What should you do with a victim who probably broke his leg in an accident?
Show the correct answer
Correct answer
A. I should temporarily immobilize the fracture by tying both legs together and wait for the ambulance.
Explanation
In the photo, a casualty is lying on the grass holding their lower leg - a lower limb injury after an accident. You temporarily immobilise the fracture by tying both legs together, and you wait for the emergency medical team - answer A.
The Road Traffic Act obliges a person involved in an accident to give the necessary help to the victims and to call the emergency medical team, and the Criminal Code punishes anyone who does not help a person in danger when they could do so without putting themselves at risk. With a broken leg, the simplest and safest way to immobilise it is to tie the injured leg to the healthy one - the healthy limb acts as a splint, and bandages or triangular bandages are placed above and below the injury, with soft padding between the legs. The casualty stays where they are until the ambulance arrives; you do not take them to hospital yourself (answers B and C), because transport without a stretcher and without immobilisation makes the injury worse, and with a fracture it can damage blood vessels and nerves. Splints made of boards are used only in conditions where help will not arrive. You do not set or pull the leg, and you cover the casualty and calm them down.
Legal basis: Art. 44 para. 2 point 1 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym); Art. 162 § 1 of the Criminal Code