I suspect the kind of damage that some of the people here are visualizing where they would waffle about using a tourniquet aren't really tourniquet types of damage.

A cut, even a deep one, can often/usually be controlled with pressure. However, an arm that has been ripped off by machinery, or a leg that has been mangled in a car or railroad accident are no-brainers -- a tourniquet is all you can do.

A pair of my regular RR crews ran their train past a man beside the tracks who was waving his arms at them. They stopped the train and ran back to him. He didn't even know that both his legs had been amputated by the previous train. Did they apply tourniquets? You bet your mule they did! Did they save the man's life? Yes, they did.
BNSF crew save's man's life

Something I learned since I started this job: if someone has a limb amputated by a train wheel, APPLY THE TOURNIQUET IMMEDIATELY! Train wheels are several inches wide with a narrow edge on the inside. The flat part of the wheel crushes the tissues, skin and bones, and the edge severs the limb. The crushed part is almost always on the person, and the limb can't be reconnected.


"Anyone can be sued, does not mean they will win."

They don't have to win to ruin you financially. The cost of the battle can be extensive.

Sue