Man Bites Dog... Den leader sues Cub Scouts

[Eagle1993]

I never thought of suing 10 year olds... man, I have a long list of trauma.  *picking up phone to call lawyer*

https://buffalonews.com/2019/07/10/den-leader-sues-cub-scouts-after-sledding-accident-i-remember-blood-everywhere/

[Pale Horse]

I find it a little ironic that he sued the Pack leadership for improper supervision when he himself was part of Pack leadership.

[David CO]

34 minutes ago, Pale Horse said:

I find it a little ironic that he sued the Pack leadership for improper supervision when he himself was part of Pack leadership.

This happens all the time. In most cases, it is the insurance company who is actually doing the suing. The insurance company files the suit on behalf of the customer, in the customer's name, in an attempt to recoup some of the money they paid out for hospital bills. The customer is often required, under the terms of the policy, to cooperate with the insurance company's suit. If the customer refuses to cooperate with the suit, the customer could be liable to repay the insurance company.

Some insurance companies are becoming very aggressive in their attempts to recover their losses. We had one insurance company go after our church after an elderly parishioner slipped on some ice in the parking lot. The pastor was somewhat saddened and dismayed that a long-time parishioner would sue the church, until someone explained to him that it is actually the insurance company that is doing the suing.

The insurance company lost the suit. The irony in that case was in the judge's ruling that the church wasn't responsible because snow and ice are "an act of God". One might suppose that His church would be responsible for "an act of God". 

Edited July 12, 2019 by David CO

[HelpfulTracks]

Okay, I know I am a bit jaded when it comes to the news media. I read news with numerous questions about what the REAL story is far too often. 

In this case, the article is about a civil law suit, filed 2 years ago, about an accident 5 years ago, being dismissed. That happens dozens or more of times a day in a city (MSA) the size of Buffalo. So what is the news worthiness? Is there any real news here? Was it just an excruciatingly slow news day in Buffalo? Or, is there some other agenda. 

Of course how one reads an article also lends a bias, but I still don't get the news value here. Is it, Scouts are dangerous? Snow sports are dangerous? Parents are careless? People are greedy?

Personally, I see many great things that come out of Scouting, but the preponderance of articles are negative. This story appears to be a factual story, but I still do not understand its news value. Maybe I am just too paranoid of the news media and their agendas. 

[mrkstvns]

Well, the media reports what it thinks people will watch/read/listen to.  Their "agenda" is to sell papers and sell ad space.

So, if a writer thinks that the public perception of Scouts is that it's a safe, wholesome place for kids, then anything, no matter how minor that deviates from that, might be considered "newsworthy".

In this case, I'd agree with you.  The event happened long ago,  and the judge dismissed the suit...(which in my opinion is newsworthy because the judge evidently had some common sense, and you don't always see that).

To me, the story was a "who cares?" kind of shrug because it didn't even seem like the den leader was badly hurt.  Bloody nose?  Big freakin' deal. When I was a kid, one of my friends broke his leg sledding down an icy street when he ran into a tree. His mom came and took him to the ER, and that was the end of it....though everyone in the neighborhood talked about it for months. No news story though because, well, it's not exactly an earth shattering event. Winter happens. Sleds exist. Kids love 'em. Sometimes accidents happen....where's the news?

[Eagle1993]

I took it more as a frivolous lawsuit type story... but they did give a lot of lines to the story.  I didn’t see it as a shot against scouts.

Perhaps a slow news day....

[yknot]

I think the interesting thing here is that you can see how stressful even frivolous lawsuits can be for those who get dragged into the liability cattle call -- the CO, the CM, the ACM, the DLs and even young scouts who had to be deposed. The people who were named in this lawsuit had to live with the stress for years. It's another reminder to make sure you know GTSS and reasonably follow it. Not all judges are as sensible as this one. You also can't rely on parents having common sense when it comes to supervising their own kids on family activities. 

[T2Eagle]

11 hours ago, mrkstvns said:

 

To me, the story was a "who cares?" kind of shrug because it didn't even seem like the den leader was badly hurt.  Bloody nose?  

"A surgeon would later reattach the bone holding his nose to his skull, using four plates and some 20 screws that remain in place" that ain't no bloody nose; he also missed two months plus of work.  

That's a pretty big financial hit, possibly devastating to he and his family, especially if he has anything but first class medical coverage.  As DavidCO said this might have been driven by an insurance company, or it might have been driven by desperation.  I'll withhold judgment without a whole lot more information.

[JoeBob]

I wonder how much time defending counsel spent considering whether or not to file counter suit : 50 year old Puccio spoiled the sledding area with red stains and got blood on an 8 year old Cub Scout's boot.  OSHA standards require that the boot would have to be disposed of as a bio-hazard, and who really needs one boot? 

I know, I'm cynical and jaded.

[Eagle1993]

I would have had more sympathy,  but suing 8 and 10 year old boys because they sled into you is not excusable.   It’s one thing to sue adults, he lost any sympathy from me when he named kids in his lawsuit.

The lawyer that represented the Den Leader is a personal injury lawyer from Buffalo.