GD> I would never have believed anyone could be as callous as the general
 GD> public has become, if I hadn't had a very good friend go through a
 GD> similar situation.
It's almost to the point that it is every man, woman, and child for himself
or herself. The two biggest excuses I've heard from those with hearts of
stone is they might get sued or the person needing help might have aids.
First, the good samaritan laws work very well. The reason for this is quite
simple, nobody likes the thought of being left alone to die because someone
is afraid of being sued for a mistake. I've really not heard of a successful
law suit under the good samaritan laws. I've always been told that the only
chance for a winner would be for doing something really stupid, like flicking
your Bic around the gas tank to check for gas leaks.
The threat of aids and other diseases is real, but protective measures are
really common sense and require little or no training. Some are getting so
paranoid about disease that they think about wearing a full-body condom to
walk out of their house. Aids is really more difficult to catch than most
would imagine. In the case of an accident victim, it would not be a good idea
to do any of the following: 1) have sex; 2) drink their blood; 3) deal with
body fluids without protective gloves (i.e. blood, urine); 4) expose any of
your broken skin to bodily fluids from the victim.
There are basic first aid classes that provide the needed information to help
people with diseases. The precautions are really common sense, much like the
above paragraph. Very inexpensive CPR masks with one-way valves provide
protection for the rescuer. Most basic first aid kits contain what you need
to help the average injured person.
It is very sad that growing numbers of people now refuse to stop and render
aid for the two reasons mentioned here: 1) fear of law suit; 2) fear of
disease. Think about the possibility of you or a member of your family being
involved in an accident and needing something simple to save their lives.
Would you wish to teach them to yell at the top of their lungs, "I won't sue
you, and I don't have aids?" You know, I bet the other folks wouldn't believe
them. Would you want lawyers to have authorized emergency vehicles so that
they could respond to the scene and sign all of the necessary paperwork
before someone would be willing to help you? Would you really want a
situation where only the police, fire crews, and ambulance crews helped
injured people? The "Heart of Stone" problem is growing. There is an
excellent chance that you will become seriously injured some time in your
life, and you may need help to live. While you a laying there wondering if
anyone is ever going to stop to help you, just hope that the "Heart of Stone"
problem hasn't reached 100% yet. If nobody stops, just remember that you
wouldn't either (not talking about you Guy). If we ever get to the point that
police, fire, and ambulance crews are the only ones who will help, many
people will die needlessly, and many people will have needless permanent
disabilities.
Tom Rightmer - A Victims' Rights Advocate
... We have met the enemy and they are us. -Walt Kelly
--- Blue Wave/DOS v2.30
---------------