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If someone is dying and a bystander chooses not to help, should they be held responsible?

For example, a person is drowning. Another person can swim, but chooses not to act. Are they responsible for the death of the victim? What do you think?

silvereyes 8 Feb 8
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57 comments (26 - 50)

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3

Sort of a murder by passivity scenario. The hardest thing to prove would be intent; mens rea. Like resserts mentioned, intentional passivity could be disguised as fear or misreading the situation. "I thought he was joking."

3

In the case of a land victim. First you have to find out if they are Democrat or a Republican. If he's a Democrat then by all means you should call 911 and then try and stop the bleeding but if he's a Republican then you could just use a stick or your foot to slide him to the side of the road and go about your day.
Hint: Check the bumper stickers for fish or confederate flags, fuck those guys.

LOL you're dark 😀

3

Suppose someone was injured and a bystander stopped to give aid, the injured died and the aid that was given was shown to be the cause of the person's death, then what? Can the bystander be charged with murder, manslaughter or other crimes?

A lot of people don't want to get involved, even if they clearly would be in a position to help. Our suit-happy legal environment doesn't help in this case.

3

While it is hoped that if anyone can help, they would, it's no one's responsibility to "save" anyone else. So, no.

2

And there are tons of folk who just freeze up in a tough situation. I've seen it happen. Again if you are capable - do help. But if you aren't - probably better to just dial 911. (I've seen people too frozen to do that).

2

yes soms states have laws stating good sarmaritains must provide care and will not be held liable for doing so. in addition everyone should be thought cpr in school plus other techniques of savingb a life like chokeing,heart attack etc.You cannot be held liable if it puts your life in jeopardy.

2

Morally repugnant, maybe, but forcing or punishing someone for Not taking action is a slippery slope iindeed. In CPR classes they tell you, if you are right in tthe aisle at a store, you need to help because you took this course, but if you are in the next aisle, it is your choice.

2

if i am in alaska, & someone seems to be struggling in the icy waters of the yukon, the fact that i can swim wouldn't help either of us. i seem to recall a rule i learned many years ago in a first aid course: always make sure you are safe yourself, before attempting any rescue action. so it really depends on the individual situation, whether i feel capable of rescuing someone or not.

2

Not responsible legally no. But with how I am, I would imagine it would eat at the person for the rest of their life. If not, I dunno I guess they don’t have a soul.

Marc Level 4 Feb 9, 2018
2

There is something called the "Bystander Effect" which means the more people present when someone needs aid the less likely anyone is to do anything, everybody assumes someone else will do it. For similar reasons if you are ever attacked call "Fire" not "Help". Unfortunately it is human nature to assume someone else is better equipped to deal with the emergency and some people just freeze in panic anyway.
The problem with holding someone responsible is you don't know if they were capable of rendering aid in the first place, saying that I live in Australia and our culture leans much more to stepping up and doing something, less fear of litigation may be part of it.

Kimba Level 7 Feb 9, 2018
2

Well, Seinfeld and his gang were arrested mocking a robbery victim and doing nothing.
Just kidding.
It's not illegal to do nothing, but others will likely judge you if you do nothing.

When I was growing up my tiny younger sister rescued several people in front of everyone, while we all stood there.

Once, she suddenly snatched a toddler out of the road as a speeding car roared past. I hadn't even noticed the baby.

Another time, a baby fell off the end of a church pew in front of us, and she caught it before it hit the floor. When she put the baby back, the mother turned around, saw her settling the baby back on the seat, and gave my sister a dirty look.

A college guy was showing off how long he could hold his breath under water at a swimming pool and passed out, started drowning. None of us understood what was happening, but she dove in and began hauling his head out of the water, calling for us to help her.

As for saving someone who's drowning out in deep water, that's best left to experts, or extend a boat paddle, long branch, or throw a flotation device to them.

@silvereyes That's amazing!
As for my little sister, nobody was surprised when she became a nurse, and went on saving people.

2

Having taken first aid training, we learned California law doesn't require us to help, but we are actually legally liable if we begin assistance but then quit prematurely (without reason).

In the example, there could be reasons for declining to attempt a rescue. One thing to remember in that scenario, if the person floundering panics and causes the rescuer to struggle, the person that can swim just allows himself/herself to sink, and that should cause the victim to let go.

2

Not responsible legally, but maybe morally?

2

When it comes to a person drowning and a bystander CAN swim, it is a judgment call. I was a very good swimmer at one time, but have waxed old (74) with heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure. Also, a factor is the water temperature. If a person was drowning, I could very well drown myself if I entered the water under certain conditions. Also, when it comes to injuries, a person who is not trained may very well do the wrong thing (like pulling someone from a wreck that has a spinal injury), killing a person with good intentions...so in the end, it is better not to judge if someone seems not to be doing anything to help.

2

NO. That said if I was qualified to help I would. I can swim but not very well, float mostly so I would be useless and I would probably feel lousy I could not swim out to help. I would try to find a qualified lifeguard. If there was a surf board or some sort of flotation divice - am I over thinking this? lol

2

This is how fucked up our society is, we literally had to pass a law to protect Samaritans from litigation. Sure makes me not want to get involved.

2

No.

marga Level 7 Feb 8, 2018
1

As per me... Morally yes, legally - no.
From my moral perspective, not helping when you can qualifies very low on my personal scale, thus I will definitely lose respect for that person.
Yet moral is a subjective thing and from a legal point of view I would not prosecute the person in question - he/she may have acted, but still he/she wasn't what caused the accident in the first place.

1

Unfortunately, I have to say yes. And it torments me as I have been the bystander and wanted to just walk away .... I didn't.... I wanted to sleep at night.

1

I used to be an EMT working on an ambulance. (I will not name the state.) As a licensed EMT working for an ambulance, I was insured in case a did something which might have been the wrong decision. But after I left the ambulance service I was open to being sued if I helped someone and things went bad. I had to let my EMT licensing run out to allow me to help others in need of medical help. The "Good Samaritan Rule" states (in that state) that a common civilian can't be sued for trying to help if things don't work out. No matter what you do to help, not everyone will survive. And people love to blame someone at the loss of a loved one. Now I have the knowledge and can help without fear of useless legal costs.

1

Your example put in danger the swimmer of drowning too. One person in panic will grab and hold on to the rescuer, you need to be trained... I was trained over 40 years ago how to rescue a swimmer... you need not get close and see if responsive... You need to talk loud and clear and explain what you are going to do... or you can dive before getting to the individual and while accessing from their back grab them around back of knee level and turn them, you grab hard so they know you are in control, never face to face... you tell them what you are going to do and what you want them to do. If not able to follow instructions... you need to knock them out cold... break that jaw if you have to but you can not allow them to grab you. There are a number of other ways... if you can throw a life preserver, a stick, rope, etc.... There are laws in some states about "good samaritans". Last Seinfeld episode comes to mind. I am not a doctor so if you dying I may not be able to help you and then again at age 18, I did saved a life... someone from dying from a heroin overdose, me and my buddy administered a shot of salt water and put ice in his testicles. The woman present all she did was cry not knowing what to do. To me was what the "streets" taught me in that case scenario, he was a 28 year old american friend. I knocked on his door and he only let me in leaving my buddy outside... within seconds I heard him drop to the floor, cold... The woman said we just shot some heroin. So I let my buddy in and we went to work. No Big Deal to us. We have the "street knowledge" wouldn't apply to nothing else. But we saw that happening before. 1972 was the year. Experience can save a life.

1

I would help, but it is a personal choice. There is danger in saving a drowning person, or doing CPR, or whatever the situation is. Judgment as to whether by trying to help, you might compound the problem or delay response by someone equipped to handle a problem like that has to be made.

jeffy Level 7 Feb 9, 2018
1

Under normal circumstances yes but today with all the distrust amongst humanity, it's becoming more and more risky to help. You may help and end your lifeline for good. How did we get to this point as people?

1

If an intervention could have made a difference between life and death, and if the person knows how to conduct the intervention, yes.

1

Is there a moral obligation to do whatever is possible? Yes. Legal obligation? Not really, though it's a close call on the grounds of ethical/moral considerations. In some respects it could be considered a crime, just as leaving the scene of an accident might be an illegal act under specific conditions.

"A duty to rescue is a concept in tort law that arises in a number of cases, describing a circumstance in which a party can be held liable for failing to come to the rescue of another party in peril. In common law systems, it is rarely formalized in statutes which would bring the penalty of law down upon those who fail to rescue. This does not necessarily obviate a moral duty to rescue: though law is binding and carries government-authorized sanctions, there are also separate ethical arguments for a duty to rescue that may prevail even where law does not punish failure to rescue."

Would I do whatever was possible? Yes. I would also like to think any other human being would, but after looking at the comments already given, I'm not so sure.

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