Imagine you and your friend are leaving a restaurant at dark or coming out of a late-night movie. You are walking to your car in a dimly lit parking lot and you can feel someone following the two of you. You turn around to see someone with a blade in their hand. Before you can do something, your friend is stabbed, and the assailant forces you to hand over your wallet, cash, phone, etc.
Though the chance of becoming a stabbing victim is still low, the number of cases increase every year. According to data, there were more than 120,000 knife or sharp object-related crimes in the USA in 2019!
In this article, we will discuss what should be done if you are the victim of a stabbing or if you have witnessed a stabbing attack.
4 Things That Should Be Done Following a Stabbing (Knife) Attack
1. Call 911
While the victim might be incapacitated to call or talk to anyone, you need to inform the police immediately. This will help with the initial documentation and allow the victim to get the right legal aid. If you have witnessed the crime, your statements can help the police identify and arrest the criminal who caused the heinous crime.
2. Be aware of your surroundings
Criminals may panic if they see a witness and they may come back. Therefore, you should thoroughly check your surroundings to make sure that the criminal is not hanging around. This could put your life at risk as well and prevent any chances of you saving the life of the stab victim. Surveying the area is something you should not forget at any cost.
3. Yell for help and/or get the victim to a safe place
If someone has been stabbed in a dark alley or a parking lot, the witness may need to yell for help or call 911. If it is safe enough to do so, the witness could drag the victim to a well-lit public place. This will help other people in the vicinity identify the victim, get help, and ensure an ambulance and easily find the victim.
4. Compress the wound and try to stop the bleeding
Blood loss is one of the major causes of death following a stabbing. You will need to make sure that there are no sharp residues left inside the wound and directly apply pressure to help stop the bleeding. If the wound is on an arm or a leg, tying a tight cloth around the wound can help in reducing blood loss. While this might cause pain the victim added pain, this is the best way to aid in clotting and preventing blood loss.
Filing a Lawsuit following a Stabbing Crime: What you should know
Though it’s a question that you may not think of until it’s happened to you, stabbing victim lawyers often get the question of “can I sue someone for stabbing me?
The answer to this question is not as simple as you might think and there are a lot of variables. Whenever there is a stabbing incident, visual evidence gathering becomes extremely important. A good lawyer can work with investigation teams and assess CCTV footage from the area.
When it comes to stabbing lawsuits, the victim can seek compensation, medical bills recovery, and other damages.
The Bottom Line
Stabbing crimes are serious and can be fatal. However, timely intervention and quick medical help can help save someone’s life. Following the attack, it is important for victims to be properly compensated by the attacker to help pay medical bills and to help get their lives back on track.
