My co-workers watched as a girl died

O....M....G. I cant believe these people could just stand around and watch a girl die. Its absolutely disgusting. They were no freinds of hers if they just stood there. It must of been traumitising for you to try and help her when they just stood there....unbeliveble

If anything, I think YOU should sue.

I presume this is a call center you are talking about or a "service center" as they like to be called nowadays.

With a staff of 100 or more, at any time, they should have at least 1 dedicated nurse. that's not law however, but just common sense.

Maybe everyone can gather their grievances nd run it by a mid to high scale (I HATE to say it) lawyer.

YOU shouldn't have been left in the position. PERIOD.

This is PATHETIC!! There would be nothing slight of absolute anger in me and the purest pity for all of them. I hope that any one of them had a CPR certificate, because that alone gives them grounds to prosecute that person with absolute impunity. Untrained people have an excuse for lack of CPR action, but not lack of action.

I would go to that business everyday and put a sign on the front door that reads "Murderers Row...Enter at Risk of Your Life". Let them see it when they arrive in the mornings or when a customer comes in. I would NEVER go back to work there. If you think you need that job, you are wrong. You should demand the company compensate you for the trauma you suffered at the hands of those self-absorbed, demonic beings. Use that to go get another job.

If I ever walked up on a scene like that, I have no idea how I would explode. It would be hard enough to concentrate just on the primary victims while making a list of future victims.

What Has This World Devolved In To?

Some step up

some don't, for whatever reason

That's what it comes down to in the end.

I'm in Australia too. Aussies aren't uncaring people, generally speaking. But like everywhere else, Oz has its share of the timid, those lacking initiative, those who're slow to react, those who step back and leave things for others to handle. If you ask them why they failed to step up, they'll tell your their reasons and those reasons are .. to them .. reasonable, logical.

I haven't seen this case in the news here. Maybe it was kept private .. don't know.

It sounds utterly incredible to me that this situation occurred. Beyond belief almost. Maybe when the OP returns, he/she can link to a news report about the incident.

Generally speaking, despite exceptions I know for a fact to have occurred, Aussies are more of the step-up than step-back variety.

Added to which there's the 'one in twenty' rule of thumb, i.e. on average, one in every twenty is a leader, takes the initiative, 'steps up' to the plate in any situation. As there were two trained officers present, according to the OP, plus 30 observers, this situation, if it occurred as related, is an exception to the rule, sadly for the girl.

I dare say this best be a Halloween story..


Because you would have a group of people around 30... All standing in a circle as this person dies.... Out of 30 only two have the CPR training and they do not use it because they do not want to be sued. SUED FOR BRINGING A DEAD PERSON BACK TO LIFE.... TO be honest I think the dead have few rights so I am not sure of the precedent Considering one only commits CPR on plastic dummies and the DEAD!!

As for the family and if they die anyways.... Well.. CPR works or it doesn't. If it works everyone is happy if it doesn't work At least you tried until more competent folks got there...


Then this poster is brand new too....And can preform cpr for HOW FRIGGIN LONG... My word my complements you must be super buff... My brother in law could go for 40 minutes .. But he knows better.. He has the highest save rate in the Austin EMS (and you stat hunters may be able to find my name Good luck with that)

So I say halloween story..

Am I right?

[edit on 17-10-2008 by titorite]

I've posted twice with "clues" for people to search for some explanations....maybe I'm just getting cold in my old age but this just didn't seem a realistic account.

If it did occur exactly as told and actually happened to the OP well...then good.

I must be heartless and just plain mean...but I called BS pretty much right away.

*sigh* I feel mean now

Okay I'm over it

Ok, maybe I am off here, but I am going to call BS. I don't believe the story. If this happened, there should be a news report, especially if the parents decide to sue. Nobdy performing CPR is bad enough, but no one even calling an ambulance. I find this too hard to believe.

If this is true, you should call a newspaper. A story like this should be told.

Personally, I couldn't go on working with people like this if something like this happened.

If the story is true, and why shouldn't it be? then I think that many of those people will often wonder why they didn't do the most normal thing and give aid in some way.

They will live with it till the grim reaper comes for them.

reply to post by poet1b


Stuff like that happen all the time. There are vids of people being hit by cars etc, and the people around them do absolutely nothing. There is one vid in particular of this happening, and it was very popular for quite some time.

Reading the story got me angry...very angry. If I were the OP...I would have been sued, after I beat the hell out of some of the other people who stood there and did nothing but stare. Trust me...if that were me in your position...I'd have gotten sued.

[edit on 17-10-2008 by sdrawkcabII]

They had a defibrilator? There were trained 1st aid responders who didn't do anything?

There's definitely something wrong there.

reply to post by badmedia


I disagree. If people thought they would get sued for NOT helping, they'd be more likely to help, or at least call 911 then they would tell them what to do. Aren't there "Good Samaritan" laws that protect people from being sued under such circumstances?

I'm sure the parents would rather have the daughter back than any amount of money. Perhaps they'll donate a lot of it to charity, or to campaign for more awareness in regards to Good Samaritan laws... Sometimes that sort of thing happens.

reply to post by Star kitten


it's only my opinion obviously :

this is life changing experience,
resign, take 3/4 weeks holidays close to nature to digest
and move-on

you'll get very easily a much better job in an environment with real people

reply to post by sdrawkcabII



I don' t know, a young woman dying of a heart attack, where she works, as thirty people stand around and watch, and no one even calls an ambulance? This is too much, these people would have to be a bunch of zombies. If people driving past a guy laying in the road can make it to international news, this story should be even bigger.

Originally posted by badmedia
Terrible story. But I think her parents are wrong to sue. Not that I agree with them just standing around. But because they are merely looking for revenge through financial means, with a bonus for themselves in wealth.

No matter if they realize it or not, they are doing the exact thing that possibly caused their daughters death in the first place if those people were worried about being sued.

suing is not always for financial reasons...its in some cases the only way to punish these cowards..its a shame they cant be locked up for manslaughter..

if they are sued others in the future may think twice before doing nothing...if the parents do nothing their cowardly actions will be justified..

reply to post by poet1b


That is because most people who work in such call centers WISH they were dead. Believe me, I worked in one and quit after 5 years because of the stress. MY chest would be all tight by the end of the day. It was terrible being screamed at all day. I am surprised there isn't more of this. And yes, her co workers most likely were zombies.

that is a terrible story. I wouldn't go back to that office if it was me. what if that was you laying there? Anyway most states here in the U.S. have Good Samaritan laws and you can't be sued for rendering aid in an emergency even if the actions you take harm or kill the person in distress. On another note the state i live in also has a law that if you are certified in CPR and first aid and you fail to render aid you CAN be sued for not helping.

So that is something the family should look into. You said atleast 2 people were certified in CPR then they should have helped her and at the very least they should be the ones sued for not helping her.

mmm and you know most obits are online as well.

And yes!!! as I've said a few times now LOL...with THAT many people involved it WOULD be in the news it simply would. Any other Ozzies hear about it? Even the Prime AU newspapers had nothing...nadda.

I doubt that it would be kept quiet for even a day or two with that kind of negligence.

Edited to add...this is from the Australian Broadcasting Corp. ABC

general search terms of "27 year old woman dies"

and if you look at the AU news papers and other online media they are no different than any other...everything is newsworthy....why not this?

[edit on 10/17/2008 by justgeneric]

Here in Canada we have a good samaritan law whereby if somebody attempts to help save the life of another who is in danger, they cannot come back and sue them. There are circumstances where one can sue, but they are very rare. They deal with somebody who has limited medical training attempting a procedure that is beyond their training or ability, like attempting a tracheotomy at the side of the highway or something like that. Other than that, even if the person screws up and causes injury or makes matters worse, they still cannot be sued because their intent was to try and help. It's because of that law that I am certified in first aid/CPR, knowing that I can actually help make a difference in an emergency, and cannot be dragged off to court and sued for millions if I do help.

I'm not sure if you have it in the USA, but in Canada it's a provincial jurisdiction, and works very well.

Originally posted by poet1b
Ok, maybe I am off here, but I am going to call BS. I don't believe the story. If this happened, there should be a news report, especially if the parents decide to sue. Nobdy performing CPR is bad enough, but no one even calling an ambulance. I find this too hard to believe.

If this is true, you should call a newspaper. A story like this should be told.

Personally, I couldn't go on working with people like this if something like this happened.

I was going to call bs but I thought better of it and instead asked why it took 20 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. I thought that might draw out the truth a bit. I live in the states and I know our response time is two minutes, that's because my mom is ill and she gets a trip to KU about once a month via an ambulance when she's unconcious.

But hey, in case it's true, I also stated the parents should sue the ambulance company for being so slow, unless of course this happened in the "bush". That's what they call it down there right?

reply to post by Star kitten


That's so terrible. I had to give CPR to a mother of 2 children who committed suicide, she might have been dead for over an hour but when I arrive I gave CPR until the ambulance arrived. Didn't help that I knew she was probably already dead, not a fun experience.

I can't believe people would just watch someone die like that, at least you did something, even if it was too late, as you know the first few minutes are the most important. The fact they didn't even call 9-11 is a total shock.