I'm sure if you've taken a first aid course, or even if you've watched TV, you know that if someone falls badly you're not supposed to move them until they're checked out.
But in the heat of the moment, we simply forget.
I'm in L.A. at a big meeting, and an elderly man fell as he tried to exit the dais. I didn't see the actual fall, but I heard it. And I heard the horrified reaction of the people on that side of the room who did see it.
Now as people rushed to help him, the first thing they did was get him on his feet. This was a room of smart people, including some folks who were in the medical profession. Eventually 911 was called, so they didn't let him just shake them off, but it was still probably the wrong thing to do.
A couple of weeks ago, as I was leaving a post-MacWorld geek dinner a similar thing happened. A gentleman who was at the dinner had some disability, not sure what. He used crutches and was clearly severely movement-impaired. He insisted on independence, getting himself up and downstairs and walking around in San Francisco, albeit slowly. As we left the restaurant, and he was walking ahead of us up a slight hill, he lost his balance and fell straight forward. He did not break his fall, but literally fell in one piece to the ground...on the concrete What did we do? Heed his requests to help him up to his feet.Again, bunch of smart people, and not one person said, hey maybe we should leave him still and call the paramedics.
The instinct to get someone up and at 'em, no matter how comforting to those around the person who falls, is the wrong instinct. Where's Darwin when you need him?
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