Can you call an ambulance for somebody without their consent?

NorthCascades

I went to the gym to spend my lunch hour swimming laps. As I was getting ready to turn into the plaza parking lot, somebody was coming down the sidewalk, about to cross the driveway. His leg was in a cast and on a walker. He stopped to let me go first, but he had the right of way, so I waved him to go. He did, or started to, a car came way too fast out of nowhere and hit him hard. I heard a terrible crunching noise.

I left my car where it was and ran to help the guy. People behind me lost their *kitten*, because they to go around.

The guy was obviously in shock. It wasn't obvious whether he was injured or not. To me, the only thing to do is go to the hospital, and that seemed really clear. But not to him. He struggled to get up, I had to lift him to his good foot. The driver was beside herself with remorse, she was real helpful too. I've been hit by a car on my bike, I know what it is to be hurt and confused and not understand what's happening, and I could see it in his face.

He just wanted to go home. I kept telling him he needs to see a doctor, they'll do x-rays, they'll have pain medicine, you might feel ok now but you'll want it in an hour. I offered to go pick up his wife or girlfriend or anyone else and bring them to to him. I took his phone, added my number as a contact with the name "witness."

I managed to talk him into going to the hospital. The lady that hit him drove, so he wouldn't have to wait for the ambulance to arrive (or pay $1,000 for the ride).

In the moment I didn't feel like I could call 911 without his permission. But it was clear that he wasn't able to make that decision at the time. I really hope I never see anything like this again, but, if I do, can I just call the ambulance immediately?

YvetteK2015

No, you don't need his permission. Once on the scene, the patient can refuse the trip to the hospital, and if the EMTs feel comfortable releasing him, they will. He doesn't have to pay for the ride to the hospital. But they might find evidence of trauma that a lay person can't tell, so they are the best people to evaluate and make that call. So if something like that happens, no, you don't need permission. Call.

crackpotbaby

You can call the ambulance.

Whether he chooses to go to hospital for assessment or treatment is up to him, unless the paramedics think he is too injured (like unconscious, delerious, etc) to make up that decision in which case they can take him anyway.

.......


Think about it a person unconscious on the footpall can't give consent, but you can still ring an ambulance as it's a medical emergency.

usmcmp

You can call 911 without their permission, whether they are alert or unconscious. They have the right to deny care when the first responders arrive.

bametels

Depending on where you live there may indeed be a fee for an ambulance. The cost might be covered, at least in part, by your medical insurance policy

NorthCascades

Thanks everyone.

zachbonner_ wrote: »

yes otherwise you wouldn't be allowed to call an ambulance for a passed out person

I think it's a little different because he kept saying he thought he was ok and didn't need anything but to get out of there. But it's still a good point, and I guess it's also a good point people have raised, that he would be able to deny care when they arrived, but I still would have done my duty as a human being by calling them.

Noreenmarie1234

Of course you can! You should ALWAYS call 911 after you witness an accident.

stanmann571

Where are you that someone hit by a car pays for their own ambulance?

That's the obligation of the insurance of the at fault driver.

JeromeBarry1

As others have said, you don't need his permission. He has the right to refuse ambulance transport. You have the right to summon EMS. His rights vis EMS do not supercede your rights (and legal obligations, in some jurisdictions).

jenilla1

He was probably afraid of going bankrupt from the medical bills. Several years ago, a family member of mine received a bill for $2,400 for a ride to the hospital - less than 1.5 miles away from his house. And that's small change compared to the price of the ER visit...

Need2Exerc1se

YvetteK2015 wrote: »

No, you don't need his permission. Once on the scene, the patient can refuse the trip to the hospital, and if the EMTs feel comfortable releasing him, they will. He doesn't have to pay for the ride to the hospital. But they might find evidence of trauma that a lay person can't tell, so they are the best people to evaluate and make that call. So if something like that happens, no, you don't need permission. Call.

Not sure where you live but where I'm from there is a pretty hefty fee for a ride in an ambulance. The injured person may not have to pay, but someone will.

GottaBurnEmAll

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

YvetteK2015 wrote: »

No, you don't need his permission. Once on the scene, the patient can refuse the trip to the hospital, and if the EMTs feel comfortable releasing him, they will. He doesn't have to pay for the ride to the hospital. But they might find evidence of trauma that a lay person can't tell, so they are the best people to evaluate and make that call. So if something like that happens, no, you don't need permission. Call.

Not sure where you live but where I'm from there is a pretty hefty fee for a ride in an ambulance. The injured person may not have to pay, but someone will.

I had an ambulance show up on scene after the police called them to triage after I fell in the street and got a nasty gash in my forehead (I just tripped over my feet and fell flat on my face one day while I was out walking).

That triage to tell me to go to a $35 urgent care visit where I got stitched up cost us $150.

I didn't want an ambulance called, but it was standard police procedure. I kind of wish the police hadn't been passing by!

Then there was the time I fell and broke my ankle very badly. You bet I was happy for the ambulance at that point. That was a bill we happily paid. It was a really bad fracture and I broke it going down the steps into the swimming pool. There was no way I could move on my own. I was happy people called for one then.

Oh, I just remembered another one. I was pregnant with my first and had hyperemesis. I was so sick I couldn't even stand up. My husband was over an hour away at work and the only nearby help was my elderly mother in law and her sister.

I needed to get to the ER to get IV fluids. She and her sister weren't strong enough to support me to get me to the car. Ambulance time! I didn't want it, she insisted and said she'd pay for it.

ccrdragon

GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

YvetteK2015 wrote: »

No, you don't need his permission. Once on the scene, the patient can refuse the trip to the hospital, and if the EMTs feel comfortable releasing him, they will. He doesn't have to pay for the ride to the hospital. But they might find evidence of trauma that a lay person can't tell, so they are the best people to evaluate and make that call. So if something like that happens, no, you don't need permission. Call.

Not sure where you live but where I'm from there is a pretty hefty fee for a ride in an ambulance. The injured person may not have to pay, but someone will.

I had an ambulance show up on scene after the police called them to triage after I fell in the street and got a nasty gash in my forehead (I just tripped over my feet and fell flat on my face one day while I was out walking).

That triage to tell me to go to a $35 urgent care visit where I got stitched up cost us $150.

I didn't want an ambulance called, but it was standard police procedure. I kind of wish the police hadn't been passing by!

Unfortunately, in this day and age of lawyers and 'sue happy' people, even the cops have to cover their *kitten* in situations like this. The same thing happened to my stepson - he got in a fight and punched out a window, the cops were called, an ambulance was called and it cost us $600 dollars...

ladyhusker39

Someone should also have called the police. A pedestrian was hit by a car. You always call the police for anything like that.

The woman who hit the pedestrian should also have called her insurance company. If something happens to this man later and he decides to sue she can have a much, much bigger problem on her hands with the police and her insurance not covering anything. You just never know.

NorthCascades

Great stuff in this thread. Sad that this is the kind of thing you have to be prepared to deal with in modern life. The town I work in seems to have especially aggressive drivers. The guy probably wasn't trying to let me go out of politeness, he probably thought I'd hit him if he didn't give up his right of way. It's a sickening irony that if I had gone and have him wait, he would have been out of harm's way when the other driver came around.

WickedPineapple

I've had to take Red Cross first aid/cpr training several times for my job. You might find this helpful.
http://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/first-aid/perfoming-first-aid/first-aid-steps

Timorous_Beastie

Call 911, and they'll send the police & ambulance. Someone can refuse care, but there'll at least be a police report of the incident. The driver's insurance should cover his medical expenses.

CSARdiver

You absolutely have the right to activate emergency response, but in this case the patient went to the hospital on their own. You did well - please continue to do so.

People in accidents (or any traumatic event) are rarely in their right minds due to the body's response to trauma. Blood to the extremities is limited, so people lose peripheral vision, hearing, cognitive thought, fine motor skills, and all higher reasoning.

Most Local/State laws have some manner of Good Samaritan laws in place to protect civilians from liability from taking reasonable actions to aid the injured. Need to check with your area to see what your laws are.

SuzySunshine99

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

YvetteK2015 wrote: »

No, you don't need his permission. Once on the scene, the patient can refuse the trip to the hospital, and if the EMTs feel comfortable releasing him, they will. He doesn't have to pay for the ride to the hospital. But they might find evidence of trauma that a lay person can't tell, so they are the best people to evaluate and make that call. So if something like that happens, no, you don't need permission. Call.

Not sure where you live but where I'm from there is a pretty hefty fee for a ride in an ambulance. The injured person may not have to pay, but someone will.

Yep. My husband was hit by a car and the ambulance ride to the hospital was $1800. We had to pay up front, and wait two years before a settlement from the driver's insurance company paid us back.