Massholes
- Thread starter lemon
- Start date
But it IS a valid point, especially considering that situation. It's very likely they all know about this bridge and know how small/narrow the area is and to GTFO to keep from getting in the way of official emergency vehicles.
Nowadays it is. People were sue-happy even before the market crash in 2008 and they are even more so now. Looking for "easy money" through litigation, slip and fall, perceived negligence, work-related injuries, you name it. If there is a reasonable chance you can look wronged you could get money.
And when possible death or injury is involved it gets worse. Car accident ahead of you, someone swerves off the road and hits a tree. You manage to avoid a collision, but being the good Samaritan you are to pull over and check. Driver is a kid and he looks badly injured. You call 911, but you kind of can't wait can you? This looks awful and you can't sit and wait for police and paramedics to show up and he needs help NOW. So you do what you can, try not to move him if you can help it, administer CPR, maybe a first aid kit in your car used to bandage up some wounds. Two outcomes? He lives or he dies. Death first.
No matter what you did for him the paramedics and fire dept arrive on-scene, and he either is DOA to the hospital or dies shortly after being admitted. Since you were there and police took a statement from you the kid's family, in their grief, now attempt to blame YOU for the death. Maybe you weren't fully trained in CPR, maybe your help aggravated an internal injury that could have lead to his death. Heck since you were behind him maybe you had your brights on and distracted him. It may not be a lot but it is at least enough for a civil lawsuit. After all the family lost a member, and SOMEONE needs to pay for that. So now you are losing time, effort, and money to lawyers, court dates, and quite simply defending yourself for being a good Samaritan. And who knows how long the case could last, how much money you'll need for legal aid. And if you lose, which is likely since civil lawsuits don't require "beyond a shadow of a doubt" to prove anything, you'll also be paying THEM on top of all that.
Your aid succeeded and that driver survives his accident. But the injuries are more extensive than one thought. Paralysis, back injury, loss of a limb, even going into a coma. Kid could be crippled for the rest of his life and you guessed it, SOMEONE has to pay. Maybe you moved him wrong trying to save his life and now he lost the use of his legs. Trying to treat an injury results in a blood clog and loss of circulation result in an amputation. Well now you could get dragged into court for THAT as well, all because you try to do the right thing you are accused of wrong-doing.
Even then there's other reasons people won't render aid. Maybe they have outstanding tickets or an arrest warrant out and they'd rather not have the cops show up and have it come over on a background check could bring unwanted attention. Or the accident makes it nearly impossible to get to the driver. Not to mention your car could block other vehicles, especially the emergency ones.
I'm not saying you shouldn't stop and help people but simply to explain why a lot of people now simply don't. It's a lot more complicated now that simply trying to help.
^This is exactly what happened to my friend. He was driving and encountered a car that went off of the road and into a tree. He pulled over to the side and could see the driver was still in the vehicle, not moving and bloody. The car was completely totaled and there was a small fire coming from the engine. My friends first instinct was to get the driver out of the car in case the entire thing caught fire and call 911. He tried his best to carefully remove the person, even though the front end was completely crushed. He eventually got the guy out and the paramedics showed up after the car was completely on fire. They took him to the hospital where they were able to stabilize him. It turns out he was drunk driving and my friend saved his life.
How does the driver thank my friend? By suing him for medical bills related to his pre-existing back injuries in a civil suit. His claim was that somehow my friend made his back worse by removing him from the car after his accident.
In other words, this guy needed another source of income to pay for his medical bills and that new source was my friend. His choice was to shell out thousands to defend himself for who knows how long or a little less to settle, so that's what he did.
He said if this ever happened to him again, he'd just keep driving. I can't really blame him.
How does the driver thank my friend? By suing him for medical bills related to his pre-existing back injuries in a civil suit. His claim was that somehow my friend made his back worse by removing him from the car after his accident.
In other words, this guy needed another source of income to pay for his medical bills and that new source was my friend. His choice was to shell out thousands to defend himself for who knows how long or a little less to settle, so that's what he did.
He said if this ever happened to him again, he'd just keep driving. I can't really blame him.
People that do this (file suit after someone saved them) need their shit kicked in. Honestly, if someone saved me, I'd be fucking grateful. It's like no one cares about the value of life anymore. Bunch of sensitive babies whining about dumb shit and caring more about someone who punched a dog than someone who murder a human. It's retarded and backwards.