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When approaching a victim with sever wounds, you must immediately evaluate the extent of injury, the type of injury, and simultaneously prioritize the steps needed to stabilize the victim. The initial evaluation process becomes a more automatic reaction with training and experience, but everyone starts from the same gate. After that it becomes a matter of training, exposer, and necessity. The sequence of action is determined by the extent and type of injury. First and foremost, you must stop any bleeding. An accident victim can go longer without breathing than they can survive loss of blood. Dependent upon the source of bleeding, applying direct pressure on the bleeding area, preferably a 4"X 4" gauze pad, or torn off material from a shirt or pants, or, as a last resort, direct pressure with your hand. But, no matter what, you must stop the bleeding. If the source of bleeding is arterial, the bleeding will be in sync with the heart beat and bleed in spurts. In this case a tourniquet is needed. Use a belt, or strip of material, or anything that can be wrapped around an area between the wound site and the heart. A tight tourniquet will reduce the bleeding enough to buy time to stabilize the wound areas. Time is of the utmost importance. A person cannot live without an adequate blood supply. If the victim is conscious, they can assist you in putting pressure on a bandage over a wound site, or holding a tourniquet in place. If they are alert, talking them through the processes of what you are doing and seeking their assistance will keep them busy and will reduce the time they have to panic and help prevent them from going into shock.

Let the victim help you identify injured areas. Start at their head and work your way down and around the body. Tell the victim what you are doing and why. This will give them a since of a controlled situation.
While you are stabilizing the bleeding, you should observe and evaluate the individual and determine what your next priority will be. If you are alone and have a cell phone, call 911 and request help. If anyone else is around, enlist their assistance. It is important that one person stay in charge of the scene. No matter how many people are assisting, the group needs to work as a team and one person needs to issue the instructions and direct the activity. If a cell phone is not available, the first available onlooker needs to be sent to find help.
With the bleeding being controlled,

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