Financial Liability For Medical Care For An Injured Scout

[SeattlePioneer]

Suppose a Scout is injured on an offcial Scout outing. You are unable to reach the parents at the phone number listed on the permissions slip, which gives Scouters authority to approve hospital medical care in the event of an injury.

 

You take the Scout to the hospital, and sign the hospital forms approving medical care.

 

Six months later, the hospital send you a bill for $24,855.19, the bill for the boy's care. As it happens, the parents don't have any health insurance coverage, so the hospital is turning to you to pay the bill, since you asked for it and approved it.

 

 

Far fetched, or a real hazard?

 

And any comments on the accident insurance available when rechartering?

 

 

 

Seattle Pioneer

[Bob White]

Accident insurance is provided for any youth attending a scouting activity. This information is shared in New Leader Essentials the first course in the every leaders training continuum.

 

 

 

[ScoutNut]

Personal health insurance, or lack of it, should be evident from the permission form. It should include space for the family to fill in their doctor's name & phone #, medical insurance company name, Group #, & phone. Ideally a copy of the insurance card should be attached.

 

Many hospitals will not do anything on a minor (unless the condition is life threatening) until they can get in contact with the parent/guardian.

[Bob White]

The BSA accident insurance also covers the deductible.(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[ScoutNut]

"I'm supposing that if a Scouter signs the paperwork requesting medical care for a Scout provided by a hospital, the hospital includes a contract provision making that person liable for the bill if no one else pays."

 

 

I really doubt they would have someone who was not the child's guardian sign anything relating to that child's care. And even if by some chance they did, unless the piece of paper specificaly states that YOU are the responsible party, & you give the hospital all of YOUR information instead of the Scout's. In that case, you obviously want the bill sent to you & I'm sure the hospital will oblige.

 

If some portion of treatment is not covered by insurance, for whatever reason, the hospital will send a bill to the child's parents/guardians. If they do not not pay, for whatever reason, then the hospital will take the parents/guardians to court. Why would you think they would send a bill to some person who has simply brought a child to the hospital? Why would you even consider signing something that states you are responsible for this childs bills?

 

I have never heard of, or had this happen to, any Youth Leader in any youth organization, school, or church trip, in my area in 21 years. That is why these organizations carry insurance.

 

Every time I have had to take a child to an emergency room they take the billing information on the child - NOT on the person who brings the child in.

 

If you really do not trust either the BSA insurance or your Scout's families insurance, then I suggest you make sure that at all times, scouts sit in one place, don't move or touch anything & cancel any and all trips.

 

Your only other option, if you do not trust the BSA insurance, is to take out extra personal insurance & make sure the Unit takes out extra insurance covering all meetings and activites, in and out of the regular meeting place, and while traveling.

 

 

(This message has been edited by ScoutNut)

[AwHeck]

BSA automatically provides accident insurance (on a secondary basis) for all REGISTERED youth and adults for injuries they may incur while participating in a scouting activity. A few years ago, we had a young man who broke his collarbone while on a campout. An ASM took him to the emergency room where he was treated. The ASM brought along the standard medical form which includes "permission to treat". Honestly, I never asked the ASM if the parents were contacted by the hospital prior to treatment. I DO know that this particular family did not have health insurance at the time and so I provided the parents with claim forms for the BSA insurance. There was no financial impacts to the Troop or the ASM.

[eisely]

The optional supplemental accident coverage to which BW alludes is just that. It is supplemental coverage only for medical expenses resulting from an injury. It is also a no fault policy. The companies that offer these coverages work through councils and the information and application is usually available with your recharter package, if the council is making such a program available. I don't think all councils do this. This year, our brochure showed up with the new charter, one third into the year for which coverage was being offered.

 

In my mind these policies are generally a good deal for the unit, the youth, and the adult leaders. Typcially there are fixed amounts for different types of injuries, and these amounts are quite small compared to the likely expense. However these coverages probably handle deductible and co payments in most individual or family health insurance plans. The premiums are also pretty low.

 

While we are talking about liability downsides, if there is an accident on your watch, and the family of the injured youth has health coverage, you should expect that family's health insurer to make a claim against whatever liability coverages are available, either personal or council.

[Bob White]

Eisly,

That really depends on the council you live in. In the majority of councils today that cost is paid now by the council for all the units. While there are still a few areas whose local finances do not allow this it is becoming a more common practice each year.

 

 

[eisely]

BW,

 

That is good news. It also reinforces the point that local councils have a great deal of latitude in how they go about insuring themselves, their youth members and their volunteers. Probably the best advice for anybody reading this thread is that; yes, there is coverage, but you will have to find out the details from your local council.

[mich632]

Had boy break thumb during ski trip.

 

Had x-ray and cast at local hospital.

Had MRI and then surgury back home to reattach tendon.

 

Council insurance payed for any portion that was not covered by families insurance plan.

 

As the SM I signed paperwork to allow intial treatment based on permission slip. I also provided insurance info to hospital. It's on permission slip.

 

G2SS says that you have to notifiy council of injuries. That is how I got accident report and got council involved in paying for expenses not covered by insurance.

[packsaddle]

Regarding that $24,000+/- bill, Eamonn (in the other thread on liability) listed some accident coverage limits for the Jamboree, numbers that usually would not cover this bill.

See:

http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=95028&p=2

 

Anyone know what would happen in this event? Is the non-Jamboree coverage much better?

And there's that exclusion for declared and non-declared war...good grief.

[Prairie_Scouter]

Pack,

In such a situation, I think the proper procedure is to quickly fill out a Scout transfer form, moving the Scout to a Troop that is a part of another Council. Remember, in leader training they always tell us to do a count to make sure we come back from an outing with the same number of Scouts. I don't remember them saying anything about it having to be the same Scouts, only the same number

 

Sorry; anything having to do with medical and liability coverage just drives me batty........

[Lynda J]

I carry two copies of the insurance form in my troop first aid kit. When we had a scout hurt at Camporee three years ago I sent that form with the SM to the hospital. The insurance covered everything related to the treatment of the boy.

 

When I was directing day camp for our district I had the insurance forms with the camp packet. That way if we had ever needed to use them they were there.

[SeattlePioneer]

 

 

 

Ooooh, Good idea Lynda J. You ARE prepared!

 

Is the insurance forms you refer to that accidental injury protection that is optional and extra cost and available at rechartering (at least in our council)?

 

I don't believe our troop paid for that, and perhaps that is something we should consider changing the next time we recharter.

 

Comments on the utility/value of that insurance?

 

 

 

Seattle Pioneer