One from a paramedic I know

[AccountingDrone]

That's terrible! What an asshole!

Why do people have to be so stubborn when it comes to their health?

Not a freaking clue.

Id think he would at least want to move to a ground floor flat, in case teh building caught fire so he could crawl on the floor and get out, or get a barriatric wheelchair [they make custom powerchairs that will take up to half a ton] so he could get out.

This was about 20 years ago, so [sorry to sound nasty] I hope he is no longer tormenting rescue personnel with his entitlement issues.

I get the guilties having my husband do the cleaning and laundry, and when I am having a bad flareup all the cooking. i really *dont* like being handicapped.

[draftermatt]

While we were getting out the rope and tending to the knot and other such necessities, three cars drove by without even slowing down to check out the accident.

No offense but I wouldn't stop either.

Reason being, you could be the nicest person in the world, but you could also be the asshole who sues me if I scratch the car helping, or if I try to move you if you're injured, not thinking.

If you had help I'm going to drive by. If I saw you run off the road I would stop and ask if you needed help, a phone, etc. but I wouldn't go further than that.

[One-Fang]

The paramedics couldn't bring him back either & they had to wait for a medical examiner to show up to pronounce him dead before he could be moved.

Um, wow.

If that were here, I'd be calling bogus on that. Here, if you flatline, the paramedics will try to revive you (now here's the important bit) while transporting you to hospital. You're kidding right? They don't take a cardiac victim straight to hospital?

It's my understanding (at least here) that paramedics literally cannot do anything else. It could be quite clear this guy is just simply not coming back, but they're required to perform CPR and transport to hospital, and the patient can only be pronounced dead once there. Similar in that the paramedics in both cases can't pronounce death, but they seriously cannot move a person who has just suffered a (seemingly) fatal coronary failure?

If I visit your place and collapse, flatlining, please have me rushed to the nearest hospital. Call a friend if the paramedics can't do that.

[Canarr]

Um, wow.

If that were here, I'd be calling bogus on that. Here, if you flatline, the paramedics will try to revive you (now here's the important bit) while transporting you to hospital. You're kidding right? They don't take a cardiac victim straight to hospital?

Don't know where you are, but in Germany, the ambulance personnel CAN pronounce someone dead - but they never do.

I know a few people working as medics, and the regulation is that if someone diesen route to the hospital, the ambulance is required to stop immediately and wait for a sanctioned transport from the coroner's office to pick up the body, as they are the only ones (aside from private funeral homes) allowed to transport a body over open roads. In essence, that would block the ambulance and the medics from doing anything useful until the body is taken over, which may take hours.

Thus, medics learn very early in their training to keep up resuscitation on dead people until they reach the hospital, where a doctor pronounces death and the body can be turned over immediately.

[candyshopgirl]

http://www.austininjurylaw.com/libra...-failing-t.cfm

Some of these jackasses might want to read this......
Ahhhhh sweet sweet karma

[GingerBiscuit]

I've walked past people collapsed, and we've driven past accidents.

I will always help if I see someone fall over, or I see someone collapse, and I will usually phone an abulance if I can... but I am considering my safety here as well. Often, especially around my area the person collapsed is an alcoholic scaghead who will get violent if you touch them. I'm not risking it. And, if I already see the situation is in hand for any accident I'm not going to stop and add my confusion to the matter.

[crazylegs]

but they're required to perform CPR and transport to hospital,<snippage>. Similar in that the paramedics in both cases can't pronounce death,

In the UK paramedics can pronounce life extinct, so they work on them there and then, they have defibs, adrenaline and BVMs, which is pretty much all you need for a cardiac arrest.