But broken links aren't anyone's friends.
(fixed the quoted one so you can edit yours and claim ignorance
)Is it illegal NOT to save someone from dying?
- Thread starter pmbuzz
- Start date
But broken links aren't anyone's friends.
(fixed the quoted one so you can edit yours and claim ignorance
)I remember when I was in Scouts and we were being trained in CPR and recovery position stuff. The Scout Master just warned us that if somebody was unconscious or possibly dead, it didn't change the fact that you can't take advantage of someone! :O
Caporegime
- Joined
- 20 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 77,318
- Location
- Wish i was in a Ramen Shop Counter
Side note - There are countries however where it is illegal if you can make a easy save (a Fine for example), or at least say, call the police/fire department/ambulance.
In short, the UK doesn't not make everyone have the obligation of Superman.
In short, the UK doesn't not make everyone have the obligation of Superman.
Soldato
- Joined
- 25 Nov 2007
- Posts
- 5,581
- Location
- London
Guy drowning --> You have a fear of drowning
Guy about to jump ---> you have a fear of heights
People burning ---> Fear of fire
Guy about to jump ---> you have a fear of heights
People burning ---> Fear of fire
Caporegime
- Joined
- 20 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 77,318
- Location
- Wish i was in a Ramen Shop Counter
Caporegime
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 33,188
a large portion of the western world has good samaritan laws of one of two different kinds.
The USA largely makes it hard/impossible for people to be sued for helping and failing/doing something wrong.
There and many other places its to help prevent people from being too scared of the repercussions to help.
other places the law works to make it illegal to not help if you can.
In the situation described in the op in those places it would be illegal to not call for help, but wouldn't be required to put your own life at risk.
In the USA you wouldn't get sued for helping and failing, trying CPR but doing it incorrectly, etc, etc.
In the uk we don't really have anything, we're MORE vunerable to being sued for helping than the USA, and less vunerable to being sued for not helping, IE its easier to do nothing in the UK and not get in trouble for it.
The USA largely makes it hard/impossible for people to be sued for helping and failing/doing something wrong.
There and many other places its to help prevent people from being too scared of the repercussions to help.
other places the law works to make it illegal to not help if you can.
In the situation described in the op in those places it would be illegal to not call for help, but wouldn't be required to put your own life at risk.
In the USA you wouldn't get sued for helping and failing, trying CPR but doing it incorrectly, etc, etc.
In the uk we don't really have anything, we're MORE vunerable to being sued for helping than the USA, and less vunerable to being sued for not helping, IE its easier to do nothing in the UK and not get in trouble for it.
I would say that you'd have a lot of explaining to do as to why you didn't call 999 in any of those cases.
You never have to put yourself in harm but in some of the situations presented in the thread like heart pills being 6 inches away I believe you could be charged with death by negligence or some such thing.
In France there is the samaritans law which I believe means you can be prosecuted if you don't contact the emergency services or try to help if you see an accident.
I would personally take the medical experts recommendation which is to perform CPR regardless of training.
What may be relevant to this thread is the fact that two sisters were recently arrested after one murdered her boyfriend with a knife and the other refused to call an ambulance, both were convicted of manslaughter.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-10823092
Last edited:
oh how I've dreamed of such a scenario
could maybe get done for failing to report a crime or whatever its proper name is if for example he was being tortured
Soldato
- Joined
- 31 May 2009
- Posts
- 21,468
Agreed, if they are in need of actual CPR, then they have a zero % chance of survival without it anyway, and with it the % is very low if a defib machine isn't nearby.
CPR just perserves some function for if a person is eventually defibbed. It won't wake tehm up, it won't bring them back (with the exception of drowning, where the rescue breaths might actually do some good).
Stopping CPR is not an offence, and if you are alone and there is no one to take over, you will get exhausted in no time at all. IF others are with oyu, you should be thinking of swapping over every couple of minutes to preserve some strength to continue, CPR is exhausting.
A doctor will get into major issues with the GMC and can be struck off if they drive past the scene of an accident, or if they do not render help where it is obviously needed.
The rest of us, we can walk on by.
Associate
- Joined
- 18 Jan 2006
- Posts
- 466
- Location
- Sidcup/ExeterUni-Falmouth
"Thou shalt not kill; but need'st not strive Officiously to keep alive" - Arthur Hugh Clough
Soldato
- Joined
- 13 Nov 2006
- Posts
- 4,245
- Location
- Inverkip
This is more of a moral than a legal question. Put yourself into the position of the person who is suffering and ask whether you would be at peace with someone walking by, staring as you ebb away. If you are giving CPR, yes it can be very tiring but just remember that you could be the difference in whether some lives or not. Just keep going until the Ambulance gets there.
Last edited:
Associate
- Joined
- 21 Aug 2010
- Posts
- 754
None are ilegal but they are imorral.
There are 3 resons to stop CPR (From a first aid course)
Help Arrives
Casualty wakes up
The first aider is exausted
No, because potentially they could try and drag you down with them. It cant be illegal to want to avoid putting yourself in danger.
What if you cant swim ? surely you'd then be in as much danger as them. You need to be properly trained in todays soceity to do this. Even police are advised against attempting to rescue a person drowning as they do not receive proper training. Only the fire service do.
Are you saying it should be illegal to be unable to swim ?
Again, it puts you at great personal risk. Why should the law require you be killed in a burining building ? As an unqualified outsider, how are you to judge if its safe to go in, or if the building is about to collapse any second ?
No, because your not the person trained to do so. Maybe if you were a trained paramedic / ambulance technician and you gave up maybe.
the only piece of specific legislation that comes close to this is the Road Traffic Act
this makes it illegal to leave the scene of a road accident where people are injured without reporting it to police.
But thats it, theres no requirement to phone the emergency services in law for any other reason than a road accident.
Whether they are illegal or not isn't the point.
The fact is allowing anyone to die when you are in a position to either prevent it yourself or inform an authority that can if you cannot is immoral and while the law may not hold you at least partially responsible for their death or injury, your conscience should.
The fact is allowing anyone to die when you are in a position to either prevent it yourself or inform an authority that can if you cannot is immoral and while the law may not hold you at least partially responsible for their death or injury, your conscience should.
Soldato
- Joined
- 16 Jun 2009
- Posts
- 2,566
- Location
- Bucks
Trying to prevent someone from dying would probably be frowned upon in a Dignitas-style assisted suicide place.