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Thu 23 Feb, 2012 05:51 pm
A friend of mine died a few years back, and it looked like a suicide, so everyone just came to terms with that. However, we later discovered he was with a few of his friends the night of his death. They dared him to walk across a short wall high on a parking structure. It had rained, so he slipped and fell, a deadly injury. His friends FLED THE SCENE, while also neglecting to assist in any way or call 9-1-1. Two people working there stayed with him while they waited for the ambulance they called to arrive. He died a few hours later after emergency surgery in the hospital. Would this be considered criminally negligent, and could this possibly be grounds for manslaughter charges? (It is your obligation that if you witness an accident, you are to call 911.)
@kmckown2126,
This dude certaily was
not with any "friends" when he came to his sad end.
As to the possible liability of the people he was with, let's hope one of the lawyers on A2k (e.g. joefrom chicago) see this thread and see it fit to answer.
@kmckown2126,
Quote:It is your obligation that if you witness an accident, you are to call 911.
I bet it depends on the state if there is a relevant "duty to rescue" law:
Quote:A duty to rescue is a concept in tort law that arises in a number of cases, describing a circumstance in which a party can be held liable for failing to come to the rescue of another party in peril. However, in the United States, it is rarely formalized in statutes which would bring the penalty of law down upon those who fail to rescue. This does not necessarily obviate a moral duty to rescue: though law is binding and carries government-authorized sanctions, there are also separate ethical arguments for a duty to rescue that may prevail even where law does not punish failure to rescue.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty_to_rescue
Yes, this is a question for an attorney. It's the kind of thing that we charge for. As in, you are asking someone to ply their trade for free.
If you would like to know about this, contact a lawyer and ask this question - and be prepared to pay for the advice. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh or I'm not being nice or whatever but I doubt that you ask a hairdresser to cut your hair for free just to see what it looks like, or ask your grocer for some free food so that you can taste it in order to see if you like it.
this is a complicated case so u need to talk to a lawyer and ask for an advise
u may need to find witnesses to prove the crime.
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