Jump to content

BSA Sued over Lightening Death


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 40
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

The only policy I can see that would protect BSA from lightning litigation would be to cancel all outdoor activity during potential lightning periods. In my region, that would be from 2 to 7 PM every afternoon from May through August.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Nahhh,

 

It's ground pounders like me who think in terms of a 24 hour clock.

 

Zoomies think in terms of a 12 hour clock (12 o'Clock High).

 

Squids and Sea Scouts think in terms of Bells ... telling time by Bells is more complex than doing an 8-directional met in artillery gunnery!

Link to post
Share on other sites

BSA settled. Given the way court testimony was going - against them - this was probably a smart move.

 

Of course there's a confidentiality agreement. No way to know how much got paid out.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Out of court settlements usually do not establish guilt. It's merely a way of saving money. BSA probably decided that paying them off would be cheaper in the long run than continuing to litigate. That's a flaw in our justice system, IMHO. Once someone sues, the court case should run its course, and the loser should pay all costs.

 

Who was responsible? God (or higher power of your choice).

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Scoutldr says:

 

That's a flaw in our justice system, IMHO. Once someone sues, the court case should run its course, and the loser should pay all costs.

 

Are you saying there should be no settlements allowed in civil lawsuits? Are you prepared to pay the additional federal, state, county etc. taxes necessarily to multiply by perhaps 10 (or more) the number of judges, courtrooms, other court personnel and other court infrastructure that are currently devoted to civil cases, so that all those cases can actually be tried? If this was done without such a massive increase in facilities and personnel, the whole system would come grinding to a complete halt. It can take a couple of years to get to trial now; would you like to have to wait 15 years for your case to be tried?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Point taken, Counsellor. But even you have to admit the justice system could be run a lot more efficiently. One idea would be to severely penalize frivolous suits that force settlements in the absence of a finding of guilt. This case presumably has cost the BSA and/or Council thousands of dollars that could otherwise be spent for programming...for an event that could not have been prevented (IMHO). Money will not bring the scout back, nor will it make camping in the summertime any safer. Again, I am truly sorry that a family lost their son.

Link to post
Share on other sites

It's very difficult to balance the system of civil lawsuits so that on one hand, people can't easily bring frivolous lawsuits that pressure large organizations into paying out unjustified settlements, and on the other hand, people with real claims aren't discouraged from seeking justice because of the risks that big corporations with expensive lawyers will leave them to pay the bills. From my perspective, the claims that there are vast numbers of frivolous lawsuits costing zillions of dollars are overblown, and the system is pretty well balanced as it is.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...