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In a literary project I'm currently working on, I have a scenario (detailed below) that I, thankfully, have no personal experience with and since there are EMS, Medical, and LEO types here, I thought I'd post it here to get a more realistic feel for what I'm writing about.

Scenario:
Woman is involved in a car accident (her car is T-Boned by a delivery truck) and is transported to a local hospital for treatment. Documentation is found on her person which lists who to contact in case of emergency. Only three people are listed: Her boyfriend (who lives in the same city) and her parents (who live in another state).

Questions:
1) Who makes contact with those listed on the emergency contact documentation?

2) Who would be contacted first by the person in Question 1? The person who is local (who isn't next of kin) or the parents?


Thanks for the help!

Hmm, I've seen it in a few different manners. My crew (Ambulance.) has done it, which is unusual, the hospital ED unit secretary has made the notification, and the LEOs have also done it...

Sorry for being no help!
PS-1st on the list contacted first, then the next ones. When I've had contact, BTW, I never violated HIPAA. Contact and such also depends on the state of the pt, altered, unresponsive, GCS 4 etc.

The patients family first.

Depending on her level of alertness and injuries, she can make that call . . . figuratively and literally.

Otherwise, the Officer on the scene - up here in remote areas - has to make the call. Family first. That said, it's not often the officer goes to whatever medical facility with the victim. More often we're left on the side of the road to clean up the mess. So in that case the attending physician can make the call if she's seriously hurt enough.

Anyone ever hear of the ICE Phone Number? In Case of Emergency. I have two in my phone, one for my Dad since he lives here, and another for my Mother. It's pretty much a given that those ICE numbers are the ones I want called in case of emergency. Common knowledge amongst coppers here.

ANCFlyer wrote:Anyone ever hear of the ICE Phone Number?

I have ICE in my phone too, and I have worked with my family to put it in theirs.

ShyFlyer wrote:
Questions:
1) Who makes contact with those listed on the emergency contact documentation?

2) Who would be contacted first by the person in Question 1? The person who is local (who isn't next of kin) or the parents?

At my department we let the supervisor make the call. That is what they get the Sgt. money for.

Ideally, it is parents, or husband if she is married, and the number is labeled as such. Sometimes we have to get creative in figuring out who is someone important in someone's cell phone number list. We will dig through her purse, or dig in the glove box first.. A good clue can sometimes be the plate on the car coming back to a man with the same last name as the victim. In the purse names on credit cards can be a good place to start. However, most women can accumulate incredible amounts of crap in their car or purse.. Dig long enough and you will find what you are looking for.

We try to patch the call through dispatch so the number shows up as the PD. This avoids letting them have your cell number, unless you want to get 500 calls while you are trying to sleep. And Never from the victims cell phone (the question came up once in training)

The next best thing to ICE is having "Mom" or "dad" or "Parents" as their listing It isn't ideal but it isn't bad.

Regarding who gets contacted, the parents get the call. I'd mention to them that there's the number of a friend who is local and ask the parents if that person should be notified.

Our EMS department NEVER contacted relatives of patients. The hospital does that. Why? Once in the hospital, the patient can be definatively assessed and diagnosed. It doesn't do any good from an EMT in the field to place the call and then be barraged with questions that he/she can't answer. It just increases the panic and anxiety of the family. From the nursing perspective, it's much easier on the relatives when we make the call once we know what's broken and what's not. It's much more professional (and important) for the relatives to be able to get answers to all their questions in a single call.

There ARE times where I've made calls as a nurse before we have all the answers. Unfortunately, those are situations where death is probable and we need to know whether we should attempt heroic life-saving measures.

ANCFlyer wrote:Anyone ever hear of the ICE Phone Number? In Case of Emergency. I have two in my phone, one for my Dad since he lives here, and another for my Mother. It's pretty much a given that those ICE numbers are the ones I want called in case of emergency. Common knowledge amongst coppers here.

Just put it in my phone now, thanks!

Mine has a separate section just for ICE numbers. First is mom, then pop, then my house. The first two are cell phones, are those usually a good idea?

Mark wrote:Regarding who gets contacted, the parents get the call. I'd mention to them that there's the number of a friend who is local and ask the parents if that person should be notified.

Our EMS department NEVER contacted relatives of patients. The hospital does that. Why? Once in the hospital, the patient can be definatively assessed and diagnosed. It doesn't do any good from an EMT in the field to place the call and then be barraged with questions that he/she can't answer. It just increases the panic and anxiety of the family. From the nursing perspective, it's much easier on the relatives when we make the call once we know what's broken and what's not. It's much more professional (and important) for the relatives to be able to get answers to all their questions in a single call.

There ARE times where I've made calls as a nurse before we have all the answers. Unfortunately, those are situations where death is probable and we need to know whether we should attempt heroic life-saving measures.

What, so you've never had a rollover patient calling his friend to get his wallet from the bottom of a mountain where his truck rolled down and he had to walk 13 miles to get out?

Thanks everyone! I was planning on the boyfriend getting the call first, but it won't be difficult to modify the storyline a bit. It is afterall, my story.

So what possible injuries would the woman likely sustain? In the senario outlined above, the car driven by the woman would be traveling 45 ~ 50 mph with the delivery truck (typical boxy UPS type truck) probably about the same. How likely would these injuries be life threatening?

ShyFlyer wrote:So what possible injuries would the woman likely sustain? In the senario outlined above, the car driven by the woman would be traveling 45 ~ 50 mph with the delivery truck (typical boxy UPS type truck) probably about the same. How likely would these injuries be life threatening?

Pelvic fracture, closed head injury, pneumothorax. Those are pretty common for that scenerio. And that combination would be life threatening.

ShyFlyer wrote:Thanks everyone! I was planning on the boyfriend getting the call first, but it won't be difficult to modify the storyline a bit. It is afterall, my story.

So what possible injuries would the woman likely sustain? In the senario outlined above, the car driven by the woman would be traveling 45 ~ 50 mph with the delivery truck (typical boxy UPS type truck) probably about the same. How likely would these injuries be life threatening?

what kind of car was she driving? which side was the car hit on? Ie if she got T-boned in a Smart, she's isnt going to do as well as someone t-boned in a crown vic.

Mark wrote:

ShyFlyer wrote:So what possible injuries would the woman likely sustain? In the senario outlined above, the car driven by the woman would be traveling 45 ~ 50 mph with the delivery truck (typical boxy UPS type truck) probably about the same. How likely would these injuries be life threatening?

Pelvic fracture, closed head injury, pneumothorax. Those are pretty common for that scenerio. And that combination would be life threatening.

Depends on what she's driving.

A Toyota Speck, she's screwed. A Ford Superduty, the Box Truck is screwed.

For the car, it would be the Volvo S80:


The impact would be on the passenger side and depending on where I decide the accident will take place, the car would likely get pushed into oncoming traffic as well. I'm pouring over a map of Denver and I'm having difficulty finding a good place for an accident. That sounds sooo wrong.

I'm guessing her physical parameters would play some part in her injuries as well, no? If that's the case, she would be 5'10" 120lbs and in good health.


When I started this project, I didn't think it would be so complicated.

ShyFlyer wrote:For the car, it would be the Volvo S80:


The impact would be on the passenger side and depending on where I decide the accident will take place, the car would likely get pushed into oncoming traffic as well. I'm pouring over a map of Denver and I'm having difficulty finding a good place for an accident. That sounds sooo wrong.

I'm guessing her physical parameters would play some part in her injuries as well, no? If that's the case, she would be 5'10" 120lbs and in good health.


When I started this project, I didn't think it would be so complicated.

You couldnt total something crappy. Like a Toyota Camry or even a Dodge?

Seriously, the answers remain the same . . . .

Generally there are policies in place.

We have some handicaps in Alaska given the distance to Emergency Health Care, the distance for vehicle recovery to travel, the distance, the distance, the distance . . . all things considered though - no change based on type of vehicle operated.

Still, a Volvo stands a better chance than a Toyota Speck . . .

Still . . . something to be said about a Superduty . . .

With a passenger side hit, I'd expect to see broken ribs and a pneumothorax on the left side, the closed head injury (and skull fracture), and maybe a fractured left pelvis and/or femur.

Mark wrote:With a passenger side hit, I'd expect to see broken ribs and a pneumothorax on the left side, the closed head injury (and skull fracture), and maybe a fractured left pelvis and/or femur.

Unless shes drunk.. Then she would be able to walk away.

Cadet57 wrote:You couldnt total something crappy. Like a Toyota Camry or even a Dodge?

Well, when I was picking vehicles for my characters, she was the first one to need one (I think) and the S80 was the first to come to mind (its the car I want). Perhaps in the second draft I'll do some redistributing of the fleet.

ANCFlyer wrote:Still . . . something to be said about a Superduty . . .

You have stock in Ford or what? Seriously though, she has to die. (What happened to the little devil guy smiley?)

Mark wrote:With a passenger side hit, I'd expect to see broken ribs and a pneumothorax on the left side, the closed head injury (and skull fracture), and maybe a fractured left pelvis and/or femur.

That should be specific enough for the doctor to tell the boyfriend. Thanks.


Thanks again to everyone for your input. Now come the hard part: actually writing it.

Look in the area around the baseball stadium. There are some really screwy streets and a horrible mix of elevated and ground rounds as everything is routed over/around the river and a lot of railroad stuff.

If you want to be more sure she dies, she could neglect her seatbelt for some reason or take it off to get at something in the backseat, etc. That drastically increases the chances of a fatal injury.

ShyFlyer wrote:When I started this project, I didn't think it would be so complicated.

Do you have to go into such detail? - you may risk boring your reader with technicalities and cause them to lose the story's direction if you over-cook the minor details of the crash (unless your target audience are EMTs or RTA enthusiasts ).

ShyFlyer wrote:the S80 was the first to come to mind (its the car I want).

Bad move. Always remove personal preferences from your work so that the reader doesn't get a sense of self-indulgence from the story - it's amazing how subtle references can change the whole feel of a piece. Self-indulgence is fine, if you're well known enough for your readers to be interested in your personal life.

The above is based on the assumption that you intend to produce a work of fiction and that you intend it to be read.

John.

Sorry for being late to the party, but in Florida, drivers have the option of associating their emergency contact information with their driver's license in the database.

When we run a DL, if the driver has taken the necessary steps to include it (pretty easy to do via the DMV website), the information comes back with the same return as all the other license information (name, address, DOB, race/sex, license type, restrictions, validity, any suspensions/revocations, etc).

Very handy feature, one of the few government implementations in this day and age that probably didn't cost alot and shouldn't hurt anyone in the process.

JLAmber wrote:Do you have to go into such detail?

No, and I probably won't when this scenario actually gets written. The detail is for me to help me write it and not feel like I'm talking out of my rear.

JLAmber wrote:Always remove personal preferences from your work so that the reader doesn't get a sense of self-indulgence from the story

Good point. The make of the car really isn't essential to the plot anyway and can easily be replaced by doing a Crtl-F

KFLLCFII wrote:in Florida, drivers have the option of associating their emergency contact information with their driver's license in the database.

.
That's actually pretty neat. I wish New Mexico had that. How easy would it be for the license holder to change that info?