Man Down! - What Would YOU Do?

[Rick-o]

Ok, I'll start by saying that this happened a few weeks ago at my Pop's Doctor's office. I dropped him at the door and backed in right across from the door. As people walk in and out, I look up from my iPad to see if it's my Pop, so I can swing over and save him a few steps.

An older man and his wife come out, and as I look up, (he was using a fancy walker with wheels, brake, and even a seat) he seemed to be struggling to keep up with his wife. After a few steps, he stumbles, then falls, and rolls over on his side.

It wasn't a particularly rough fall, and I see he didn't hit his head. His wife panics, runs in the office screaming her husband had fell just as I was getting out to help. Just as I got to him, I was trying to evaluate his condition, a guy jumps out of his truck, steps in front of me and grabs the guy like he's lifting a baby. As he was doing this, an older gentleman ran out of the office and grabbed the guy from the back. They almost didn't get him up, as his legs were tangled. I held the walker and steadied them as the first guy untangled his legs. Turns out, he had two artificial legs and had trouble getting them to move.

All turned out well, as the guy didn't have any injuries and didn't black out. By then there were a dozen people milling around, so I went back to my truck.

I keep replaying the incident over and over and I wonder if the guys who helped did the right thing. They didn't even ask the poor guy if he was all right or if he was injured or conscious. They just reacted. Was that the right thing to do?

What would YOU have done in this situation?

[JoeH]

They did not do the right thing. The right thing is to first ask and evaluate the person to see if he was injured. Even though he did not hit his head, there could have been other injuries.

[Michael]

JoeH wrote:
They did not do the right thing. The right thing is to first ask and evaluate the person to see if he was injured. Even though he did not hit his head, there could have been other injuries.

This.

[DP]

Michael wrote:
[quote=JoeH]
They did not do the right thing. The right thing is to first ask and evaluate the person to see if he was injured. Even though he did not hit his head, there could have been other injuries.

This.
This. And you should have yelled at those idiots to NOT move him until he was evaluated!

[Paul F.]

Everything I've ever been taught about first aid for a fall is; you do NOT move the person, and encourage them to just relax for a moment or two, so they can "catch up" with any pain, and determine if anything is injured, or if it was "just a fall" with no injuries.

A few weeks ago, I was the second person to an older ladies side when she did a face plant outside the grocery store. She lost consciousness briefly, and had a gusher coming out of her nose...

I told her to just stay still for a moment... then she realized her ankle hurt too.

Fortunately, not only did 137 people whip out their phones and start calling 911, but two off duty EMT's got there about 20 seconds after her face hit the pavement.

First thing THEY did was tell her not to move, and asked where it hurt.

They took it from there, and I got my groceries home.

You DON'T RUSH TO MOVE SOMEONE after a fall! Especially an older someone!

[Ombligo]

Definitely they were wrong.

First you evaluate the scene for safety, then secure it.
Next you establish if the patient is responsive and if so, ask if they need or want assistance.
if they are not responsive, call for assistance and begin administering first aid until trained personnel arrive.

In this case the man likely just needed a few moments to get his bearings and then minor assistance to stand and get inside. If he had neck or back injury, the person that picked him up could have done serious harm.

[testcase]

Situation needs to be assessed BEFORE moving victim (absent any exigent circumstances like lying across train track with train bearing down; close proximity to traffic/fire etc). The "helpers" and victim were lucky that further damage was not inflicted.

[OWC Larry]

Right or wrong - rather see people with their intentions in the right place. Learn the right thing to do and always have the best interest at heart. That said - good intentions can cause more harm than good on many an occasion.

[NewtonMP2100]

....Do The Right Thing......

[Numo]

So do I understand correctly that you shouldn't move someone immediately after a fall? :-)