Lawsuit against university outdoor program

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that Christopher Mance has filed a lawsuit against Ohio Universityfor injuries he suffered when he fell into a fire on a

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University outdoor trip. The story is titled Disfiguring fall into campfire spurs lawsuit against OU. Mance, the plaintiff was a few credits from completing his bachelor’s degree to become a wilderness educator. During a wilderness survival trip in 2006 he suffered an epileptic seizure and fell face first into a fire suffering burns to his face, arms and hands.

The plaintiff and his family are suing the university for $300,000 because they claim the university was responsible for the accident. They claim the plaintiff is unable to secure work in the outdoor field after receiving his injuries.

The university knew of the plaintiff’s medical condition which he noted on a medical form he completed before going on the trip. (For more information on why pre-trip medical forms create liability see: Legal Issues in Wilderness First Aid.) The plaintiff was taking medication to control the seizures but the drug is allegedly less effective when sleep and eating habits are disruptive which they were on the trip.

The incident occurred during a solo part of the trip when the students were left alone to feed and take care of themselves. The suit claims that an instructor should have been assigned to watch the plaintiff to make sure he was safe. (Doesn’t that sort of eliminate the idea behind the solo?)

The attorney for the plaintiffs’ also stated “the university did not appoint an instructor to supervise Mance or send him for a medical check to determine whether he could handle the trip. He said Mance and his parents were unaware of the risks involved in the trip.”

This is a very sad case. A senior with only a few credits left to graduate in the field of outdoor recreation and education that falls victim to an accident in the field. On top of that the accident is disfiguring which is a double edged sword.

However a read of the article and possibly the complaint raises a lot of disturbing statements. You can reasonably assume that the plaintiff is over the age of 18, an adult able to make decisions about his own health and welfare. The complaint places all of the responsibility on the university. It was the universities responsibility to make sure he was safe, able to undertake the trip and able to physically handle the trip. Worse, it was the university’s responsibility to have the plaintiff determine if he was medically able to undertake the trip.

At what point do you take personal responsibility for your actions? We might have created some of these problems ourselves. We rely on outdoor programs to determine whether or not we can physically and medically undertake a trip. When in reality those people know nothing about us and are not physicians. The attempt to solve a problem as in this case, probably has created litigation. You and your doctor are the only ones who can make a decision as to whether you should undertake a trip. Your physician is the only person legally allowed and medically able to make that decision. For more information on this subject see: Legal Watch: Prescriptions and the Law, Legal Issues in First Aid #3: The prescription drug conundrum, Legal Issues in Wilderness First Aid: Value of various first aid certificates and training, Legal Issues in Wilderness First Aid.

For more articles on lawsuits against colleges for injuries in outdoor programs see: Case Brief: Release Protects Gonzaga University from Lawsuit Following Student Death, College successfully defends student high altitude fatality, Assumption of Risk and Inherent Risk in Higher Outdoor Education, and College loses suit by parents of deceased student from snow skiing class.

This is a sad case were the basis of the lawsuit seems to ride on the idea that someone else should have been responsible for me and my problems.