Gordon: "I just think that sometimes a collective madness envelops people and we start running around like chicken little, screaming the sky is falling the sky is falling." Thank you Gordon! Anyone can attempt to sue anyone for anything! I am a veterinarian and our sky is falling too...we are all afraid that the country is going to "allow" a financial value to be placed on the loss of a pet. "oh no!!" The fact is lawsuits are pretty infrequent (vet med and kayaking) and when they do occur, more often that not, it is because we, like MD's do something pretty dumb, don't inform, and don't communicate well. My personal approach professionally and recreationally is to do what most of us try to do (in groups), be careful, be cautious, and use good judgment. I do not actively THINK about liability. I actively think about being responsible (and this can be tough for me...I like to play). When I speculate about the consequences of someone getting in trouble, I think about how I would feel. Would I feel morally responsible, would I feel like I should have been more careful, would I regret my actions, or would I truly blame myself? In other words, if I were to look at my actions in retrospect would I (ME!) feel like I was upholding a standard of due care that I agree with. All accidents can only be prevent by NOT participating. Some accidents will occur even with the best actions and judgment. Law suits will occur, and we won't make them go away by trying to avoid them. Even if you just paddling with you best buddies and their best buddies, it is all fun and games until "someone loses an eye," THEN someone decides that that buddy's kids still need to go to college and the house has to be paid for and Dad is going to lose health insurance since he can't work as football referee anymore with only one eye. Now there is a law suit and the attorneys will figure out who is the leader and or who they can blame; club or no club, leader or no leader. In fact, being a recently certified ACA instructor and participating in both BCU/ACA I have been well informed that it doesn't matter WHO the leader is. If I am along for a formal or informal paddle and have "more" experience than the "leader" and conditions of the group paddle became risky I can still be targeted for Liability. For example, we ALLOW w/out protest Bill, a new paddler, go play in the surf with out a PFD/Helmet). We can have 100's of twists on a scenario like this; but my reality is that I am going to say "hey, Bill, that isn't a good idea"...progressing to "Bill this is Stupid, DON'T do it." After making a stink, I would feel like I made safety issues well known to the group (documentation?) and Bill, "THE competent adult" who placed himself in danger. If Bill gets hurt, I can live with that; I will feel bad and regret having tagged along with this group (this time), but I can live with that. This is the thought process that will lead MY actions. Hopefully, a Judge will feel my actions were reasonable too-but I won't let that worry lead my life. And, if "Bill" doesn't get hurt, I would avoid paddling with him again. I really get disgusted when talk like this leads to the demise of clubs, groups and camaraderie. Just enjoy yourselves and be safe! *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Fri Jul 08 2005 - 10:03:31 PDT
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