CHAPTER 20: LIABILITY AND NEGLIGENCE

 VISION, EXECUTION AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Most people think it is safer for students to learn on a school campus as compared to say a geology field trip to the Grand Canyon.

I conducted every activity of every expedition over 36 years with a safety filter. Could I guarantee the safety of every student during such and such activity?

If not, the idea would be scratched from the itinerary. Over a 36 year expedition career, the most serious injury was a sprained ankle that required crutches.

I say it’s safer for students to be on an expedition with me than it is to walk home from school.

We awakened to campground of sleeping bags covered in a blanket of snow and a quarter inch layer of ice in our canteens, then we backpacked 9 miles down the Kaibab Trail for a three day geology inspection of the floor of the Grand Canyon from our Bright Angel Basecamp. 
 
The most throbbing memory of that trip was helicopter blades cracking the air while watching one of my students being air evacuated to the clinic at the top of the canyon. 

On the last night at the bottom,the youngest member of our expedition presented with lower right abdominal pains like those accompanying appendicitis. I radioed for the NPS to send a medic, who advised that he’d check again in the morning since there was no fever, no chills. The next day our plan was to pack back up those steep switchbacked canyon walls.  Our Park Ranger was back in the morning, still no fever of chills. He didn’t think it was appendicitis.  She could pack out with the rest of the group.  

But as a teacher responsible for every child’s safety imagined what I as a parent would do with my child.  I’d want those in charge to be extra conservative and spare no expense. I had a back up plan.  Handing my credit card to the parent volunteer I called for an emergency air evacuation, the volunteer to escort the girl to the clinic where they concluded that she was homesick. I understood the soundness of this plan even if I didn’t get reimbursed.  Turns out the families insurance covered air evacuations.

I scout each location before launching an expedition. How safe are the trails? What is the phone number of the closest clinic? How good is it? How far away? What are the Park Ranger or Sheriff department emergency numbers?Is there an infrastructure for emergency air evacuation?  

I scratch any location that doesn’t measure up to these safety standards.  I conduct every expedition with this question this question: Is there any room for a charge negligence?

Here’s an example of an expedition activity that I would scratch: White water sledging in New Zealand.

Scrub to 1:39