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Man's death triggers help-or-not-to-help debate
By Pan Zheng |
December 17, 2010, Friday
|
Online Edition
Online Edition
THE family of a 78-year-old man living in a residential community in Shenzhen planned to sue the property management company for its negligence when the old man fell on road in the complex and died as no one helped him, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported today.
Xiao Yusheng was found lying on the road of this gated community at about 1:20pm on Wednesday with a broken nose and forehead. However, for about 20 minutes no one tried to help or call the ambulance. When a security guard eventually called the police, it was too late.
Xiao's family held the property management company responsible for Xiao's death because the security guard failed to help, while the company claimed they had done nothing wrong.
The company said the security guard didn't try to get Xiao up because he feared improper move might aggravate the old man's injury. But Xiao's family said the guard should at least call the ambulance or turned Xiao over so that he could breathe easily.
An online survey involving 1,414 participants showed 83 percent of them would not help the man to get up and 67.4 percent would call the ambulance.
"It's not that we're inhumane, but other's experiences have taught us to protect ourselves," one said in an online comment. "These days if we help a fallen old person to get up, we might be charged for compensation."
More people cited a well-known case in Nanjing in 2007 when a young man, Peng Yu, helped a fallen old woman to get up but she insisted that it was Peng who knocked her down in the first place and sued him for compensation. Eventually, the court asked Peng to pay her 45,000 yuan (US$6,751).
"We still lack a law to protect the warm-hearted people," said Zhao Wei, director of training at the Shenzhen Emergency Center. "However, even if people dare not to help or don't know how to help, they should at least help call the ambulance."
Xiao Yusheng was found lying on the road of this gated community at about 1:20pm on Wednesday with a broken nose and forehead. However, for about 20 minutes no one tried to help or call the ambulance. When a security guard eventually called the police, it was too late.
Xiao's family held the property management company responsible for Xiao's death because the security guard failed to help, while the company claimed they had done nothing wrong.
The company said the security guard didn't try to get Xiao up because he feared improper move might aggravate the old man's injury. But Xiao's family said the guard should at least call the ambulance or turned Xiao over so that he could breathe easily.
An online survey involving 1,414 participants showed 83 percent of them would not help the man to get up and 67.4 percent would call the ambulance.
"It's not that we're inhumane, but other's experiences have taught us to protect ourselves," one said in an online comment. "These days if we help a fallen old person to get up, we might be charged for compensation."
More people cited a well-known case in Nanjing in 2007 when a young man, Peng Yu, helped a fallen old woman to get up but she insisted that it was Peng who knocked her down in the first place and sued him for compensation. Eventually, the court asked Peng to pay her 45,000 yuan (US$6,751).
"We still lack a law to protect the warm-hearted people," said Zhao Wei, director of training at the Shenzhen Emergency Center. "However, even if people dare not to help or don't know how to help, they should at least help call the ambulance."
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