Well, I live in Europe and can assure you that they will only send an ambulance if they think it necessary, which is not always. People are normally expected to get to the emergency room themselves if possible.
Did it not occur to anyone that the swimmers could safely stay inside adjacent to an exit and not leave unless they saw actual smoke, fire, or other signs that it was more hazardous to remain in the building than to be undressed in the parking lot.
Do swimming pools often burn down, then?
Lets try to reduce the amount of STUPID people involved in education, shall we?
The article states that faculty offered her their cars. Why would a teacher be fired?
I vote we use Altermeyerās RWA test.
You know, there are some things that are worth saying āfuck itā for, bring on the lawsuit, bring on a potential firing. If a child is LITERALLY freezing in front of you act like a goddamned human and help the poor thing out regardless of potential consequences.
It truly is the definition of selfish if you are willing to let anyone, but especially a child, languish in the cold because you are worried about what may happen to you.
No idea on the statistics but my local pool (when I lived in Winchester uk) did indeed burn down. The presence of a large puddle of water does not prevent a building burning.
So just what would they have done if the student had been in the shower and run out naked? Imagine the head 'splosions.
She had been in swim class when the fire-bell rangā¦
This is one of those rare situations where someone would probably be better off in the burning building. Comfy, even.
Actually frostbite can result in permanent nerve damage in the affected areas. Most commonly with mild frostbite itās just increased sensitivity to the cold in the affected areas. Hopefully she just got frostnip or very mild frostbite and will make a full recovery.
Added note, based on data from weather underground the wind chill at the time of the alarm was -22F. (-5 deg, 10MPH winds). Per NOAA in those conditions frostbite occurs in 15 minutes or less. Throw in the extra evaporative cooling effect of being soaking wet Iām surprised she doesnāt have frostbite across more of her body.
Gross negligence and the very real potential of long term injury, you bet Iād be consulting with a good lawyer. Unfortunately thatās the only way big organizations like this learn these days. If a full recovery without long-term damage is made then giving them a chance to make meaningful reforms prior to filing is totally in order before suing.
Fear is a hell of a drug.
I donāt know where in Europe you live, but over here in Germany they will send an ambulance, when people request one.
They may ask a little bit when you report a āhelpless personā, i.e. drunk, to determine if sending a police car will suffice, but they will send one.
I doubt this. You may not burn, but you can suffocate nicely.
Fair enough. I live in Denmark, and two times Iāve been asked to bring people in by car in situations where I really would have preferred an ambulance. Once my son had a case of intoxication and I directly asked them to send an ambulance, but they said āNo, we wonāt do thatā, and I had to take a cab because I didnāt have a car at the time.
When I broke my ankle on slippery ice two years ago the ER even tried to convince the bystanders that I could probably sit up in a car so that we could order a cab, but in the end they caved and sent an ambulance. So āEuropeā is a big place, I suppose.
Granted, Iām mostly working on my own experiences here, but I have never even heard someone telling that an ambulance stalled for time or asked people to come in themselves.
This was in urban areas, though - I can imagine that it makes a bit of sense to triage in less populated areas (though I think Denmark is more or less as varaible as Germany in this matter) to have people come on their own if they can, because it is potentially faster and frees the ambulance for life-or-death cases.
Myself, Iād probably drive to the ER room myself (or let my wife) drive unless I feel that even the transport, too. But Iād be mightily pissed if some dispatcher told me to drive my kid if it had drunk something poisonous.
Thereās also the matter than one doesnāt actually know where to drive to - the nearest hospital could be the wrong choice. That actually happened to use some years ago.
My father in law was feverish and had some stomach pains, for no discernible reason. My wife insisted on visiting the hospital, (well, I did to, but who listens to me) due to her own experiences the year before that.
So they checked their memory and we drove to the city to find - a hospital w/out an emergency service, as most of the hospital had been relocated to another facility in the outskirts. Another 20 minutes to drive.
An ambulance wouldāve brought him directly to the ER, someone would have probably checked on him faster (he could walk and talk, thatās bad, when you checkin in yourself) and yes, he got operated on him the same night.
I might have been pissed, I suppose, but there was no time for any of that, I just had to get out of the door ASAP. Plus, he was not unconcscious, so there was probably no imminent danger. An ambulance wouldāve been good, though, to rule that out.
But I suppose itās also a question of availabilty. We used to live in Aarhus, which is a large urban conglomeration, and I imagine the system is under a very varying degree of pressure. Rush hour in the ER = difficult to send an ambulance to non-Life or Death situations.
āWonāt somebody think of the children?ā
āIām tryyyiiing-ā
Why couldnāt the teacher start the car, put the heat on full blast, GET OUT OF IT, tell the child to get in the back seat, with a jacket or two to keep warm, and then stand there next to the back door waiting for a better solution to show up and call for assistance?
Itās not that hard to show youāre doing a person a favor and not taking advantage of them.
My guess is that any good lawyer will tell you this is a nominal damages, or close to nominal damages, situation. Frostbite can cause lasting harm, but according to the source, sheās actually going to be okay. Itās not enough to get a verdict in your favor, damages must be proven. Sheās probably on some generic painkillers, whatās that worth? Ten bucks? I donāt know enough about St. Paul courts to say how they evaluate punitive damages, but I donāt see it. For that, usually conduct has to be reprehensible and deliberate in a way that doesnāt fit the facts. Reason won out in the end in this case and someone did let her into a car. Itās not āgross negligenceā
Suing for what then? Itās not a moot court, you have to sue for something. If they make meaningful reform, itās a fait-accompli and I donāt see a claim upon which relief can be granted beyond what is likely to be a few measly medical bills.
