes, it IS crappy), someone should have explained to him that it's necessary to eat and abstain from alcohol prior to getting inked, especially if you are prone to fainting. I wonder if plain machismo had any part in this tragedy.

Our crappy healthcare system notwithstanding (and yes, it IS crappy), someone should have explained to him that it's necessary to eat and abstain from alcohol prior to getting inked, especially if you are prone to fainting. I wonder if plain machismo had any part in this tragedy.

ok jake, if you feel good about praying on a tragedy to make a flawed political statement.... but sympathy for the dead? it's overpowered by the opportunistic idealogue telling the story. you try to make US look unsympathetic?! you're the one drawing absurd conclusions to fit your agenda.

yes, our healthcare system is crappy (which has little to do with this story), but i know first hand that bellvue hands out free healthcare to the poor if you can muster the personal responsibility to actually go there in between your many tattoo sessions. somehow i doubt a guy who chooses the devil over his child because it's cheaper even tried to take care of himself.

Jake is somewhat right in his assessment of the U.S. healthcare system. It's abysmal when compared to other western nations. And the rift between the cost of paying for care and the cost of going without, it actually does make sense to see why someone would ignore a long-term problem. Remember folks, chronic conditions + no health insurance = no chance of getting good long term care.

That said, what makes me loose sympathy Juaquin Leger is this:

"For his 8th tattoo, he had originally planned to get an image made of his kid, but finding himself short on money, he picked a drawing of the devil entitled "Last Rites" from the internet."

So the deal is the guy wanted to get a tattoo of his child. Didn't have enough money so then said 'Ahhh, screw it. I'm in here already. Give me a tattoo of some random picture off of the Internet!'

No idea what Juaquin was thinking, but good lord! It just all wreaks of someone who barely understands the concept of money in any way. So I tend to agree that this guy seemed to take the path of least resistance when making decisions. What was stopping him from saving up to get a tattoo of his kid? And was that same thing what stopped him from going to a doctor?

This is a tragedy, no doubt. But it's screwed up on other ways as well.

Jake you have to be kidding me. You think he died because he lives in the US and not in Canada?

I didn't know in Canada they force you to get your shit checked out. Oh wait they don't, but wouldn't it be ironic if they did - which you Jake are implying (since you are conjecturing, with a few others, that the sole reason he didn't get his shit checked out was cost). How screwed up is that? We're all sorry for this ridiculously horrific way to die, and none of us are blaming the guy for fainting (and where exactly do you get off saying that?) - but Jake THANK YOU for being the one to point out the irony of the devil tattoo - that part of it had not even crossed my mind until you pointed it out. Hypocrate.

Now Gothamist, instead of preaching your skewed and absurd political statements, how about you fix your comments section so that angry drunken commenters can preview paragraph breaks?

Haha - yes. My financial secure self making $40k a year at the age of 31. All the while, taking care of funeral arrangements for my mother and ensuring that my grandmother was provided the best of care during her advanced stages of dementia. Yes, you are right - I need a lifestyle change and believe me, I am ready to handle it.

The one thing I know - I do not spend my money on tattoos, piercings, or clothes for that matter. I do the best with what I have and there you have it.

So, don't preach to me about the healthcare system, I have been through more paperwork for my grandmother than you can ever imagine.

So, If I had the choice between a tattoo and a train ride to go see her, I would never choose the ink.

That's all I am saying. But, hey - I'm insensitive, right? Thanks, "Joclyn" (why are we putting names in quotes now). You have opened up my eyes to my unbelievable financial security. If only I had brought my pennies to Commerce bank earlier, I would have realized my wealth.

Hey "ES," a tattoo costs far less than doctor visits to monitor a fainting condition and obtaining the necessary medication if you have no insurance.

I hope you always remain so unbelievably financially secure; your horribly unsympathetic tone suggests that a change to lifestyle would be at least one thing you could not handle.

man, you guys are really short on sympathy for the dead-- that's totally messed up. you want to blame the victim? go ahead-- i just see a larger issue here that's worth talking about. if that offends you, or scares you, well, too bad.

Didn't go because he couldn't afford it - or didn't go because he never got around to it? Shame on you Gothamist for this kind of filth, what the hell is wrong with you? Thank god the gawker and steele empires are getting better and better, and you are falling further and further behind and more irrelevant.

Yeah, but what about poor Caitlin? I mean, did the Post really have to put her graduation picture on the front page? Just for lewd conduct in Park Slope? I mean, who hasn't gotten naked on a sidewalk in Brooklyn? My father is a Republican and he was shocked and apalled. Someone should start a campaign. Or at print some T-shirts. Man, that girl's never gonna sniff cocaine outside of Greenwich again!

That tattoo design looks a hell of a lot more like an image of the Green Man than the devil. But maybe that's just me. I guess he's supposed to be fiery-looking.

are you serious? blaming this on the health care system?!

Blaming the 'mainstream' media for shoddy coverage of what is, at best, speculation into a history of health problems is irresponsible on your part.

My heart goes out to his family, but if he didn't have money to go to a doctor for his (as you claim) history of illness, then what was he doing spending his money at a tattoo parlor.

Stop making this an 'us vs. them' issue. The Post stinks, the Daily News stinks, but that doesn't make you smell like roses.