Sad world we life in! I know that there is a Law in Germany which is called " failure to render assistance" and you can get charged with some serous stuff if you dont help people in a situation like this one.
People don't got no obligation to help. It's the decent thing to do, but they certainly shouldn't be charged with anything etc. I'd say that they're sucky people but that would imply that most people don't suck - which they do - so I guess I might as well just say that they're humans and this is the sort of thing humans do.
I believe there is the same thing here in Canada. Which is a good thing in my opinion. To call an ambulance or for any kind of professionnal help is not going to kill you but it might save the person's life
I think "accessory to first-degree murder" would fit the situation slightly better - they didn't kill the victim, but it's entirely possible that if they had taken a minute or two (at least one of them even had a cell phone out right there), the victim wouldn't be dead. That is really, really sad. Why do people not care?
We live in a civilised society; that means there are rules to stick to. Obey the laws, be considerate, be polite, co-operate for the common good. People can decide to look out for numero uno only if they please, but then they can go live on an island somewhere, and do not expect any help if they ever get unstuck. As long as they wish to enjoy the benefits of society, they bloody well contribute to it.
Reading between the lines, this is what I think happened... There was a fight in the store and she was stabbed. For some reason no one called 911 for the first two minutes, and when the were called law enforcement responded, but did not allow EMS to enter until they were sure the scene was safe. During this time no one tried to help the victim and she later died at hospital. I'm guessing that the people stepping over and around the victim occoured during the time before law enforcement arrived. Legally, most people do not have a duty to assist, and in the absence of such a duty they cannot be prosecuted for a crime. I agree that not helping the victim was ethically wrong, and I think most of us would have at least made an effort to assist. The laws that Ghys and antiHero refer to are usually in the context of auto accidents and say that if you are involved in an accident you have a duty to try to help or at least summon aid. As I understand it if you are not a party to the accident you have no duty to assist, though this may vary from one jurisdiction to another.
Unfortunately, in some areas of the US, there is what is called Good Samaritan law. Basically, if somebody's heart is stopped and they aren't breathing, and you administer CPR, but are not certified to perform CPR, and you break their rib or something like that, you can be sued.
Everyone sues everyone for everything in the states. example: back in the 70's there was a guy ina cessna 172, flying in a canyon, came toa dead end, could not turn, could not climb out, smacked into the wall and died. His family sued cessna and won because they guy was not wearing a seatbelt. this is one of the reasons why cessna stopped making small aircraft back in the 70's. on a side note, if you get into a small a/c like a cessna 172 there are placards that basically say failure to wear a seatbelt will kill you. oh and, sorry for threadjacking the thread.
Nope, doesn't work like that. I owe a random person on the street nothing. I don't owe them my help, no matter what situation they're in. Granted it makes me a pretty shoddy person if I don't help them, but I don't owe them that help. Likewise, they don't owe me it. If I choose not to give it that is fine, if they choose to give it that is likewise within their moral rights. I would choose to help a random person on the street because it doesn't cost me much and it helps them a lot, as I would hope others would also feel. But people are within their rights not to care. Ok, well how about we charge you with accessory to manslaughter, or with accessory to neglect because you're not helping all the starving people in the world with every single last cent you have?
The Good Samaritan act is a GOOD thing!!! the Good Samaritan Act means you can't be sued for giving first aid if there's no professional help available. If a person is conscious, then you must ask them if they want your aid and they can refuse if they wish. As soon as they fall unconscious, it is implied that they want your help. And even if youre trained in CPR, you will definately break ribs/sternum. you're pushing on their chest trying to pump their heart, it takes some pressure to do that .
Regarding the "no obligation to help"... I thought that in most West European countries you do have an obligation to help? In Belgium, at least, but I always assumed it was like that all over Europe and also North America. Obviously, not CPR or anything like that - but calling the emergency services when needed is obligatory in Belgium (and apparantly Germany too, according to several posts above me), and if you don't you can be prosecuted for "failure to assist a person in need". The only reason you can avoid prosecution is when you don't have any way of informing the emergency services (no phone and crazy dude(tte) with knife is still there and you fear that s/he'll come after you the second you move, etc). Apart from law, it is not only civilised to call for an ambulance/police when somebody's lying on a shop floor, but in my book people who show such complete disregard for a situation like this (even if they thought she was a drunk or whatever) should definately get a boot up the arse. Or a Dremel. [edit] Good Samaritan act seems very good... I remember a few cases back in the home country where emergency personnel was sued for saving someone's life - from "they cut open my shirt and showed the entire disco my bra" to "they brokeded one rib, I don't want to live for four weeks with a painful chest, I'd rather be dead" etcetera. I blame videogames and injury lawyers commercials.
Legal obligation perhaps, but the law and what is morally correct are very often not compatable. See any European country with lenient squatting laws for evidence of that.
Every state has some version of the good samaratin law, which says that if you render assistance in a manner consistent with your level of trainin you cannot be sued except in cases of gross negligence. To build on your CPR example, consider this. According to the American Heart Association (who sets CPR standards) a person's chance of survival decreases by 10% for every minute they are in cardiac arrest. Given that it unlikley that trained responders will be on scene in less than 5 minutes from being called, unless someone starts CPR the person is extremely unlikley to survive. With CPR the patient is not breathing and their heart is not beating. They are clinically dead. Nothing you can do is goping to hurt them and doing it half-assed is better than doing nothing at all. Speaking of CPR,breaking ribs is not only not uncommon, but also a decent indicator that you're pressing hard enough. What usually happens is not so much an actual rib fracture but rather a seperation of the end of the rib from the sternum at the center of the chest.
If its legal obligation or not people are (from my p.o.v.) morally obligated to help another person in need. Why do you think you get a first help course with your driver licence (at least in most European country's)? Because you are supposed to help!!!
Amen to the lads above. Even if you don't know anything, you know 999/112/911/etc. Everyone knows those. Show me someone who doesn't know the European/mobile emergency number and I will show you a monkey in the zoo. Gross negligence in most countries seems to be actual gross neglicence, which is good. I really hope no one gets sued for ending up fracturing the tip off someone's rib into their lungs and effectively killing them when trying to save their life, apart from maybe being ordered to attend a proper first aid course. They're already dead... as above-dude said, nothing you can do can hurt them (unless you shoot them or something, probably). Ah well... responsibility seems to be a very empty word nowadays, whether it's personal, civilian or both. I mean, when I moved to the UK and I turned on the television, I was absolutely appalled. "National accident helpline", "Injury lawyers 4 U", etcetera.... goddamnit. Often handy (if you break your leg when slipping on a wet floor, like in the commercials, and it wasn't signaled that the floor was wet, OK that the company responsible pays your medical bills. It's stupid, but it happens.) Either way, I remember an instance at my previous job in Belgium where I had accidently ended up with my hand through a glass door (long story, not my fault by the way ). I was working for a security company on boring access and exit control. I had sliced open my hand and of course everything was full of blood, including my hand, arm and coat. Did anybody stop? I was standing there, covered in my own blood, obviously in pain and trying to stop the bleeding, with a load of cars driving out, waving at me. If I see someone with blood on 'em, they've got my help. If I can't help, they've got my company until proper help arrives. Stupid example, I know, but one of the few of my own life. Then again, the world nowadays is disgusting. Can we really expect civility from a species as utterly retarded as man? But now matter how stupid I think people are, no matter how much I long for a total nuclear war which will finally wipe out this useless planet, I will not let an injured or dying person alone. As emo as it sounds, I've got enough to regret, I don't need something that big on my mind. Can you imagine the guilt? Or do people who feel no obligation to help someone else, don't feel any guilt either. And worst of all, can you imagine being injured or bleeding to death with people doing nothing at all...? I'd rather die with a complete stranger by my side than on the street, alone, with a bunch of narcissistic ****s stepping over me.
