To think she should have rescued her own child instead of raging at me?

[drowningyouout]

Name changed for this. Regular poster and don't want this attached to my normal user name.

Weather here crap, as everywhere, but warm enough so DS (7) and I don wellies and waterproofs and take a walk down the beach.

Wind and tide conditions are making it very rough and tide was mid height and on it's way in.

We see a mum, dad and their 2 DC's on some rocks - which as you imagine are wet and slippery.

Suddenly a wave crashes up to the rocks and one of their DC's (a lad of 6) slips and falls into the sea.

The parents are understandably in a panic and the dad starts to take the smaller DC back over the rocks towards the shore whilst yelling at the lad to swim to rocks and hold on.

I can see he's in trouble take wellies and waterproofs off yell at DS to stand back from water and go in to rescue him. The tidal conditions made swimming really difficult so I take the lad towards the rocks, calling for the mum to come help him up.

She starts saying she may slip, it's too near the water and can't I take him to shore. Out of breath and not wanting to waste it talking I get to the rocks and with great difficulty get the lad out. As I did this he slipped a bit banging his head and cutting it. I cut my shin quite badly climbing out myself as waves crashed me against the rocks.

Get to the beach and coastguard have arrived and called paramedics. (There's a beach watch thing right by where we were).

Anyway the paramedic arrive after a bit a said the boy needs to go to A&E as he has a head injury and they need to check his lungs. They dressed my shin on scene.

The boy got really upset saying he'd miss his friend party this afternoon - he was actually hysterical but I suspect it was more the shock. The mum looked up and said " well you wouldn't have had to miss it if that stupid cow had taken you to shore instead of throwing you onto the rocks"

I was quite impressed with the coastguard who replied " what the stupid cow who most probably just saved your DS' life?"

AIBU to think she should have done something herself if the way he was rescued was such a problem.

Well done Drowning and Mummy - you're both amazing!!

Can't believe people can be so malicious and self deluded to try to sue a volunteer rescuer. Just xhat do they think it will achieve? Except to have their child left to drown next time? Idiots!
It's a point made by the Vinnie Jones CPQ advert (I think) that people are too scared of litigation to try to help save other people. What a society! People like those mothers made it like that

you often get walloped,

having spent a life time messing about in the water, surfing we get involved in a lot of these situations,

you drag a person out of a rip, their parent wallops you for forgetting the inflatable that was taking them to france,

you have to be careful when rescuing people they often thump you.

A friend once pulled a girl(teen) out who was going down for the third time, put her across his board paddled her in, and her father went mental, and was shouting that this guy was trying to grope his daughter, then tried to hit him, despite watching the rescue, and everyone trying to stop him.

shock makes people react in funny ways,

If you go to any of the beach life guard stations, you will hear endless stories of people's odd behaviour in these situations, sometimes they come back and apologise, sometimes they are far too embarrassed.

SDTG, you did a wonderful thing yesterday in paying respect to someone that was so brave and her equally brave family, in comparison nothing I have ever done has come close the level of bravery from a small child and her family when faced with that horrible disease. I only wish I could do something for them

Maples, to my knowledge your instructor was right but then I´m no longer in the UK . Most of the jundges in court (if anyone got that far) have far too much common sense.

Besides the people in most of these cases are very grateful and in my experience have gone on to do wonderful things. I know of a few that were rescued by my mountain rescue team that went on to become part of mountain rescue, one that went onto work on Samaritins, a guy that changed his job because of the paramdics that fought to save his DD, the list goes on. I´m sure the little boy drowning rescued will go on to something amazing, even if it is as simple as making sure his friends / family / children (eventually) can swim and know the dangers of water that is amazing.

Pain and suffering is always around us but I will be damed if I could not put a hand out to someone that needed it. I´m sure all of you are the same, no one would watch a child (or adult) drown or be hurt without trying to help, sometimes all it takes is a phone call, or someone to chat to someone and keep them calm, so times it takes what Drowning did (and others have done up thread) that is what defines our humanity.

On a Happy note, a lad (of 14 and spanish) was badly stung yesterday on a local beach (50km away), he was swimming out at sea and was stung by a Jelly fish and suffered a reaction, a father and his son (18) both english saw him and between them got him back into Shore and carried him to the red cross (first aid on a beach out here), they thought no more off it. Today the family of the lad (who is still in hospital) and how speak no english have driven over 100km (though many little towns with nothing but a discription of the father and his first name) to find that father and his son to say thank you and to invite them to a family dinner when the 14 year is better.

Good to hear the nice stories too.

Two years ago my Dad was rescued by Bolton Mountain Rescue. He had broken his ankle and ended up with 15 pins in it. No way he'd have made it off the moors on his own.

It didn't make him change careers or become a hero or anything but when he had recovered he made a four-figure donation to them because without these donations services like that would close and he couldn't have done without it.

A big thank you to all you heroes out there.

Op you are a hero... My dd was in a horrific accident in a foreign country with her school friends.

Every adult who wasn't dead or very seriously injured helped in the rescue, the instructor who stayed with dd while she was cut out by firemen had a broken shoulder, he had carried lots if the children to safety.. Hero.

One adult wasn't injured at all, he was the second driver and English.

He refused to help, walked up motorway and lit a fag..

Shock my arse, a coward and a bastard!!!

Well done op, some adults put their own safety above a child's, even their own!!!! Why didn't she plunge in the sea herself??

Well done op, and other heros on this thread.

Mummyinspain, that's awful!
I wish I didn't believe that she tried to sue you, but I do. I've been sued for giving first aid as a volunteer nurse.

Sauvignon, did the case actually get to court, and what happened? Is it in the UK? Am intrigued because I've heard what another poster said, that no-one in the UK has ever been sued for assisting in an emergency.

Wasn't it that no-one has ever been successfully sued?

I should think not too. I'm in awe of some of the MNers on here.

wow sauvignon - but again , I am not really that surprised.

Lat year on our way to the Canaries the flight attendants put out a message that they needed a Doctor as someone had been taken ill on board. The man next to me was a doc which was lucky. Anyway after he did his thing (which he did brilliantly) he and I had a conversation about what it means to a doctor or medical person to be called on in an emergency. One thing he told me was that in the US (of course, where else) most Doctors will nto respond to a situation like that because of the amount of litigation which has been instigated against them.

At one stage he had to make the decision about whether or not to make an early landing in Portugal - he said he worried about people sueing him about it.

Talk about rocks and hard places.

Wow! Well done OP.

The shouty mum probably realises what an idiot she has been by now - was probably shock and her brain trying to protect her from the awfulness of what could have happened.

You are definitely a hero.

Amazing thread, all you brave mumsnetters and crazy people being rescued.

The charity I was volunteering for had insurance naturally.
As the child had legal aid, the insurers were not prepared to go to court and settled without admitting liability. They said this was commonplace.

Ruddy insurers. If they had let a case of this type go to court, we'd have a definitive ruling that good samaritans, acting in good conscience, cannot be sued. If insurance companies settle, that just encourages ambulance chasing lawyers and leaves the law uncertain. Much as half the outrage about 'health and safety gone mad' is actually about the dictates of insurance companies - cancelling the village tug of war that has gone on for years, for instance.

"BoffinMum Sun 15-Jul-12 07:33:31
My dad can't swim. However my brother and I got washed overboard once and he leapt in like a hero. Lots of rescuing happened. Only then we all stood up having realised the water was only a couple of feet deep at that point "

ha ha ha :o

I feel a bit sorry for this woman tbh. I think she has had an all over roasting on this thread

Thinking about it, when I learned life saving at school they warned us drowning people often go hysterical and try to pull you under. We were told to avoid getting in the water if possible and help from the side, but if we had to go in, to be prepared to slap them into sanity in order to be able to save both if us. I am not sure how realistic that would be in practice, though.

Stealth, my dad was very much the buff hero sporty type - should have been James Bond or something! He was only 24 when I was born, so also quite young and all my teenage mates used to fancy him when he turned up to play in the parents' sports teams in his tight white shorts

Re the sueing thing, I have been told on 2 seperate courses (inc first aid at work course) that no one has sucessfully sued a rescuer.

In sure one instructor said a case had got to court and the judge not only threw it out, but roundly bollocked the chap and his legal representation for being ungrateful, and wasting court time.

Never tried to look it up tho, so could be an urban myth.

OP thank you for what you did, I'm grateful that there are people out there like you, that have the skills and courage to help when needed.

Hope your car seat dried out a bit today, maybe stick a hot water bottle wrapped in newspaper on it overnight?

Gap jeans £12 :)

I'm just about to start my training to be a Community First Responder - HERE - and this has given me pause for thought, tbh. I'm still going to do it, but it makes me realise that some people are not going to react well to my efforts to help!

With any luck the woman is a MNer and will be able to read the posts for herself. You did brilliantly OP!

OP, you did an amazing thing and were so brave, but was it at risk to yourself?

I don't think I'd ever risk my life for anyone other than the DC. Am in awe of those who are more selfless.

What if you had drowned and your DS witnessed it?