Hi Folks,
While surfing the CBC Website last night I found this thread of interesting articles. It however made me think as to if the issue could actually effect all Public Service Volunteer Groups. Here are several links from the CBC as the story is progressing…
LINK- Orignal Story on May 8th
LINK- Statement of Claim for Lawsuit
LINK-Updated Story from June 15
LINK Updated Story from June 16
Personally I am worried that in this time of “frivolous lawsuits” someone could actually sue a volunteer group because they did not respond. I am very concerned about the precedents that this could set and the messages sent out to the general public and to the volunteering public…
In this day of more and more cutbacks in which the services are sometimes not being provided unless it is done by volunteers…. SKI Patrols, Search and Rescue Groups (SAR) and communications (ARES) it now raises a question that needs to be answered in the near future.
Could we as a volunteer amateur radio communicatior be liable for not responding, for not providing the service or even worse for making a mistake when relaying data…. When passing voice traffic sometime letters and numbers do seem to sound alike in a noisy environment… If somethng like this happens are we covered???
I know that if you are a RAC Member we are covered by an insurance policy for liability…. It would be interesting to know if our RAC Policy would cover the individual members in a situation like this…
From past experiences I know that someone at RAC actually reads this blog so it would be interesting to see what they would say about it…
If they would care to reply either in the comments section or send me the email direct and I would post it as a guest blogger status… Either way I welcome their comments.
73bob
Tags: amateur radio, Amateur Radio Emergency Service, ARES, CBC News, RAC, Radio, Radio Amateurs of Canada
June 17, 2009 at 8:59 pm |
- If you have homeowners or tenants insurance, it is very likely that you (as an individual) are already covered for liability arising from volunteer (unpaid) activities. Ask your insurance broker to confirm that in writing.
- Most small non-profit organizations stopped buying liability insurance (for the society as a whole) years ago, because of cost. That’s why the government should get involved and provide a simple insurance facility for non-profits. Honestly, it would only take a day or two to set this up and the cost to government and non-profits would be minimal.
- Providing a service to the public is not, in my view, sufficient “protection” against criticism or liability. Non-profits and a volunteer should be required to show that they performed the service in a competent manner … otherwise, they shouldn’t be doing it. For example, there would be little point in calling out a volunteer rescue team if the team members ended up killing the victim because they didn’t know what they were doing.
- Liability insurance provides financial protection, but the real protection comes from good volunteer selection and training, solid policies and procedures, and ongoing assessment of volunteers and programs. Without those things, you are (and should be) vulnerable to charges of negligence.
June 18, 2009 at 6:04 pm |
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