i think i remember reading something on my drivers test that florida has a law that you cant sue someone who willfully attempts to help you legitimately so people cant sue for stupid ****

 

isnt it bs, save a life and risk being sued! i know an army medic that i was in country with that had been sued twice... thankfully jury's are completly ignorant. i have dont some small first aid but not cpr... Props man. way to hang it out there man!!!

 

Thanks for all the great comments guys an gals!! but like i said i just went into action and didn't think twice about it!! OH yeah beard i told the paramedics what i had done and they said i did right and there was a sherriff present when that happened too, so HOPEFULLY im covered. No i havent heard about his status yet. I am expectin a call from that sherriffs dept. AND YES all you idiots who dont wear your seat bealts START!!!! did you know you could be ejected from a vehicle at 35mph!! have to use your heads folks if your doing 35 and the other person is doing 35 that's a 70mph head on collision!!

 

good for you josh. theres too many people who would rather slow down and gawk rather than stop and help.

 

yeah its called the "good Samaritan law", I beleive its - if you arent trained, help someone, and somehow injure or worsen them more, your covered because you didnt know any better and had good life saving intentions.

HozII - what is your job that requires CPR and first Aid?

 

Exactly. So a military first aid medic may be considered trained.

 

deffinately. id like to learn first aid and CPR sometime. and very true about the seatbelt. i ran off the road goin 45 and hit a tree. seatbelt BROKE and i hit the windshield and the stearing wheel broke 3 of my ribs. worst pain ive ever been in

 

and wow, how is it possible to sue someone for that?

 

about a month ago 3 girls from my school were coming back from a party and they were all hammered and the driver swerved on the freeway and slammed into the center divider. passenger and driver were wearing their seat belts but the girl in the backseat wasnt. she was ejected and died upon slamming headfirst into the K rail. the worst part is they JUST graduated 2 months ago, and now the driver (whos still in the hospital) is being charged with involuntary manslaughter, DUI, and negligent homicide.

WEAR YOUR SEATBELTS!!!

 

Not always. I know of two people I went to H/S with that were in real bad accidents both were ejected from their trucks and lived. Both were told if they had their seatbelts on they would have been dead.

One was a ranger that got t-boned both trucks doing 70+mph other was a superduty. Yhea after the wreck the superduty looked like a pretzel. The roof came down and actually went thru the drivers side seat.



Props to Josh for what he did....If more pople did that instead of doing a slow roll by and taking a pic to post on web the world would be a whole lot better.

 

Thanks guys!! I work with a company called ADS environmental. we do flow monitoring in the sewer lines as well as some other things. We have to be VERY BIG on safety and i have peoples live in my hands everyday at work. someone could go in a manhole and be overcome by gases,low oxygen, or even engulfment. We are hooked up to climbin gear so if that happens the topside guy can pull him to safety. So that's why i have all the CPR and first aide training. You never know what could happen at any given moment!! And i have heard the story's of " if you had your seat belts on you'd been dead" too, but those are very rare and far in between cases and im not willin to gamble my life on that so ALWAYS wear your seatbelts!! Remeber there's someone that LOVES you and wants to see you again!!

 

I hear a few guys say the "my buddies life was saved by no seatbelt use" but the people who usually say that are stupid guys. And on top of that, I read a lot more in the paper of people who die getting ejected from a vehicle. But if your cool with those ****ty no seat belt odds, be my guest.

 

Josh, you have earned a lot more respect in my book for what you did. Just goes to show how good of a person you are. I hope somebody like you is around if I'm ever in a situation like that. And hopefully the guy pulls through so he can thank you and all the others that were there to help him out.

 

Dave's (FMD) situation was nothing like that at all. Dave was involved in the accident and was sued regarding his involvement in the accident. The lawsuit was not regarding his administering care to the other party.


^^ What he said ^^ Nice job man.

Josh, I want you to know if the guy doesn't end up making it, that it in no way reflects the care you gave him. The save rate for a traumatic arrest is roughly 4%. It depends greatly on what caused him to arrest and how soon CPR was administered. The sooner the better and sounds like you had it going immediately which greatly improves his chances. But if does end up dying, you can know that he had the absolute best shot at surviving because you were there.

 

I am waiting for the day when I am off duty and I get to use my skills to help someone.

"IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?!?!?"
"No, but I am an EMT!" =D

 

Buddy of mine is going through his EMT-B class right now (I'll be starting mine in January) and we were talking about some of the stuff they're going over in his class right now. One thing he said, and it may just be the State of Colorado that has this law, but if you roll up on an accident scene, and you help out, you're covered as an EMT under the Good Samaritan law if you don't state yourself to be an EMT off the clock. If you state at any point you're an EMT, YOU yourself are held liable for treating the victim as though you were on the clock and to every degree you are trained to do so. Now, this would not be an issue for me EXCEPT if the victim came back and tried to sue me for my efforts. However I don't understand where the difference in an EMT would be with a First Responder. My buddy is certified as a First Responder and he's had to stop for a couple of accidents due to the fact that as a First Responder, if he drives by the scene without stopping, he can loose his certification

Josh, way to go man, keep us updated

 

Thanks guys!! got a call today from Cullman county sherriffs dept. The guy made it ok but is still in ICU. He suffered a heart attack while driving and blacked out. apperantly he had been out for just a few mins when i had gotten there. I figured as much since the guy was walkin back to check on him. from the time i called 911 that took 2mins it was about 7mins or so since EMT's were on the scene. He had just stopped breathin when i had walked back from the road, and the EMT's said that did probably save his life. It makes me feel good that i was blessed to have that basic knowledge and be there to help. The sherriff asked if it was ok to give the family my number so they could call, they had already been askin about me..lol.

 

You know, I had a feeling it might have been something like that. Since you didn't describe any obvious massive injuries and the accident itself sounded weird, I was thinking it may have been a medical problem while driving that started this whole mess.

So in this case his cardiac arrest was a medical problem, not a result of the accident trauma. This is a good thing because a heart attack with early administration of CPR is a lot more survivable than 4%

He would have been down with no circulation to his brain for 10 minutes if you didn't start doing CPR. That is essentially a death sentence, or a vegetable at best. You with out a doubt saved that guy's life.

 

Good job Josh!


LOL no he didn't. He got sued for hitting someone on a scooter, but he happened to also save their life according to him.

He didn't yield and hit the dude.

 

Did you break any of this guys ribs Josh? How old was he?

Good save!

At work we kind of keep track of our full arrests... I am 1 save for 3 deaths... thats good compared to my partners 3/17 hahaha ... not funny though

 

nope broken ribs that i knew of and didnt seem to have any when i was doin it surprisingly, i think his collar bone and leg was broken though from what i could tell other that not too sure.

 

nope, no broken ribs that i knew of and didnt seem to have any when i was doin it surprisingly, i think his collar bone and leg was broken though from what i could tell other that not too sure.

 

I didn't read the replies, but good for you!
I have seen many accidents where everyone slows down, looks, and drives on.
I watched a car lose control and drive into a bay at 70mph in reverse and flip over when it hit the water. I stopped and ran to the water to help the guy just as he surfaced, and helped him back up the bank. Everyone else just slowed down, looked, and drove on.
Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for stopping. I'm glad there are still some other people out there willing to do whatever they can to help out someone in need.

 

good job man. quick thinking

 

Like Matt stated, my lawsuit involved my direct involvement wit hte accident, regardless of the action of the other party.

Even though my reaction (applying pressure to stop the bleeding) ultimately saved the life of the other driver, it was the fact that, according to the courts, of the next town over, I should be wearing night vision goggle at night I was at fault.

to the OP- read your PM's.

Good semaritan laws exist in this cou8ntry to protect 3rd party persons from civil liabilities that can result in the ultimate survival of another person, even if the 'hero' has no formal training. You, as a 3rd party see another person in a life and death situation, react and ultimately save their life, however, because you reacted, which saved their life, they are now stuck in a chair, such as they were unconscious in a vehical that was on fire with back or neck injuries, you, the 3rd party, removed the person thus saving their life, but in the process did irrepairable damage, that person whom you saved cant come back and sue you for disabling them.

thats basically the good semaritan law. However, it NEVER hurts to seek the advice, from not one, not two, but multiple attorneys in a situation like this. Knowing your options and possible outcomes is critical.

Anyone who says you are protected under the law, who is NOT an attorney is misinformed. Get the legal advice from an atty. Even if it costs you $100. It is worth it.

My situation was different. It is important you all realise that. However, having an attorney, tell you, that what you did is not only honorable, and legal, but also leaves you protected under your states laws, wil;l leave you with a wamr fuzzy feeling that no one can take from you.

My adivice to the OP is to seek counsel. Seriosuly, It is better to be informaed, than to THINK you are informed and be shafted later.

Also, be prepared for 'odd ball' feelings of guilt and psychological issues. Read your PM... Many of you, reading this have not a clue as to what I am talking about, but I have been thruogh this more than once, Sued once for it, but this event will change the OP, for the better, every circumstance, situation or event to occur in the future this one event will change the way he thinks, FOREVER. It is not a bad thing. However, a 'hero' is not immune to the psychological problems that can arise.

Just be prepared. Be prepared to TALK out your emotions to others. while most of the repesnse here, tell ya what a great person you are, use the people on this forum, as well as your friends and family to discuss any 'negative' feelings you have, there is no shame in that. getting advice, and talking out your feelings, is the best way to solve any problems that may arise. Given my situation was a night and day difference, I still went thruogh, what you are going thruogh with out the added stress of a suit.

I just ask that you be prepared.

By the way, many people who most of us feel wouldnt 'freeze' DO infact freeze in a life and death situation. Its easy to say you would react in such a way when the situation isnt there. but remember, even for you folks that have, or may freeze, remember one thing: STAY calm. Try to look at your situation from an outside point of veiw, try to think logically, and stay on course with that logic... Your number one goal is to save lives and to keep people alive, Getting all worked up isnt going to help the situation at all,. try to stay calm and remember, that the number one goal is to keep people alive, if your reaction isnt going to do that then remove yourself and let others in, that can and will preserve life.