I need help for a scene I'm writing

[valarltd]

Here's the set-up:

Our Hero was badly beaten by five young men at approximately 4 PM. He was left in a public place, an alley. Someone found him about six-ish and took him to the ER. He had his ID, and his contact information in his wallet. His phone was smashed in the attack. He arrived unconscious, but regained consciousness about nine o'clock.

How and when would the ER let his listed next-of-kin and responsible party know he's there?

When he arrives? When he awakes?

Would they call? Would they send the cops?
I have cops showing up on the NoK's doorstep right now, is that right? or would they only do that if he died? NoK called the cops, after a 45 minute grocery run went to four hours.

Help!

Comments

[ravenskye8.livejournal.com]

Depends on which "cops" brought him in... campus safety or local/state police...

If campus safety found him, I am assuming that they are probably already aware of the living arrangements, and they'd bring Hero to the hospital while a spare officer went to the President's home and informed him... President would probably arrive at the hospital soon after Hero and therefore hospital would have no need to try and contact him.

If it is local/state police, it's then a toss up... if the police are busy, as they probably would be on Halloween, they might leave ID/contact to up to the hospital, and just say "call us back in when he wakes up"... but it's a "small town" - so the police might say "we'll contact NoK for you"...

If I were writing the scene, and it were the local/state police involved, I'd have the hospital call to inform the President, and the local police picking him up to bring him over to the hospital. Small college town = officer thinking that distressed President driving himself while druken students and trick-or-treating children are on the streets is a bad idea...

In any case, if the police picked him up, there should be both a member of the police and the medical staff at the hospital to meet him when President arrives. Both will brief him on what's happened so far with Hero, medical staff will have papers to sign about consent for further treatment and insurance/payment guarantees, privacy/HIPAA stuff, and a guarantee of patient rights. Medical staff will also go over current care plan and prognosis, and the police officer/detective will interview President for leads to the crime.

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

It's the local cops who find him.

And that's about how I have it going.

But there are complications at the hospital. A matter of a padlocked leather collar cut off of Hero's neck. Some old scars. And this is not a terribly progressive town. Bad enough he's gay to start with. There are going to be some hard questions.

[ravenskye8.livejournal.com]

Ooooh... Intriguing.

Why is it, I'm suddenly setting this story up at my college... :)

Not a progressive town, though campus was mainly liberal, but had pockets of anti-gay religious fundamentalism that would have had a field day with something like this...