Posted on 07/04/2012 3:58:33 PM PDT by dayglored
Six Florida lifeguards have lost their jobs for backing a coworker's decision to save a man struggling in the surf but outside their jurisdiction.
Tomas Lopez , 21, was fired Monday for vacating his lifeguarding zone to save a man drowning in unprotected waters 1,500 feet south of his post on Hallandale Beach, Fla.
"I knew I broke the rules," said Lopez, who ran past the buoy marking the boundary of his patrol zone to help the man. "I told the manager, I'm fired aren't I?"
Lopez said he jumped into the water and "I double underhooked him…I was worried about the guy and his health. He was blue."
Six of Lopez's coworkers said they would have done the same thing. And now, they've been fired too.
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(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
But the, IMO, the original agreement is what is flawed. I don't think it's reasonable to ask, or to agree, to watch another human being in trouble, suffer and die.
What happens in an out of control tort system where lawyers have no limits...
“The company has to find some more lifeguards, but they too did the right thing. “
The company did what their lawyers told them to do.
Doubtless true.
The very same lawyers that required such a horrible restriction in the first place.
Well, they may be within the provisions of their contract, but it sounds like Jeff Ellis and Associates need to be put out of business.
I wonder, if the lifeguard had stayed at his post, and the man had drowned, would the lifeguard, or his company, be sued successfully by (say) the man's family?
That's the (only) sense in which I meant that the company did the right thing by firing the lifeguard.
> ... but it sounds like Jeff Ellis and Associates need to be put out of business.
Or at least get some new/better lawyers.
Maybe they need a new rule that lawyers have to wear purple bathing suits, and lifeguards are not permitted to save them.
He broke the rules of Jeff Ellis and Associates, the aquatic safety contractor.
Looks like to me he obeyed the rules that exist far above Jeff Ellis and Associates.
Perfect example of Matthew 6:20 and Tomas has nothing to worry about.
Nor do the other five.
On the other hand, J.E. and Asso.?
Not so good.
.
And if the man gets hurt while being saved he can sue too.
And this is why our tort system is just crushing businesses. FYI - Trial Lawyers are some of the biggest campaign contributors with most of the money going to democrats.
I wonder, if the lifeguard had stayed at his post, and the man had drowned, would the lifeguard, or his company, be sued successfully by (say) the man's family?
I’m confused by the article.
First....”Lopez said he jumped into the water and “I double underhooked him....”
Then....”By the time Lopez arrived on the scene, other beachgoers had dragged the unconscious man ashore and started CPR....”
What exactly did Mr Lopez do?
This isn't the usual "pro-life" situation, as it involves an adult rather than a baby. But all life is sacred in the eyes of God, and I think it raises a valid moral values issue.
Is a contract valid or morally defensible, that requires an individual to watch another human being suffer and die, when they are trained to save them?
Thanks for your consideration.
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No more than they could successfully sue you for not saving him. |
I wonder, if the lifeguard had stayed at his post, and the man had drowned, would the lifeguard, or his company, be sued successfully by (say) the man's family?I don't know, but if someone would have drowned in his area while he was saving the other guy, I guarantee his company would have been sued.
Still think he did the right thing, though.
Good question. Not particularly well-written description, or perhaps some stories got crossed -- there were four authors on this story and it may not have been edited properly. Hard to imagine doing CPR while the man is still in the water, though possibly he was in shallow water.
Budget cuts force Calif. police and firemen to watch man drown
Posted on 06.1.11
Police and firemen in Alameda, California watched a man drown on Monday after realizing they did not have proper certifications for water rescue, leaving them open to possible lawsuits if they attempted to save him.
The drowning victim, 53-year-old Raymond Zack, was apparently suicidal, according to a report from the scene. He waded out about 150 yards into cold waters off Crown Beach in Alameda and took about an hour to drown himself.
A crowd of about 75 gathered to watch the bizarre scene, which saw police and firemen just standing at shoreline watching helplessly. After the man had drowned, authorities couldn’t even go into the surf to retrieve the body. They instead recruited a passer-by for the job.
City officials reportedly blamed the incident on budget cuts and said they would have a discussion about why Alameda, an island city, does not have proper authorization to rescue people from the waters surrounding it.
Precisely. And therein lies the reason the lawyers required the restriction, and set up the moral dilemma for the lifeguard.
That sounds a bit like the bunch that watched a man’s home burn down because he hadn’t paid the juice they required before putting it out.
“Hallandale Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida”
Enough said!
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