Where are the good samaritans now-a-days!?

I have stopped to help, or at least was prepared to. Sad day, but really, it has been going on for decades. I remember one case in the '80's in NYC: 'not my problem".

 

In the US? Getting sued when they try to help.

(Seriously.)

 

Back in the '60's, my dad witnessed a really bad accident in a SoCal rural area. He stopped and IIRC the lady had both jugulars cut. He held a hand over each one, applying pressure, it saved her life. A few weeks later, his irate Commanding Officer calls him to his office, shows him the papers where my dad is being sued, and wants an explanation. After he explains, he was not kicked out of the Navy lol. When he got to court, the judge asked the lady if she would be alive if my dad hadn't helped. "No, sir." Case dismissed.

Granted, I don't jump in without a quick assessment, but I don't think about being sued. I would hope if something happened to me or a loved one, someone else wouldn't.

 

What was he being sued for ?

 

I don't remember why he said (it happened before I was born), but it was the same rationale they use to sue good samaritans today.

 

The commentary is VERY misleading. I doubt people driving by noticed the person till they were next to him...pointless to stop then. If I saw a man lying in the oncoming lane of traffic as I was passing, I would think about stopping if it was possible and safe to do so...now look at the right side of the street--is there any parking? Where would I stop? Should I hold up all traffic, possibly endangering him more? Someone in a hurry could try to go around the stopped cars, running him over again! So, how about oncoming cars, how do you prevent them from running him over again--first of all, they would have him in their line of sight, and common sense would inform you that they would stop. Now, you could hang a hard left and block the oncoming lane--but then the ambulace/police would not be able to get through if the single lane of traffic was backed up. And there are no oncoming cars--the other direction of travel is clear. Next best course of action--summon help via cell phone. I bet people in the cars did call it in.

The pedestrians coming out on the road, no doubt some of them also called the police. The commentator says that they don't do much. How does he know? As you approach someone lying in the middle of the street, what do you think? I know the following thoughts would cross my mind:
Assess injuries best you can WITHOUT moving him (you don't want to paralyze someone for life, do you?)
Assess safety of situation--this guy is in the middle of a street with traffic. You have to make sure one tragedy doesn't multiply into two. Do you help him first, or take measures to ensure traffic is warned and directed around the person. How do you do that? Flares? Cones? Arm-waving? Who can help you? Where can you get this stuff? How about moving him out of the road? How? Stretcher? Two people carry him? One person drag/carry him to safety? How/where can you get or fashion a stretcher quickly? Any boards/doors lying around? Is there a construction site nearby? Is there someone like a nurse nearby who can determine if the person can be moved safely? These are all things that would cross my mind.

Finally, no mention is made of the fact that this person was clearly jaywalking. Obviously he does not deserve to get hit, but simple common sense on his part would have prevented this tragedy.

A lot of self-righteous sanctimony from the commentator. I think if you interviewed each of the drivers in the passing vehicle, or the pedestrians, you would get a much better perspective, and it won't be inhumane people saying they are worried about getting sued. I bet they are simply trying to figure out what is going on, if they can help at all, and how they can best tackle the situation.

That said, the people speeding and overtaking on the wrong side of the road do deserve to have the book thrown at them. I hope they are caught. Reckless driving is a serious offence precisely because it can result in this kind of tragedy. They should pay the price.

 

I have read so many things about not to touch a victim of a car accident but just call 911..so who knows, people might have called from their cars.

 

No one called the police. A police officer, who was responding to another call, happened to drive by.

 

A police officer arrived one minute after the accident. Would you call the police when the police is already there?

At least one person said that the victim was bleeding badly, and he did not feel he could render assistance. If I saw someone bleeding badly, I would be hesitant to move him, and I would be very hesitant to touch him unless I could see the source of the bleeding -- not because of worries about contracting any blood-borne disease, but because I would not know if I was somehow making things worse. About the only things I would be able to do would be to summon help and redirect traffic and perhaps figure out how to come up with a makeshift stretcher--but I would look for someone else to make the decision of whether he should be moved.

 

Let me first say that I agree with what you've written, but... when I needed to call the cops for accidents, there was not a delay. Get help ASAP, then see if there is anything you can do, even if you go up to him and say 'hang on, help is on the way'. Yeah, I don't think I would have moved him, but at least would have tried to keep people from crowding him (if that was happening).

 

Yes, it's a good plan and you have thought it out beforehand, which makes you function on auto-pilot somewhat and gets the job done effectively. Now, apply your course of action to this situation; you see a person prone in the middle of the street. If you didn't see it happen, then you don't know how long it's been like that, whether the police switchboard is flooded with calls about it already, or not, etc., etc. It takes time to ascertain this kind of stuff, figure out the next steps, etc. Agree?

People are very quick to judge/bad-mouth others. But really, we are mostly the same, and our reactions in a situation like this would mostly be the same. Most would want to help but not know how beyond calling 911. If there's a cop on the scene within a minute, then it would be reasonable to assume that the situation is under control.

Only a few would go above and beyond, only a few would know what to do because they are nurses/doctors, and only a few would callously ignore it. The commentator is making it sound like everyone falls into the last category.

 

at least going over and talking to the guy to keep him conscious and alert can make a world of difference, you don't even have to lay a finger on anyone if you did this. what a lot of these people did was just heartless, i would be one of the first jumping out of my car and checking on the guy

 

Back when I worked for a state university I took a required all day course in first aid/CPR every year for 10 years. Pretty much you don’t move a victim unless they are in danger of further injury. Then protect their spine & move using a few field techniques. We were told the “Good Samaritan Law” would protect us. I have only given CPR once - to a kid hit by a car that died on scene. The family was grateful for my efforts. While I'm not a healthcare professional, I would do it again. I do know one trauma surgeon that carries a box in the back of his SUV w/ all kinds of ED equipment including LMAs, saline bags & IV lines, etc. for his on the road needs. I just carry Latex gloves, a fire extinguisher & flares.

 

this is more of an indication of what our media has become. they are clearly sensationalizing this story with a slant.
the fact is, the police received several 911 calls within seconds of the hit and run. the cruiser didn't happen by, it was responding to the calls. cars did stop. you can't see that because the news editor zoomed in on the video (digitally, notice the loss in resolution) with the soul intent of hiding the periphery. they also edited the very large crowd of people that initially surrounded the victim before the police arrived.

the uncut video along with the 911 call sound bites paints a different picture to what BBC is reporting.