In the past week, I've seen 2 people get hit by cars crossing the street (jaywalkers in a very busy area). THe first one ended up OK. The second one died on the spot. On both, I wondered why nobody, even the police, got near the victims laying in the street...to check for breathing, a pulse, etc. They just held the crowds and cars away until the paramedics arrived. I know that with potential back injuries, it can kill or permanently hurt somebody to move them after an accident like that, but I have felt badly both times that nobody tended to them, that they were just left laying there until the medical folks arrived. Lots of people (like me) know first aid basics, CPR, etc., and, well, I've just wondered if I should just jump in there and do something if I ever see that again. Especially the second guy, he clearly had a massive head injury, but it was a couple of minutes before he really started losing major blood. His chances were probably slim to none, but still, I've been wondering. Thoughts, yall?

-- Anonymous, June 23, 2000

Answers

In some instances, unless you have up to the minute first aid/cpr certification, you can be sued if you help and the person ends up dead or further injured (ie you give CPR and break a rib, you put someone in the recovery position and they rupture something, etc). It's unlikely that you *will* be sued, but I guess they're just taking precautions. After all, in the US it seems you can be sued over anything. I agree, though, that they should at least have someone making sure that the victim is OK.

-- Anonymous, June 23, 2000

I thought that the Good Samaritan laws prevented suit of an individual who was rendering aid. Is that true? I seem to remember that you *used* to have to have up to date certification, but I thought that changed.

-- Anonymous, June 23, 2000

Okay, answered my own question here, at least in part. This link talks about Good Samaritan laws, etc.

http://wivb.findlaw.com/topics/health/articles/0333.html

-- Anonymous, June 23, 2000

Hi again...actually I am somewhat familiar with the laws. What I really want to know is from a medical or ethical standpoint, what should a bystander do? What would you do if you came upon an obviously critically injured person? I called 911, of course, but other than that?

-- Anonymous, June 24, 2000

I have medically training so I would have helped. The police in my area are required to have some training in case it takes to long for an ambulance to arrive, so they would have been in there helping.

-- Anonymous, June 25, 2000

Well, from an "ethical" standpoint, I say stop and help if you're able. A few years ago when I was living in Central Florida, some friends and I came upon an accident that had literally just happened. We pulled over; they ran to one car and I ran to the other. The driver in the car I was in was badly injured and bleeding from a leg wound (broken glass everywhere).

I started talking to the driver, trying to assess how with it he still was and to keep him calm until paramedics arrived. I grabbed his sweatshirt off the passenger seat and covered the wound and then stood there applying direct pressure. I don't think it was his femoral artery that was cut (no spurting), but there was a lot of blood. In any case, I didn't think about AIDS or anything else at the time; I was just concerned that this guy not slip into shock.

I've come up on accidents since then; if someone hasn't already stopped, I will. If there are obviously people there helping out, I keep on going. Don't want to add to the chaos.

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

I just went through CPR and first aid training; as a result, if I see an accident and don't call 911, I'm eligible for a lawsuit or arrest. But that's all I have to do. Anything else I do is extra.

The cops may have been directing traffic rather than helping if the traffic/cop ratio wasn't low enough to make it safe for the cops. The first rule of dealing with an accident is Check the Scene. If it's dangerous enough that one person got hurt, there's no sense adding to the number of injured people.

I'm scared to death of Aids, and Hepatitis, and trying to help somebody who's dusted who ends up turning me into a statistic. I'm also scared to death of how I'd feel if somebody got hurt and died and all I did was stand and watch, or just walk away. I have a hard enough time dealing with all the stuff I've done wrong on purpose. I don't need to add that.

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

It's a very difficult question. I kept my CPR certification current for fifteen years, and had to give roadside first aid twice (never CPR, thank goodness), but I never decided how I would handle it if I was faced with, say, an unconscious victim of a hit and run accident who was breathing but bleeding. Unless I was miles from help, I would probably assume that the ambulance would be there in time to save his or her life, rather than touching the victim. One can do so much harm if you aren't completely current in your training, or if you make a mistake about what the injury is.

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

Tom's right in that you can do a lot of damage moving someone. And I think you can render aid most of the time without putting yourself at risk.

In the case I described, we were ten minutes from the nearest hospital; the ambulance had already been called, and I had some training. I knew that the most important thing at that moment was keeping the guy calm as we were on/in the middle of a busy road. If he'd gotten up/out, the potential for getting hit by another vehicle was pretty high.

Some of the issue here is really more about the feelings of helplessness any conscious, caring human may experience. "I ought to do *something*!" but not knowing exactly what. I tend to think that as long as you adhere to the "first do no harm" rule, you're probably pretty okay (gross generalization alert!)

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

In the grand scheme of things, if you can't help others when they are most vulnerable and need you most, then why, exactly, are you here on earth? I can't even fathom not helping someone for fear I might get AIDS.

You do what you need to do to protect yourself, obviously (like not wallowing in blood if at all possible), but not helping???!!! That's against everything human... It just amazes me that people wouldn't stop to help. Yes, keep driving if helps is already available, but if you witness an accident, almost nothing (barring the fact that you too are on the way to the hospital) is so important that as a good, decent person you shouldn't stop.

-- Anonymous, June 27, 2000