US lifeguard fired after saving man...

[DJR-351]

Absolute madness!!! Bureaucracy gone mad....

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddS...an_768305.html

Thursday, July 05, 2012 » 08:52am

A young lifeguard in Florida has lost his job after rescuing a drowning man in a section of beach he was not assigned to patrol, local media reports.

Tomas Lopez, 21, was manning his post on Hallandale Beach, north of Miami, when a beach-goer alerted him to a swimmer struggling in an ' unprotected' part of the beach.

' It was a long run, but someone needed my help. I wasn't going to say no,' said Lopez, quoted on Wednesday by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper.

The unidentified man was rescued, then rushed to hospital where he remains in intensive care. But when Lopez went to file an incident report, he was fired for going 500 metres out of his assigned area.

' They didn't tell me in a bad way. It was more like they were 'sorry, but rules are rules',' Lopez said. ' I couldn't believe what was happening.'

' We have liability issues and can't go out of the protected area,' explained a supervisor for the private contractor that supplies lifeguards for Hallandale Beach, a popular destination for Canadian winter holiday makers.

' What he did was his own decision. He knew the company rules and did what he thought he needed to do.'

No longer in a job that pays $US8.25 ($A8.05) an hour, Lopez said he would do what he did again if he had to. ' It was the moral thing to do,' he said. ' I would never pick a job over my morals.'

[trippytaka]

Wow. Let's hope we don't end up too far down that slippery slope, because we're on the way at the moment.

[GhiaEB]

With the US legal system the way it is, what if someone had drowned in the area he was meant to be watching? The company or this poor bloke would get sued!

Top marks for him going out of his way! Sadly I fear Australia is headed down the same path as the US in regards to these sort of antics.

[Jim Goose]

Did everyone miss.... CONTRACTOR?????

America... the land where everything is privatised.

Its a sad example of liability gone mad.

[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by Jim Goose

Did everyone miss.... CONTRACTOR?????

AND YOUR POINT???????

[Jim Goose]

Originally Posted by DJR-351

AND YOUR POINT???????

My point is why is a community service contracted out to private companies?

We already slowly here in Australia are doing this... and the reason is because councils and government wont need to worry about the liability and can simply shrug their shoulders and say "meh... its the contractors fault".

Governments and councils are there to provide services to people.

To be sacked because "you broke the rules saving one" means the guy probably doesnt even have a leg to stand on if he wanted his job back.

Look at the private ambulances and hospitals in the USA where if you dont have insurance you get left to die.

Shows a sick society where money is more important then a persons life and we are not far behind

[GhiaEB]

Originally Posted by Jim Goose

My point is why is a community service contracted out to private companies?

We already slowly here in Australia are doing this... and the reason is because councils and government wont need to worry about the liability and can simply shrug their shoulders and say "meh... its the contractors fault".

Governments and councils are there to provide services to people.

To be sacked because "you broke the rules saving one" means the guy probably doesnt even have a leg to stand on if he wanted his job back.

Look at the private ambulances and hospitals in the USA where if you dont have insurance you get left to die.

Shows a sick society where money is more important then a persons life and we are not far behind

We already have contract ambos, here in Perth it's done by St Johns'. We also have private hospitals. Luckily we also have public hospitals.

[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by Jim Goose

My point is why is a community service contracted out to private companies?

We already slowly here in Australia are doing this... and the reason is because councils and government wont need to worry about the liability and can simply shrug their shoulders and say "meh... its the contractors fault".

Governments and councils are there to provide services to people.

To be sacked because "you broke the rules saving one" means the guy probably doesnt even have a leg to stand on if he wanted his job back.

Look at the private ambulances and hospitals in the USA where if you dont have insurance you get left to die.

Shows a sick society where money is more important then a persons life and we are not far behind

No worries and agreed Jim, it was the just the "SHOUTING" i was confused about, now i realise you are just passionate about the subject....

[Jim Goose]

Originally Posted by DJR-351

No worries and agreed Jim, it was the just the "SHOUTING" i was confused about, now i realise you are just passionate about the subject....

I sometimes truely believe we are doomed as a species you know lol.....
Sorry for the shouting

Our council here has contracted out parks maintenance to a Melbourne company owned by the Melbourne Council?!?!?

They even contracted out the storage of all public and council records.

ok rant over .....

[xisled]

This makes me upset. Another person saving another life and he is punished.

[redxm]

And all for 8 bucks an hour. America is truely screwed up

[2011G6E]

There's plenty of beaches here in Oz where it's perfectly possible to be in safety on a patrolled beach, and the very next day after lifeguards have finished their season for the year at the very same beach and are no longer on daily duty, you can drown...

[FGII-XR6]

the way the American legal system is he could sue the guy he saved because his swimming in the wrong place caused him to loose his job

[BHDOGS]

obama tried to do something about some of the issues but the nutty tea cup party will repeal it america the only country where nothing changes and stagnates because as soon as somethings brought it it gets kicked out perhaps Australias heading that way to

[babyf6]

This says alot about where the world is heading

[NickyN]

Here's a quick update.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/05/us/flo...red/index.html

Other lifeguards quit to protest the firing of Lopez. It's really sad what's happening today. Everyone is afraid of being sued by someone else even if it's for doing the right thing. Seriously, what was Lopez to do, leave the guy to drown? Is that what the contracting company would have wanted their employees to do? Personally, I hope they overhaul their policies because they're stupid.

[hawker]

That's nothing. OH&S already gone mad in the UK:

Charity shop worker drowned in lake just 3ft deep after firemen refused to wade in due to health and safety rules

A charity worker drowned in a 3ft deep lake when a policeman and a paramedic were ordered not to try to rescue him.

Simon Burgess, 41, was left to float face down as emergency crews watched.

Health and safety rules stopped them going more than ankle deep into the lake, an inquest was told yesterday.

According to a doctor, Mr Burgess’s life could have been saved had he been removed from the water quickly.

The constable and the ambulance worker who volunteered to jump into the lake were given strict orders not to do so by fire station watch manager Tony Nicholls.

PC Tony Jones arrived at the scene on foot shortly after Mr Burgess fell into the water while feeding swans.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1zlI5Ku7W

[Lukeyson]

Wow wow wow !
As otheres said, where is this world heading? where people 'aren't allowed' to save anothers life.
I hope in Australia our regulations maintain a human element to it, imagine being told not to go into under 1meter water depth to save a life? but he is a firey so could go into a burning house? wow

[Jim Goose]

Originally Posted by hawker

That's nothing. OH&S already gone mad in the UK:

Its the same with Police pursuits... not allowed to chase criminals just incase someone is killed in the chase, nevermind that if they arent being chased they will probably crash and kill someone.

Its about liability!

Being told not to walk into waist deep water? Serisously?
And then asking for a life jacket and the fireman refusing?

Truely a sick sick sick society where people are more worried about being sued instead of human life.

Funny enough im sure that through out Australia there is a law where if you fail to render first aid or assistance (within reason) to someone you can be charged.

I do know that nurses (in QLD at least) are told never to get involved in accidents etc (or even identifiy themselves as a nurse) just in case they are sued after rendering assistance.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by hawker

That's nothing. OH&S already gone mad in the UK:

And there wasn't a bystander around to fish the poor person out? Reading these stories makes me upset. How can people be sooo bloody by the book.

Robots follow a script with no emotion, humans shouldn't....

[solarite_guy]

"they" have offered his job back, but he's man enough to say, thanks, but no thanks

i cant helpp but think someone else will pick him up

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by hawker

That's nothing. OH&S already gone mad in the UK:

The men in that story (if it's true) are pussies. They should have jumped in, saved the guy, and then said "Fire me and my next stop is every news network I can get in contact with..."

[solarite_guy]

Originally Posted by redxm

And all for 8 bucks an hour. America is truely screwed up

agree. there are so many things wrog with this economy and "politically correect" environment we exist in.

truly, and i live up here.

read an assigned book back in hs during the 70s and a couple of movies have been made about it. you all may be very familiar with it but ill dig up a link that i hope works for you all. often there are stupid rules preventing the viewing of certain things across continents.

it use to be available in one continuous feed. not the best interpretation as far as im concerned but gets the point across and requires the watcher to jump from segment, to segment to segment, etc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuiaT0nX9ls

[solarite_guy]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

The men in that story (if it's true) are pussies. They should have jumped in, saved the guy, and then said "Fire me and my next stop is every news network I can get in contact with..."

agree, the fella realised someones life ws much more important than a set of rules

[lilmattie]

Totally rediculous! The guy should be applauded - not fired.

And the other guys - screw the job! Someone's life is more important! I think it illustrates a progressive and re-occuring theme in western society though. Unfortuntaely I think this sort of thing will happen more and more in the future.

I was talking about this with the others at work about the lifesaver story. Apparently here in Australia or QLD, we have the 'Good Samaritan Act' which states that anyone rendering aid, even if incorrectly - but to the best of their ability - cannot be sued.

http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/Bi...SAB07Exp_P.pdf

Policy Objectives of the Legislation

The objective of the Bill is to afford legal protection to persons in our community who assist “persons in distress”, provided that such aid or assistance is given in emergency circumstances, and that any act done or omitted is done so in good faith and without reckless disregard.

[SB076]

Hopefully the guy he saves offers him a generous reward (not that he should have to, but if it were me I would feel for the guy and want to help him out)

[kaniSS]

Originally Posted by Lukeyson

Wow wow wow !
As otheres said, where is this world heading? where people 'aren't allowed' to save anothers life.
I hope in Australia our regulations maintain a human element to it, imagine being told not to go into under 1meter water depth to save a life? but he is a firey so could go into a burning house? wow

Not the world my friend. UK, USA and AUS.

[MAD]

Socialism at it's best.

Rule book should be thrown out and re-written with "Common sense, douchebag!"

[Jim Goose]

Originally Posted by MAD

Socialism at it's best.

Rule book should be thrown out and re-written with "Common sense, douchebag!"

ahh and whats liability and people sueing each other got to do with socialism?

Oh of course its all the work of commies...

[DJM83]

OH&S is the biggest load od crap, its only there to protect people with no common sense, worlds gone mad.