Liability and Young Hunters

[pipefitter]

My wife brought up a good question. I have been taking 2 friends of my boys rabbit hunting. She is worried about it because there parents would not hesitate to sue if something should happen. I am very safe and so are all the boys, they are all in sight at all times and they call out to each other to figure out were everone is at. I have never thought about it, but should i make the decision to take some interested in hunting on weather i can be sued or not. I personally feel that if this was the case a friend of mine's dad had that i would not be a hunter today!

Rick Perry

[jcurtis]

I would take them regardless if they truly wanted to go and enjoyed it. Todays lawsuit happy society is disgusting and a gross misuse of our legal system. What is even more sickening is that someone agrees with the nutjobs and gives them the money!

[GettinBucky]

I would keep taking them if it puts a smile on your face....

As far as the possibility of being sued....raise the liability on your home to $1,000,000. If one of the boys gets hurt and you are found "negligent" then this can help you. In a situation like this you would need to be found negligent for the injury.... If you are teaching them the correct way to handle the guns and the parents have allowed you to do this then your risk is pretty low.

Scott

[woodychevy38s]

first off- I hope that the parents know you are taking the kids out hunting?

If so and the parents do not have any objections to it I would keep taking them out. Also keep track of when you take them out, what was harvested, the "rule of the day"-always try to teach the new hunter something. That way you have a record of "I took little billy out hunting X amount of times never had a problem...."

[hoythunter]

I hope and pray that nothing bad ever happens but............God forbid something bad does happen and the parents sue you for taking their kids to do something they love to do.......the parents should have their a@#@# kicked.

[pipefitter]

I have sat down with the mother and discussed how i operate when i hunt. 1st is gun safety - If i find them walking around with there safety off they will be warned, if found again the will have there firearm taken away and will not be ask back. 2nd Personal safety - Hunters orange is a must, calling out to each other when the dogs are running so field of fire can be established ( i usually have them in somewhat of a line). 3rd ETHICS and common sense. When we are hunting rabbits we do not shoot off game. We do not waste what we take. We are respectful of the property. Be respectful to my dogs.
The mother was happy and has given me permission to take them any time. Is this enough or should i do more?

Rick Perry

[sourdough44]

I have taken friends of my son shooting at times. I ask the parent 1st. In your case it sounds like we are talking 3 young hunters out rabbit hunting with you & the dogs? If so I would want to keep a close eye on them. Depending on their age & experience I may even limit the number of active shooters at a time. When my son was starting out I would have him carry with an empty chamber at times while I kept an eye on things. These were low key outings where learning was more important than bagging anything. Just to add; I just feel that a 12-13y/o who has seldom handled a gun, espcially in hunting conditions, needs almost 'arms-length' supervision in my book. Maybe I'm a little paranoid & I know many of us 'did it all' back in the day. I've seen & heard of to many lapses & don't want it to happen on my watch.

[pipefitter]

It has been low key so far, i am mainly running my dogs and watching how they handle the situations. By the time im in full hunting mode DEC. 1 to Mar 31 i will have determined if i am bringing them along on our full blown hunts.
I am very upset that it has come to worring about being sued. What a crck of _ _ it. All i want is to spend quality time with my dogs, my kids, and my friends. These boys have a difficult home life (not abusing as far as i can tell) (money issues) and are very eager to learn. They are polite and willing to go the extra mile to help out (my own kids do not do that). Am i just over thinking this issue or what?

Rick Perry

[sourdough44]

I think is't great that your taking them. I would just keep safety in mind & not worry about a lawsuit. In other words be safe to avoid the suit. If there was an unfortunate accident a lawsuit could easily happen because of medical costs or worse. The same 'could' happen without hunting or guns involved.

[john warren]

well,,,, first off, why would you be friends with some one that would be so ready to sue you? if they felt that way i would simply tell them to entertain their own kids.My wife brought up a good question. I have been taking 2 friends of my boys rabbit hunting. She is worried about it because there parents would not hesitate to sue if something should happen. I am very safe and so are all the boys, they are all in sight at all times and they call out to each other to figure out were everone is at. I have never thought about it, but should i make the decision to take some interested in hunting on weather i can be sued or not. I personally feel that if this was the case a friend of mine's dad had that i would not be a hunter today!

Rick Perry

[November Sunrise]

Am i just over thinking this issue or what?

Rick Perry

Rick,

From a technical insurance standpoint and completely aside from this issue, liability is a relevant thing to consider. One of the things that I always recommend to those that I do financial counseling with is for them to structure their auto and homeowners policies at the minimum liability rate that makes them eligible for an umbrella liability policy, and then to go ahead and also purchase an umbrella liability policy which in essence extends to covering a persons liability in almost all circumstances. Umbrella liability policies are inexpensive and are one of the few insurance products that offer really good value, and I consider them to be a good financial product for almost everyone.

Now, if the question is "could I be sued for negligence if an accident were to occur on my watch?", well, I'm sure that the answer is yes. But it seems to me that this could extend to almost every possible venue in life - coaching a kid's ball team and an out of the ordinary accident that could have been prevented occurs at practice, letting the neighbor kid play in your garage and they manage to knock something off a shelf that causes injury, giving a ride to one of your childs friends and an accident results where you're found at fault, etc. - all of these things could create liability issues.

However, I just can't picture a concern about possible "what if" scenarios stopping me from doing things like getting a youngster started hunting. If it's any consolation to you, I take a lot of kids out to introduce them to our great sport, and Lord willing I'll continue to do so in the future. Now, I don't know you personally, but just in reading this post it's clear that you have a heart to help these boys and to be a mentor to them, and I'd be of the opinion that you just can't let concerns about "what if" scenarios stop you from doing the right thing. Kudos to you for taking the time to invest in the lives of these boys.

[flinch]

Rick,

From a technical insurance standpoint and completely aside from this issue, liability is a relevant thing to consider. One of the things that I always recommend to those that I do financial counseling with is for them to structure their auto and homeowners policies at the minimum liability rate that makes them eligible for an umbrella liability policy, and then to go ahead and also purchase an umbrella liability policy which in essence extends to covering a persons liability in almost all circumstances. Umbrella liability policies are inexpensive and are one of the few insurance products that offer really good value, and I consider them to be a good financial product for almost everyone.

Now, if the question is "could I be sued for negligence if an accident were to occur on my watch?", well, I'm sure that the answer is yes. But it seems to me that this could extend to almost every possible venue in life - coaching a kid's ball team and an out of the ordinary accident that could have been prevented occurs at practice, letting the neighbor kid play in your garage and they manage to knock something off a shelf that causes injury, giving a ride to one of your childs friends and an accident results where you're found at fault, etc. - all of these things could create liability issues.

However, I just can't picture a concern about possible "what if" scenarios stopping me from doing things like getting a youngster started hunting. If it's any consolation to you, I take a lot of kids out to introduce them to our great sport, and Lord willing I'll continue to do so in the future. Now, I don't know you personally, but just in reading this post it's clear that you have a heart to help these boys and to be a mentor to them, and I'd be of the opinion that you just can't let concerns about "what if" scenarios stop you from doing the right thing. Kudos to you for taking the time to invest in the lives of these boys.

:yeahthat:

The umbrella policy will give you piece of mind. I was surprised how cheap it was once my liability limits were adjusted on my other policies. I have a 1 million dollar personal umbrella but I am sure you could purchase other limits.