RO "Title"?

[lndshrk]

What is your personal legal liability if there is an "accident" while you are running someone during a match?

And, is the risk mitigated if you have formal IPSC RO training ?

Does anyone have any idea if officers of a range or club have any protection from litigation?

Clearly, I am not so much concerned about the people I know, but rather very concerned about their families going after what they might think is an easy mark.

[lynn jones]

you club should have liability insurance, wether throught the NRA or a regular insurance company. our club has both.

lynn

[blackdragon]

Our Club is affiliated with the NRA, Not sure about the private insurance Tho- Good question! I will have to check!

Ivan

SCS Vegas

[Rob Boudrie]

you club should have liability insurance, wether throught the NRA or a regular insurance company. our club has both.

lynn

Be careful about NRA insurance - the last time I checked, it excludes suits brought by club members.

[Ron Ankeny]

We have liabilty insurance for our club members in addition to the insurance carried by the owners of the range. I have a one million dollar liability policy of my own because of my work situation.

Liability is another reason not to ignore DQable offenses. How would you like to be taken to court if your club has established the habit of taking it easy on competitors who perform unsafe acts?

My sense is, if you are performing RO activities you are better off with the "title".

[Jim Norman]

Get a personal insurance policy. Assess your own at risk level. If you are single in a rented room, you are not too likely to be a target, do you own a business and or a house? Big income? get more insurance. You probably already have some since somebody could trip over you if you were to bend to tie your shoe.

Get RO certification and follow the rules. DQ's are there for a reason. They are the reward for unsafe behavior. If you fail to DQ an unsafe shooter after he has broken the rules, you are increasing your exposure. Following the rules is not a shield, but it may help. There is a procedure in place for dealing with shooters that are unsafe.

All the above is not intended as legal advice, I am not an attorney and I have never played one on TV, I also did not stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

There is a saying, CYA. It is good advice

[davidwiz]

What is your personal legal liability if there is an "accident" while you are running someone during a match?

And, is the risk mitigated if you have formal IPSC RO training ?

Does anyone have any idea if officers of a range or club have any protection from litigation?

What kind of "accident" are we talking about? Like you are RO'ing a competitor and don't stop and DQ them when the should have been, then later during the match, they break the saftey rules again and hurt either themselves or another person?

If I was a PI attorney (which I'm not, I'm on the other side), I would name every potential defendant I could find - the RO, the host club and the sanctioning body at the very least.

If the RO was certified by the sanctioning body and acting within the scope of their duties, then they could probably seek contribution from the host club and/or sanctioning body. Meaning, get them to pay their legal fees and any judgment that may be entered against them.

Most, if not all clubs have insurance of different types: property, theft, fire, flood, D/O (covers acts by directors and officers of the club) and liability (usually a general liability policy).

Any cause of action for damages is probably going to be made for negligence - basically that there was a duty owed, the duty was breached and the breach of that duty was cause in fact and proximate cause of the injury sustained.

There are various defenses to negligence, such as contributory negligence (the person was responsible in some part for their own injuries), no duty, there was an intervening cause of the injury, etc.

If the RO was certified, could that lessen his/her liability - maybe, it depends on the fact pattern. How 'bout if everything was done correctly, by all involved, what outcome? It really depends on the fact pattern, as no 2 cases are ever the same.

And, because almost every jurisdiction requires hospitals to report firearm-related injuries to the police, there is always the posibility, however remote, that the police could get involved, if the incident is serious enough.

If I could make one point - Jim Norman is right. Make sure that all of your ROs at your matches are certified (even though it is not required). Also make sure that if someone does break a saftey rule and a DQ is warranted under the rules of the match, that the DQ is enforced.

While I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night, I do practice law, and this is not to be construed as legal advice and/or the making of an attorney/client relationship. If anyone has further questions, I would be more than happy to answer your questions. Please PM or email me.

-David

[lndshrk]

My primary concern was not a pattern of DQ's or poor judgement on the part of the RO, but rather, an accidental or negligent discharge resulting in the bodily injury or death of a participating shooter or bystander. I don't even know if this has ever happened in a sanctioned match or simply a local range event. I have personally seen people wheel around with a loaded gun, get disqualified and go home, but it only takes a little imagination to think that the outcome could have been more lethal.

Questions remains - would the person acting as RO for that particular event have personal liability? Is it likely to cost that person significant legal fees, personally, if action was persued?

[davidwiz]

My primary concern was not a pattern of DQ's or poor judgement on the part of the RO, but rather, an accidental or negligent discharge resulting in the bodily injury or death of a participating shooter or bystander. I don't even know if this has ever happened in a sanctioned match or simply a local range event. I have personally seen people wheel around with a loaded gun, get disqualified and go home, but it only takes a little imagination to think that the outcome could have been more lethal.

Questions remains - would the person acting as RO for that particular event have personal liability? Is it likely to cost that person significant legal fees, personally, if action was persued?

If the injured person does hire a PI attorney, and they are unable to get satisfaction from whomever's insurance company, then the next step is to start naming people and entities as defendants. If the RO in question was somehow involved in the injury, then it is possible for them to be named as a defendant. But, as I said, it really depends on the fact pattern.

Also, even if they are named as a defendant (and assuming they are a certified RO and working within the scope of their duties), they can probably seek contribution for their legal costs and any damages from the club and/or sanctioning body.

-David

[BDH]

I've posted this before, but some time ago it was suggested to me to join NASO, even if just for the liability insurance which is $3M. I don't get anything else from them except my monthly copy of Referee Magazine, which I generally flip through and then pitch in the trash. I'm not sure how much I am really covering myself, but I feel at least a little more protected.....