If someone in your presence, started choking on food and because you did not intervene in any way, they choked to death.
Would you have commited a crime by not assisting them?.
2007-03-22 11:41:36 · 11 answers · asked by anteatersrus 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Technically if you saw someone choking ,
and did nothing
you would be committing a crime .
' manslaughter by negligence '
Unless you attempted, to help, to the best of your ability
eg.
call for help ( emergency services )
banging ( open hand ) on their back ,
( to dislodge the obstruction )
attempting the 'Heimlich ' technique ;
en-circling their waist from behind , then sharply ,
put pressure on the stomach ,
to dislodge the obstruction .
or
put victim in the recovery position, and try to remove obstruction in their mouth manually .
Anything less would be, considered ,
criminal negligence or even murder
Go to any good First Aid class ,
and get clued up, on emergencies , like this
you never know, when it may happen .
Take care
>^,,^<
2007-03-22 12:14:24 · answer #1 · answered by sweet-cookie 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I think it is more a question of morals than ethics. In some countries it would be considered a crime. I believe that is in France. Most other places you are not obliged to assist anyone. In fact if you did intervene with good intention and made the situation worse you could find yourself in trouble. If I am not mistaken it is called the Good Samaritan Law. Say for instance I saw someone who had collapsed and I suspected they had a heart attack and I began banging on the chest, as they do, to restart the heart again and I broke a rib which punctured a lung and the person died, and then it was found at a post mortem the person had only fainted from high blood pressure or something like that, would I be held responsible for the death, I believe the answer would be definitely yes. Have I committed a crime? Absolutely.
2007-03-25 22:19:03 · answer #2 · answered by Dr Paul D 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A civilian...I'm not sure. If the bystander was someone like...me...well, I'm an EMT...go figure. I am required by law to stop and render aid. It would be morally and ethically wrong for me to just walk on by. I am NOT protected by the Good Samaritan Law. As an EMT, I have emergency medical training. I KNOW what to do.
I would not even think about not stopping. I would do it. No question. I can see why a "normal" person might not help. If you don't know what you are doing or are afraid of repercussions, you might not want to get involved. That's understandable.
I would intervene.
2007-03-22 16:12:14 · answer #3 · answered by emt_me911 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you are a medic definitely yes. I actually saw someone choking to almost the point of stopping breathing. I intervened and removed the blockage. I would not have been able to live with myself if I just stood and watched.
2007-03-22 11:51:09 · answer #4 · answered by Lolipop 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Generally, no.
With the exception of certain individuals (police officers, some state-employed medics, or some professional caregivers) there is no duty to intervene.
Absent that duty, unless you actually caused the choking, you cannot be charged with a crime for not doing something.
2007-03-22 11:45:34 · answer #5 · answered by coragryph 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
No unless it could be proved you trained to assist them then it depending on the circumstances it could be a crime.For instance if you didn't help because you didn't like the person .It could in a lot of cases be a civil matter also and you could be sued for neglect if you were shown to be capable of assisting and neglected to do so.
2007-03-22 21:17:35 · answer #6 · answered by frankturk50 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well if you work for a hospital, and they died while you were supposed to care for them. Probably.
However, if they are a total stranger, and you owe no duty to care for them, you have no obligation to rescue someone and assist them so they wont die.
But say its a spouse. You owe an obligation.
The failure to help a stranger under these circumstances would lead some people to think you were a coward and totally insensitive.
2007-03-22 16:49:53 · answer #7 · answered by krollohare2 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
there is nothing illegal about not assisting someone. Manslaughter and murder most simply mean death at the hands of another. If your hands dont touch that person youre not responsible.
2007-03-22 11:54:04 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Probably not, but in my mind I would feel guilty that I hadn't even tried to do something to help. I'd like to think if it was me that someone would try to help me in some way even if they were not trained in some way.
2007-03-22 11:49:01 · answer #9 · answered by Alwyn C 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If it was someone i didn't like,i would sit there and watch 'em choke to death weather it was legal or not.Hell,i didn't put my hands around their neck and squeeze.
If the fool died while i was assisting him,his family would probably sue me anyway.
2007-03-22 11:51:02 · answer #10 · answered by SEA HAG 2 · 0⤊ 5⤋