How do we know that accident victims “die instantly.”

THE EDITOR: I look at the news almost every evening and have observed an expression coming from the news presenters which make me cringe as I listen to their reports of certain traffic accidents and other seemingly fatal incidents.  More often than not, a person who has died as a result of a traffic accident is reported to have “died instantly.” I have some concern about the source of this diagnosis. Did this come from the medical examiner’s report to the press? Or did this report come from  bystanders who formed their own medical opinion because of the severity of the crash or the accident.

I have not been a witness to many serious traffic accidents, but information reaching me indicates that many persons, upon reaching the site, often seem to assume that the crash victims are in fact already dead, as someone says: “Oh God! He dead! He dead!” Another agrees: “No way he could live after that.” As I am no medical expert, I call on the Trinidad and Tobago Medical Association to correct me if I am wrong about this matter or make some sort of statement to the public about these life-threatening diagnoses by untrained personnel. Many persons do not seem to be aware that even when the pulses of crash victims cannot be felt, that it is really only trained medical personnel should come to such a conclusion. As a result of this “medical opinion” expressed by these “expert bystander witnesses,” the resulting attitude is that it makes no sense to carry the person to hospital since he is “already dead.”

“Just cover the body and call the DMO.” Is this attitude borne out of the fact that, unless it is a relative of ours, or someone that we know, we are now relieved that this is the general opinion, and there is now no heartfelt or moral obligation to trouble ourselves to take the individual to the nearest hospital? I will agree that there are and will be some accidents which are horrific enough, eg where a person is decapitated, or a large foreign object imbeds itself deeply into the body of the crash victim, that it may be reasonable for the untrained eye to conclude that the victim is indeed dead. However most traffic and other accidents do not have these results and therefore leads me to wonder, how do reporters and news presenters become aware that the person “died instantly.” I believe that there must be very many cases, where, because of these assumptions of death, we deny victims the opportunity for a second chance at life by concluding that the worst has happened and then leave victims to die at the side of the roads when immediate emergency help may have saved their lives.

I am also aware that the removal of victims from the scene of the traffic accident, or any other seemingly fatal incident, cutlass attacks, shootings etc may in certain circumstances have legal implications in possible gathering of evidence by the police or other authorities. But is it fair to these victims for others to assume that they are dead on the premise of leaving a clean death scene for investigators, rather than allow the victims the greatest opportunity at immediate emergency health service. I think that there must be some medical and legal way to deal with these questions. Is a second chance at life not worth more than the problems which may be created by these legal implications? If my argument has any foundation whatever, and I believe that it has, I call again on the Trinidad and Tobago Medical Association and/or the Ministry of Health to make a public statement with regard to these life-threatening assumptions that we make, and the untrained medical opinions that we give in these circumstances. Please let us give these victims a second chance.

Are we really not aware that the human body and spirit are resilient enough to overcome many of the atrocities that may be inflicted upon them?Then who knows when it may be our turn to be victims in a tragic situation where we are trying hard, but failing to communicate with the persons around us, and all we can do is to listen to the voices of the medically ignorant saying: “Oh God! He Dead! He kyar be alive after that.”

GEORGE LIVINGSTONE
Trincity