Accident Scenes: Do You Always Offer Assistance?

Nurses General Nursing

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Ok, so I have read what many have felt their obligation would be on the scene of an accident, but what would you do if you caused the accident, hitting a pedestrian, country road, EMS 10 minutes or more away, obvious head injury, face down on roadway. You're an RN in fact studying for MSN, do you have an obligation to render assistance or at least do an evaluation based on your medical knowledge?

one last thing I wanted to mention....

it seems to me that the fact the she is a nurse is coincidental. She could just have easily been a baker or a plumber , or a teacher...

nursing has many offshoots and just because someone is a nurse does not mean they are equipped to handle trauma/emergency situations.....

as others have said, she was obligated to help but she herself could have been in shock...

if drugs and alcohol were in her car, but not in her systems, she could have been charged with illegal possession but they would not be a factor for the DA when sorting out the possibility of more serious charges......?

my advice is find a support group and seek professional counseling...

peace and blessings to you

That question will never be answered, as they did not test her.

if drugs and alcohol were in her car, but not in her systems, she could have been charged with illegal possession but they would not be a factor for the DA when sorting out the possibility of more serious charges......?

my advice is find a support group and seek professional counseling...

peace and blessings to you

@chuckster, perfect answer, exactly what i do, don't do to much but stablilize the scene and wait for 1st responders

My simple answer is... if you dont know what you are doing, dont do anything

All RNs have knowledge of basic life support, cpr, and first aid. Simple pressure to a wound would have stopped or at least slowed the blood flow, no excuse for this at all. I understand shock might be a factor but if you caused the accident, and your an RN and you have no reason to feel guilty (liquor / drugs) then you have to respond to the scene in some fashion. I hope this young man did not die simply from lack of basic first aid, that just compounds the RNs behavior

People seem to think that medical professionals are some kind of magic being that can fix everything immediately with a thought. They think we have some kind of connection with the ether that can instantly solve any illness with a benevolent touch of the hand.

We're not. We have studied extensively to assess what's going on through sight, touch, smell, lab results, radiology scans, etc to use the equipment (Ivs, cardiac monitors, medication, etc) to help a patient over time.

We don't always HAVE time. Or equipment. Sometimes moving someone is worse than leaving them. Sometimes all we can do is protect someone from traffic and call for help (911).

This is a very sad story from any point of view. I wish we were magic so we could make it better always.

No excuse , should have done something to stop the blood flow, no one said anything about moving the victim, magic has nothing to do with it

Thank you all for your responses. I do know for a fact that he died alone, that she never touched him, and EMS were significantly delayed in their reponse time due to her inability to relay the needed information, and EMS told me how frustrating it was trying to get that information from her. I guess any thought of instruction on assistance was out of the question.

I think what has kept me in this "trying to understand" mode is that I really WANT to understand, and WANT to move on from it, but these facts that I have shared, along with the knowledge that there was likely impairment and inattention, and a person that has never uttered "sorry", and in fact lied to our family and to the police in an effort to gain sympathy, proven lies now, but they go to character and came too late to change what law enforcement did or didn't do, and because she has demonstrated that she learned NOTHING, and has continued to drive in a manner that is endangering people's lives. A violation just months after the crash that killed our son, where she was charged and found guilty of negligent driving. Different state, and different cop...

Loopholes and lack of laws in our state allowed this person to face no legal consequence, and now I am involved in trying to rectify that status, by engaging those in the position to change laws in this effort. I know it won't bring my son back, but hopefully will prevent another family from enduring not only the pain of losing a child, but hopefully hold persons responsible accountable.

God bless you, lost my 13 year old brother the same way, almost identical, 10 speed vs ford f150, man was drinking at the time, but cops said he was not impaired. Hit my brother from behind, not perpendicularly. At the time, 1979 it was legal to drink and drive in texas, it was called the "open container law", can you believe. This person never apologized to my family either, my parents were crushed and never really recovered. I had to move from San

Antonio due to my incessant desire to find this man and met out some vigilante justice, over the years i often wonder if this has caused this man any pain or remorse. Im glad I took the high road, but I like you fight daily to understand the lack of compassion on the part of this man, no he was not an RN , but his callousness to this day is disconcerting.

Thank you. I appreciate your input. I haven't really had the opportunity to find out all the details in depth yet, and it will take legal action to have access to it. I think I will pursue that much as I believe I need to have my questions answered or I will never have closure.

What a world we live in, that the family of a deceased child isn't allowed to see complete reports, recordings, etc., without a court order.

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freedom of information act should open many doors for you without a court order

Specializes in ICU, CM, Geriatrics, Management.

Responding to the posted question only: Believe most States require drivers involved in accidents to remain on the scene and to render aid.

"Render aid" has been defined to include attempting to call for help (eg, 9-1-1).

Specializes in CCU,ICU,ER retired.

I once witnessed a small truck with 10 people in it roll abour 3 times on an interstate in the desert 50 miles from anywhere. We were the folks behind them. I was, at the time a trained nurse for ER and ICUS I stopped immediatey. There were injuries from scratches to flail chest to nasty head wounds.The guy with the flail chest got me first,he had a head wound as well. I felt as a trained nurse I HAD to stop. It took 20-30 min just for the CHP just to get there and another 15 min for choppers and ambulances to get there. Most of the guys that were in the wreck disappeared into the desert. In the end only 6 went to ER's. I just don't get why a nurse would not stop. As a professional We have the skills to stop if there are no EMS there. ABC's is all it takes,plus helping wth bleeding. Basic care anywhere.

I have lost a child and I know the horrific pain it causes. God bless you.

Thank you! I am so glad you wrote in. FINALLY, someone who completely gets it. My son was also hit from behind, and we believe her phone distracted her and she crossed the center and hit him as he was traveling in the other lane, against traffic. So much good evidence that should have been acted on and wasn't.

God bless you, lost my 13 year old brother the same way, almost identical, 10 speed vs ford f150, man was drinking at the time, but cops said he was not impaired. Hit my brother from behind, not perpendicularly. At the time, 1979 it was legal to drink and drive in texas, it was called the "open container law", can you believe. This person never apologized to my family either, my parents were crushed and never really recovered. I had to move from San

Antonio due to my incessant desire to find this man and met out some vigilante justice, over the years i often wonder if this has caused this man any pain or remorse. Im glad I took the high road, but I like you fight daily to understand the lack of compassion on the part of this man, no he was not an RN , but his callousness to this day is disconcerting.

We'll never know, and that is what really hurts. In my grief group there are parents with children that lived long enough on life support that their parents and friends at least got to touch them and say goodbye; and some were able to donate organs. I thought about the lost opportunity not only to try to save my son, and a chance to say goodbye, but also a lost opportunity for him to donate his organs. He would for sure have wanted to have done that. My husband and I are both organ donors.

All RNs have knowledge of basic life support, cpr, and first aid. Simple pressure to a wound would have stopped or at least slowed the blood flow, no excuse for this at all. I understand shock might be a factor but if you caused the accident, and your an RN and you have no reason to feel guilty (liquor / drugs) then you have to respond to the scene in some fashion. I hope this young man did not die simply from lack of basic first aid, that just compounds the RNs behavior
Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

If I had caused or been involved in the accident, of course I would be there assisting to the best of my abilities and within the scope of my practice. It would be unethical--as well as a crime--to leave the scene of an accident that I caused.

If I was not involved in any way whatsoever with the accident, my rendering assistance would be determined based on 1. who was already there; 2. what assistance I could offer; and 3. if stopping to render assistance would in any way jeopardize my own safety.

To explain #3 better: I was once driving home alone at 2am when I saw a guy lying face down in the grass on the side of the road. I stopped the car but stayed inside, kept the motor running and the doors locked: a female going up to a man on the side of the road at 2am is NOT safe by any stretch of the imagination. I tried to see if he was breathing, if there were obvious injuries...couldn't really tell. When I was calling the police, he got up and walked off. Appeared fine though somewhat under the influence. But even if he appeared worse off than he actually was, there was no way I would approach him without other help present, as doing so alone could have put me in danger. I would have waited until that other help arrived.

At the very least, I would call 911 no matter what the situation is. And depending on the situation, that's all I may be able to do.

I'm sorry for your loss.

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